by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
O wat ye wha's in yonder town
Language: Scottish (Scots)
Available translation(s): FRE
O wat ye wha's in yonder town, Ye see the ev'ning sun upon? The fairest maid's in yonder town That ev'ning sun is shining on. Now, haply down yon gay green shaw, She wanders by yon spreading tree; How blest, ye flowers that round her blaw, Ye catch the glances of her e'e! How blest, ye birds that round her sing, And welcome in the blooming year! And doubly welcome be the spring, The season to my [Lucy]1 dear! The sun blinks blythe on yonder town, [And on yon bonie braes of Ayr]2; But my delight in yonder town, And dearest joy, is Lucy fair. Without my Love, not a' the charms Of Paradise could yield me joy; But gi'e me Lucy in my arms, And welcome Lapland's dreary sky! My cave would be a lover's bower, Tho' raging winter rent the air, And she, a lovely little flower, That I would tent and shelter there. O, sweet is she in yonder town Yon sinking sun's gane down upon ! A fairer than's in yonder town His setting beam ne'er shone upon. If angry fate is sworn my foe, And suffering I am doom'd to bear, I, careless, quit aught else below, But spare me, spare me, Lucy dear! And while life's dearest blood is warm, Ae thought frae her shall ne'er depart, For she, as fairest is her form, She has the truest, kindest heart.
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 257.
1 note: sometimes "Jeanie", passim (cf. complete editions of Burns from 1897 and 1919); "Lucy" can be found in a 1908 edition.
2 in another edition of Burns : "And on yon bonnie braes sae green"
Glossary
O wat = do you know
Shaw = woody grove or thicket
Braes = steep or sloping riverbanks
Tent = care for
Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "O wat ye wha's in yonder town" [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), "Fy gar rub her o'er wi' strae", Hob. XXXIa:7bis, JHW. XXXII/3 no. 222. [voice and piano] [text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , title 1: "Ô, savez-vous qui est dans cette ville là-bas", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani
This text was added to the website: 2009-07-15
Line count: 36
Word count: 236