Yestreen I met you on the moor, Ye spake na, but gaed by like stoure ! Ye geck at me because I'm poor, But fient a hair care I. O Tibbie! I hae seen the day Ye [wadna]1 been sae shy; For lack o' gear ye lightly me, But [trowth]2 I care na by. When comin hame on Sunday last, Upon the road as I cam past, Ye snufft an' gae your head a cast — But, trowth, I care't na by ! O Tibbie! I hae seen the day... I doubt na, lass, but ye may think, Because ye hae the name o' clink, That ye can please me at a wink, Whene'er ye like to try. O Tibbie! I hae seen the day... But sorrow tak' him that's sae mean, Although his pouch o' coin were clean, Wha follows ony saucy quean That looks sae proud and high ! O Tibbie! I hae seen the day... Although a lad were e'er sae smart, If he but want the [yellow]3 dirt, Ye'll cast your head anither airt, And answer him fu' dry. O Tibbie! I hae seen the day... But if he hae the name o' gear, Ye'll fasten to him like a brier, Tho' hardly he, for sense or lear, Be better than the kye. O Tibbie! I hae seen the day... But Tibbie, lass, tak' my advice: Your daddie's gear maks you sae nice, The deil a ane would speir your price, Were ye as poor as I. O Tibbie! I hae seen the day... There lives a lass in [beside yon]4 park, [I'd rather hae her in her sark Than you wi' a' your thousand mark, That gars you look sae high.]5 O Tibbie! I hae seen the day...
J. Haydn sets stanzas 1, 3-8
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 214.
Glossary
Gear = riches, good of any kind
Lightly = sneer at
I care na by = I am indifferent
Stoure = dust in motion
Geck = mock
Fient = never
Clink = cash
Quean = buxom lass
Airt = place
Lear = learning
Kye = cows
Spear = ask, enquire
Sark = shirt
1 Haydn : "would na"
2 Haydn : "troth"
3 Haydn : "miser's"
4 Haydn : "yonder"
5 Haydn:
I would na gie her under sark For thee wi' a' thy thousand mark; Ye need na look sae high.
Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "O Tibbie! I hae seen the day" [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), "If a body meet a body", JHW. XXXII/3 no. 195, Hob. XXXIa no. 80bis, stanzas 1,3-8 [sung text checked 1 time]
Another version of this text exists in the database.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Ó Tibie, já tě vídal kdys"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Ô Tibbie ! J'ai vu le jour", 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: 2009-09-13
Line count: 43
Word count: 293