My harry was a gallant gay,
    Fu' stately strade he on the plain,
But now he's banish'd far away :
    I'll never see him back again.
Refrain:
  O for him back again !
  O for him back again !
  I wad gie a Knockhaspie's land
  For Higland Harry back again.

When a' the lave gae to their bed,
    I wander dowie up the glen,
I set me down and greet my fill,
    And ay I wish him back again.

O, were some villains hangit high,
    And ilka body had their ain,
Then I might see the joyfu' sight,
    My Higland Harry back again !

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 216. (Printed in the book with the refrain first.)

Text Authorship:

• by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Highland Harry" [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), "Highlander's Lament", WoO 157 no. 9 (1820), from 12 songs of various nationalities, no. 9 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827), "Highland Harry", WoO. 156 (12 Scottish Songs) no. 6, G. 227 no. 6, published 1814-5 [ vocal trio, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]

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

• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Harry des Highlands", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani

This text was added to the website: 2005-12-08
Line count: 17
Word count: 100