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by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)

Yon wild mossy mountains
Language: Scottish (Scots) 
Our translations:  FRE
Yon wild mossy mountains sae lofty and wide,
That nurse in their bosom the youth o' the Clyde,
Where the grouse lead their coveys thro' the heather to feed,
And the shepherd tents his flock as he pipes on his reed.

Not Gowrie's rich valley nor Forth's sunny shores 
To me hae the charms o' yon wild, mossy moors; 
For there, by a lanely, [sequesterèd]1 stream, 
Resides a sweet lassie, my thought and my dream.

Amang thae wild mountains shall still be my path.	
Ilk stream foaming down its ain, green. narrow strath;	
For there wi' my lassie the [lang day]2 I rove,
While o'er us unheeded flie the swift hours o' love.

She is not the fairest, altho' she is fair; 
O' nice education but sma' is her share; 
Her parentage humble as humble can be; 
But I lo'e the dear lassie because she lo'es me.

To Beauty what man but maun yield him a prize,	
In her armour of glances, and blushes, and sighs?
And when Wit and Refinement hae polish'd her darts,
They dazzle our een, as they [flie]3 to our hearts.

But kindness, sweet kindness, in the fond-sparkling e'e
Has lustre outshining the diamond to me, 
And the heart beating love as I'm clasp'd in her arms, 
O, these are my lassie's all-conquering charms!

Available sung texts:   ← What is this?

•   P. Grainger •   J. Haydn 

J. Haydn sets stanzas 1, 5

View original text (without footnotes)
1 Grainger: "sequestered clear"
2 Grainger: "daylang"
3 Grainger: "flee"

Glossary
tents: tends
thae: those
ilk: each
lo'e: love
maun: must
een: eyes


Text Authorship:

  • by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Percy Aldridge Grainger (1882 - 1961), "Yon wild mossy mountains", 1898. [tenor and piano] [ sung text checked 1 time]
  • by (Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809), "Yon wild mossy mountains", Hob. XXXIa no. 119, JHW. XXXII/2 no. 119, stanzas 1,5. [ sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Montagnes sauvages et marécageuses", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 218

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