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by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Translation by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

Song: Lovely young Jessie
Language: English 
True hearted was he, the sad swain o' the Yarrow,
And fair are the maids on the banks of the Ayr;
But by the sweet side o' the Nith's winding river,
Are lovers as faithful, and maidens as fair:
To equal young Jessie seek Scotland all over;
To equal young Jessie you seek it in vain,
Grace, beauty, and elegance, fetter her lover,
And maidenly modesty fixes the chain.

O, fresh is the rose in the gay, dewy morning,
And sweet is the lily, at evening close;
But in the fair presence o' lovely young Jessie,
Unseen is the lily, unheeded the rose.
Love sits in her smile, a wizard ensnaring;
Enthron'd in her een he delivers his law:
And still to her charms she alone is a stranger;
Her modest demeanour's the jewel of a'.

Text Authorship:

  • by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Song: Lovely young Jessie" [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):

    [ None yet in the database ]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Ignaz Brüll.
      • Go to the text.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-08-06
Line count: 16
Word count: 136

Jessie
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the English 
Treuherzigen Sinns war der Bursche von Harow,
und schön sind die Mädchen am Ufer des Ayr,
doch gibt's an des Niths gewund'nem Strome
treuliebende Burschen und Mädchen noch mehr.
Solch eine wie Jessie - ihr sucht sie vergebens,
und sucht ihr auch rings in dem schottischen Land.
Huld, Anmut und Schönheit gewinnt ihr die Herzen,
jungfräuliche Schüchternheit festet das Band.

O frisch ist die Rose am tauigen Morgen,
und süß die Lilie im Dämmer der Nacht,
doch sieht man daneben die liebliche Jessie,
gibt niemand auf Rosen und Lilien Acht.
Im Lächeln wohnt Liebe mit lockendem Zauber;
ihr thronend im Auge, erteilt er Befehl,
und sie nur allein ist fremd ihren Reizen,
bescheidener Sinn ist ihr schönstes Juwel.

Text Authorship:

  • by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in English by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Song: Lovely young Jessie"
    • 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):

  • by Ignaz Brüll (1846 - 1907), "Jessie", op. 18 (Sechs schottische Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 5, 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: 16
Word count: 117

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