by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Translation by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
O lovely Polly Stewart
Language: Scottish (Scots)
Our translations: FRE
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 original text (without footnotes)Confirmed 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
Polly Steward
Language: German (Deutsch) after the Scottish (Scots)
O Polly, liebe Kleine, die Blum' im Mai hat Reize nicht, die halb so süß wie deine. Die Blume blüht, wird welk und müd' nach kurzem Sonnenscheine, doch dir verleiht Unsterblichkeit die Lieb', o holde Kleine! Wer einst nennt sein das Herzchen dein, sei treu und wahr' das seine, dass er erkennt, was er sein nennt in dir, du liebe Kleine!
Text Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [author's text not yet checked 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):
- by Ignaz Brüll (1846 - 1907), "Polly Steward", op. 18 (Sechs schottische Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 4, published 1876 [ voice and piano ], Wien, Gutmann [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website: 2020-09-07
Line count: 15
Word count: 61