Chorus
O lovely Polly Stewart,
O charming Polly Stewart,
There's not a flower that blooms in May,
That's half so fair as thou art.
The flower it blaws, it fades and fa's,
And art can ne'er renew it ;
But Worth and Truth eternal Youth
Will give to Polly Stewart!
May he [whase arms shall fauld thy charms]1
Possess a leal a true heart !
To him be given to ken the heav'n
He [grasps]2 in Polly Stewart !
Chorus
O lovely Polly Stewart,
O charming Polly Stewart.
There's ne'er a flower that blooms in May
That's half so sweet as thou art.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotesConfirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 259.
1 Beethoven: "who wins thy matchless charm"
2 Beethoven: "gains"
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Lovely Polly Stewart" [author's text checked 1 time 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 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827), "Polly Stewart", WoO. 156 (12 Scottish Songs) no. 7, G. 227 no. 7, published 1818 [ vocal trio, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Ignaz Brüll.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Polly Stewartova"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Belle Polly Stewart", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Georg Pertz) , "Polly Stewart"
Research team for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani , Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2006-06-11
Line count: 18
Word count: 102
Ó Polly Stewartova,
ó malá, hezká Polly,
tak sličný v máji není květ
jak ty, — přes hory, doly.
Květ rozkvítá a odkvítá
a na vždy uschnou stvoly;
však tobě ctnost a upřímnost
dá věčné mládí, Polly.
Kéž srdce dobré, věrné má,
kdo za svou kdy tě volí,
a zaplesá, že nebesa
v tvých loktech našel, Polly.
Ó Polly Stewartova,
ó malá, hezká Polly,
tak sličný v máji není květ
jak ty, — přes hory, doly.
Confirmed with BURNS, Robert. Výbor z písní a ballad, translated by Josef Václav Sládek, Praha: J. Otto, 1892.
Text Authorship:
- by Josef Václav Sládek (1845 - 1912), "Polly Stewartova" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Lovely Polly Stewart"
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-08-11
Line count: 16
Word count: 77