Ye gallants bright, I rede ye right, Beware o' bonnie Ann; Her comely face sae fu' o' grace, Your heart she will trepan. Her een sae bright, like stars by night, Her skin is like the swan; Sae jimply laced, her genty waist, That sweetly ye might span. Youth, grace, and love, attendant move, And pleasure leads the van; In a' their charms, and conquering arms, They wait on bonnie Ann. The captive bands may chain the hands, But love enslaves the man; Ye gallants braw, I rede ye a', Beware o' bonnie Ann.
Confirmed with The Book of Scottish Song, collected and illustrated with historical and critical notices by Alex Whitelaw, Blackie and Son, 1843. Includes the following note: "Written by Burns in 1788 for Johnson's Museum, in compliment to Ann Masterton, (afterwards Mrs. Derbishire, London,) daughter of the poet's friend, Allan Masterton, who composed the tune. Masterton was a teacher of writing and arithmetic in Edinburgh, who possessed a great taste for music, which he cultivated as an amateur on the violin. He was composer of several other tunes for Burns's words, and, among the rest, of the tune to "Willie brew'd a peck o' maut." In the latter song he also figures as one of the heroes."
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Beware o' bonnie Ann" [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 Francis George Scott (1880 - 1958), "Beware o' bonnie Ann", c1923 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Danish (Dansk), a translation by Caspara Preetzmann (1792 - 1876) , "Tag Jer iagt for Anna" ; composed by Orla Albert Vilhelm Rosenhoff.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2022-02-08
Line count: 16
Word count: 100
I Knøse! tag, det raader jeg,
For Anna Jer iagt!
Hun har — omkring sin Mund et Smiil,
Som faaer med Hjertet Magt.
Hun har en Hud som Svaneduun,
Et Blik som Stjerneskjær,
Man spænde kan om hendes Liv —
O, kom blot ei for nær!
Med hende følger Ungdomslyst,
I Spidsen Glæden gaaer,
Med Kjærlighedens Seierskrands
Paa rede Haand den staaer.
Priis Slavens Lod, faaer Elskov først
Med Mandens Hjerte Magt —
I Knøse! tag, det raader jeg,
For Anna Jer iagt!
Confirmed with Caralis, Hundrede Digte, 2. opl., Kbh. : Chr. Steen & Søns Forlag, 1867, p.110
Text Authorship:
- by Caspara Preetzmann (1792 - 1876), as Caralis, "Tag Jer iagt for Anna" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Beware o' bonnie Ann"
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Orla Albert Vilhelm Rosenhoff (1845 - 1905), "Tag jer iagt for Anna", op. 4 (Digte efter det Engelske ved Caralis,) no. 5 [ voice and piano ], Kbh : Horneman & Erslev [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2026-10-22
Line count: 16
Word count: 83