It was in sweet Senegal
That my foes did me enthral,
For the lands of Virginia--ginia O !
Torn from that lovely shore,
I must never see it more,
And alas! I am weary, weary O!

All on that charming coast
Is no bitter snow and frost,
Like the lands of Virginia--ginia O;
There streams for ever flow
And there flow'rs for ever blow,
And alas! I am weary, weary O!

The burden I must bear,
While the cruel scourge I fear,
In the lands of Virginia--ginia O !
And I think on friends most dear
With the bitter bitter tear,
And alas! I am weary, weary O!

Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 246.

Text Authorship:

• by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "The slave's lament" [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), "The slave's lament", Hob. XXXIa no. 137, JHW. XXXII/2 no. 137. [
   text verified 1 time
  ]

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

• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , title 1: "Complainte de l'esclave ", 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: 2013-03-25
Line count: 18
Word count: 106