Sweet fa's the eve on Craigieburn,
And blythe awakes the morrow,
But a' the pride of spring's return
Can yield me nought but sorrow.

I see the flow'rs and spreading trees,
I hear the wild birds singing;
But what a weary wight can please,
And care his bosom wringing?

Fain, fain, would I my griefs impart,
Yet dare na for your anger;
But secret love will break my heart,
If I conceal it langer.

If thou refuse to pity me,
If thou shalt love another,
When yon green leaves fade frae the tree,
Around my grave they'll wither.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 276.

Text Authorship:

• by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Sweet fa's the eve on Craigieburn" [author's text checked 2 times 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 (Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809), "Craigieburn Wood", Hob. XXXIa:193, JHW XXXII/3 no. 224 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Ernest John Moeran (1894 - 1950), "O sweet fa's the eve", R. 46 (1925) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Ernest John Moeran (1894 - 1950), "O sweet fa's the eve", R. 101 [ SATB chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Ad. Lann ; composed by Karl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke.
  • Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
    

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

• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Le soir tombe doucement sur Craigieburn", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2008-06-08
Line count: 16
Word count: 98