Tho' cruel fate should bid us part
As far's the pole and line,
Her dear idea round my heart
Would tenderly entwine.
Tho' mountains frown, and deserts howl,
And oceans roll between;
Yet, dearer than my deathless soul,
I still would love my Jean.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 205.

Text Authorship:

• by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Tho' cruel fate" [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 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827), "Constancy", WoO. 155 (26 Walisische Lieder) no. 22, G. 226 no. 22, published 1810/2 [ vocal duet with piano, violin, violoncello ] [sung text checked 1 time]

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

• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Constance", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Si un cruel destin nous ordonnait de nous séparer", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Georg Pertz) , "Beständigkeit"

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2005-01-16
Line count: 8
Word count: 44