But lately seen, in gladsome green,
The woods rejoic'd the day ;
Through gentle showers, the laughing flowers
In double pride were gay ;
But now our joys are fled
On winter blasts awa,
Yet maiden May, in rich array
Again shall bring them a'.
 
But my white powl, nae kindly thowe
Shall melt the snaws of age !
My trunk of eild, but buss or beild,
Sinks in time's wintry rage.
O age has weary, weary days
And nights o' sleepless pain!
Thou golden time o' youthful prime,
Why [comes]1 thou not again ?

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 261.

Glossary:
powl = head; thowe = thaw; eild = old age; buss = bush; beild = shelter

¹ Haydn: "com'st"

Text Authorship:

• by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "The winter of life" [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 (Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809), "The death of the linnet", Hob. XXXIa:138bis, JHW XXXII/3 no. 207. [
   text verified 1 time
  ]

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

• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , title 1: "L'hiver de la vie", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani , Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2009-06-14
Line count: 16
Word count: 92