She is a winsome wee thing, She is a handsome wee thing, She is a bonny wee thing, This sweet wee wife o' mine ! I never saw a fairer, I never lo'ed a dearer, And niest my heart I'll wear her, For fear my jewel tine. She is a winsome wee thing, She is a handsome wee thing, She is a bonny wee thing, This sweet wee wife o' mine ! The warld's wrack, we share o't, The warsle and the care o't, Wi' her I'll blithely bear it, And think my lot divine.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with The Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1864, page 139-140.
Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "My wife's a winsome wee thing" [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 ?, Mrs. Miles of Bath (flourished 1815-1842), "The bonnie wee wife", published 1825? [ voice and piano ], London : J. Willis & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Scottish (Scots), [adaptation] ; composed by Joseph Haydn.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Je samý žert a hříčka"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Mon amour est une désirable petite chose", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SCO Scottish (Scots) [an adaptation]
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2014-10-23
Line count: 16
Word count: 95
Je samý žert a hříčka, má růžová tak líčka, jest jako křepelička ta žínka má, skvost žen. Já neznám spanilejší, co klenot nejvzácnější, ji chovám v srdce skrejši, bych neztratil ho jen. Je samý žert a hříčka, má růžová tak líčka, jest jako křepelička ta žínka má, skvost žen. Po všechněch strastech světa je v okamžení veta, když ona zaštěbetá, a rájem svět je ten.
Confirmed with BURNS, Robert. Výbor z písní a ballad, translated by Josef Václav Sládek, Praha: J. Otto, 1892.
Authorship:
- by Josef Václav Sládek (1845 - 1912), "Je samý žert a hříčka" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "My wife's a winsome wee thing"
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-08-12
Line count: 16
Word count: 65