My Sandy gied to me a ring, 
Was a' beset wi' diamonds fine,
But I gied him a better thing,
I gied my heart in pledge o' his ring.
    My Sandy O, my Sandy O, 
    My bonny, bonny Sandy O; 
    Tho' the love that I owe
    To thee I dare na show,
    Yet I love my love in secret,
    My Sandy O!

My Sandy brak a piece o' gowd, 
While down his cheeks the saut tears row'd,
He took a hauf and gied it me, 
And I'll keep it till the hour I die.
    My Sandy O...

Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 216.

GLOSSARY
Gowd = gold
Saut = salt
Hauf = half

Text Authorship:

• by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "I love my love in secret" [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), "I love my love in secret", JHW. XXXII/1 no. 3, Hob. XXXIa no. 3. [
   text verified 1 time
  ]

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

• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , title 1: "J'aime mon amour en secret", 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: 2012-08-14
Line count: 15
Word count: 97