It was the charming month of May,
When all the flow'rs were fresh and gay.
One morning, by the break of day,
The youthful, charming Chloe --
From peaceful slumber she arose,
Girt on her mantle and her hose,
And o'er the flow'ry mead she goes --
The youthful, charming Chloe.
Chorus:
[Lovely]1 was she by the dawn,
[Youthful Chloe, charming Chloe]2,
[Tripping]3 o'er the pearly lawn,
The youthful, charming [Chloe]4.
The feather'd people you might see
Perch'd all around on every tree,
In notes of sweetest melody
They hail the charming [Chloe]4;
Till, painting gay the eastern skies,
The glorious sun began to rise,
Outrival'd by the radiant eyes
Of youthful, charming [Chloe]4.
[Lovely]1 was she, &c.
J. Haydn sets stanzas 2-3
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Burns, Robert. Poems and Songs. Vol. VI. The Harvard Classics. New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1909–14. Tune: Daintie Davie
1 Haydn: "O lovely"2 Haydn: "The sweetly smiling charming Anne"
3 Haydn: "When tripping"
4 Haydn: "Anne"
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "The charming month of May", written 1794 [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), "Green sleeves", JHW. XXXII/3 no. 262, Hob. XXXIa no. 112b, stanzas 2-3, note: the sung text begins 'O lovely was she by the dawn' [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Hermann Wolff (1845 - 1902) ; composed by Ignaz Brüll.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Byl krásný máj"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-04-02
Line count: 22
Word count: 126
Byl krásný máj a porosen
květ každý z trávy koukal ven,
když ráno, sotva svitnul den,
tu stála ve své kráse.
Byl spánek její dětský klid,
teď vzala plášť a přes pažit
a přes květy a rosy třpyt
si vyšla ve své kráse.
Sličná byla v úsvitu
v červánkovém prvním jase,
na perlitém pažitu,
jak tu stála ve své kráse.
Sbor opeřenců, hlučný dav,
tu se stromů, tam z lučních trav
jí sladce zpíval na pozdrav,
jak vyšla ve své kráse.
Teď na východě růžovém
se zvedlo slunce v lesku svém
a zářivější ona v něm
tu stála ve své kráse.
Sličná byla v úsvitu
v červánkovém prvním jase,
na perlitém pažitu
jak tu stála ve své kráse.
Confirmed with BURNS, Robert. Výbor z písní a ballad, translated by Josef Václav Sládek, Praha: J. Otto, 1892.
Text Authorship:
- by Josef Václav Sládek (1845 - 1912), "Byl krásný máj" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "The charming month of May", written 1794
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 page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-08-11
Line count: 24
Word count: 118