Again rejoicing Nature sees Her robe assume its vernal hues, ; Her leafy locks wave in the breeze, All freshly steep'd in morning dews. [Refrain : And maun I still on Menie doat, And bear the scorn that 's in her e'e ? For it's jet, jet black, an' it's like a hawk, An' it winna let a body be!]1 In vain to me the cowslips blaw, In vain to me the vi'lets spring ; In vain to me in glen or shaw, The mavis and the lintwhite sing. Refrain1 The merry ploughboy cheers his team, Wi' joy the tentie seedsman stalks; But life to me's a weary dream, A dream of ane that never wauks. Refrain1 The wanton coot the water skims, Amang the reeds the ducklings cry, The stately swan majestic swims, And ev'ry thing is blest but I. Refrain1 The sheep-herd steeks his faulding slap, And o'er the moorlands whistles shill ; Wi' wild, unequal, wand'ring step, I meet him on the dewy hill. Refrain1 And when the lark 'tween light and dark, Blythe waukens by the daisy's side, And mounts and sings on flitt'ring wings, A wae-worn ghaist I hameward glide. Refrain1 Come, Winter, with thine angry howl, And raging bend the naked tree; Thy gloom will soothe my cheerless soul, When Nature all is sad like me! Refrain1
J. Haydn sets stanzas 1-3, 5-7
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 77.
1 omitted by HaydnGlossary:
Shaw = woody grove by a water sideMavis = trush
Lintwhite = linnet
Tentie = cautious
Wauks = wakens
Steeks = closes
Slap = gate to the sheep-fold
Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Composed in Spring" [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), "I wish my Love were in a myre", JHW XXXII/3 no. 158, Hob. XXXIa no. 177, stanzas 1-3,5-7 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Mennie"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , 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: 2010-01-10
Line count: 38
Word count: 223
Zas příroda se odívá v své jarní roucho veselé a větříkem jí povívá vlas mokrý z rosné koupele. A na Menie-li myslím jen tak stále bez vší naděje? neb oči má jak šotky dva a každému se vysměje. Nač petrklíčem údolí, nač fialkami kvete hvozd? mně marně v háji šveholí tu konopka a jinde drozd. Svým polem chodí rozsévač, hoch vesel volky pohání, já chodím jako ve snu spáč a ze sna není probrání. Tam slípka vodu rozrývá, zde kachny křičí v sítině, tu hrá si labuť sněživá a já jsem smuten jedině. Svou lísu ovčák zavírá a pohvizduje slatinou, já v soumrak hledím do čirá, jak potkávám ho pěšinou. A v červánku sbor skřivánků když od chudobek, od blatuch se zvedá výš v nebeskou říš, jdu domů jako bludný duch. Ó zaduj, zimo, přes vody a nahé stromy oděj v sníh, ten smutek celé přírody žal utiší snad v prsou mých. A na Menie-li myslím jen tak stále bez vší naděje? neb oči má jak šotky dva a každému se vysměje.
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), "Mennie" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Composed in Spring"
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: 36
Word count: 172