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by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Translation by Josef Václav Sládek (1845 - 1912)

Duncan Gray cam here to woo
Language: Scottish (Scots) 
Available translation(s): FRE
Duncan Gray cam here to woo,
  (Ha, ha, the wooing o't !)
On blythe Yule night when we were fu',
  (Ha, ha, the wooing o't !)
Maggie coost her head fu' high,
Look'd asklent and unco skiegh,
Gart poor Duncan stand abiegh;
  Ha, ha, the wooing o't !

Duncan fleech'd, and Duncan pray'd;
  (Ha, ha, the wooing o't !)
Meg was deaf as Ailsa craig,
  (Ha, ha, the wooing o't !)
Duncan sigh'd baith out and in,
Grat his een baith bleer't an' blin',
Spak o' lowpin o'er a linn;
  Ha, ha, the wooing o't !

Time and Chance are but a tide,
  (Ha, ha, the wooing o't !)
Slighted love is sair to bide,
  (Ha, ha, the wooing o't !)
Shall I, like a fool, quoth he,
For a haughty hizzie die?
She may gae to - France for me!
  Ha, ha, the wooing o't !

How it comes let Doctors tell
  (Ha, ha, the wooing o't !)
Meg grew sick as he grew heal,
  (Ha, ha, the wooing o't !)
Something in her bosom wrings,
For a relief a sigh she brings;
And O ! her een, they spak sic things!
  Ha, ha, the wooing o't !

Duncan was a lad o' grace,
  (Ha, ha, the wooing o't !)
Maggie's was a piteous case,
  (Ha, ha, the wooing o't !)
Duncan could na be her death,
Swelling Pity smoor'd his Wrath;
Now they're crouse and canty baith,
  Ha, ha, the wooing o't !

L. Beethoven sets stanzas 1, 3-5

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 272.


Authorship:

  • by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Duncan Grey" [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 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827), "Duncan Gray", WoO. 156 (12 Scottish Songs) no. 2, G. 227 no. 2, published 1818, stanzas 1,3-5 [ vocal trio, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by (Gerald) Graham Peel (1878 - 1937), "Duncan Gray", arrangement [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Humphrey Procter-Gregg (1895 - 1980), "Duncan Gray" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in Swiss German (Schwizerdütsch), a translation by August Corrodi (1826 - 1885) ; composed by Friedrich Niggli.
      • Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]

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

  • CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Dunkan"
  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Duncan Gray", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Georg Pertz) , "Duncan Gray"


Researcher for this text: Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 40
Word count: 245

Dunkan
Language: Czech (Čeština)  after the Scottish (Scots) 
Na námluvy Dunkan šel,
   hej, to bylo smíchu;
z nás už každý v hlavě měl,
   hej, to bylo smíchu!
Marta, — ach to lásky hrob,
zvedla nosejk v samý strop,
Dunkan stál tu jako snop,
   hej, to bylo k smíchu!

Dunkan prosil, Dunkan cup',
   hej, to bylo smíchu;
Marta hluchá jako dub,
   hej, to bylo smíchu.
Dunkan vzdychal zle a zle,
oči měl jak promoklé,
řek', že skočí do rokle,
   hej, to bylo k smíchu!

Ale přejdou den i noc,
   hej, to bylo smíchu,
marná láska trápí moc,
   hej, to bylo smíchu.
Řek' si Dunkan: Blázen jsem,
abych umřel k smíchu všem?
Pyšná husa, ďas ji vem!
   hej, to bylo smíchu.

Jak se stalo, — doktor sprav;
   hej, to bylo k smíchu:
Marta stůně, Dunkan zdráv,
   hej, to bylo smíchu.
Něco bodá ve ňadrech,
za vzdechem se dere vzdech,
a ty oči, — co je v těch!
   hej, to bylo smíchu.

Dunkan, — nu, byl měkký hoch,
   hej, to bylo k smíchu,
jak by Martě nepomoh'?
   hej, to bylo smíchu.
Nemoh' její smrti chtět; —
tak se smířil raděj' hned,
teď je oba těší svět,
   hej, to bylo smíchu!

Confirmed with BURNS, Robert. Výbor z písní a ballad, translated by Josef Václav Sládek, Praha: J. Otto, 1892.


Authorship:

  • by Josef Václav Sládek (1845 - 1912), "Dunkan" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Duncan Grey"
      • Go to the text page.

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 text: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2019-08-12
Line count: 40
Word count: 189

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