The sheep's in the [meadow]1, 
  The [kye's]2 in the corn,
Thou's [ower lang]3 in thy bed, 
  Bonny at morn,
    Canny at night,
Thou's [ower lang]3 in thy bed,
  Bonny at morn.

The bird's in the [bush]4, 
  The trout's in the burn;
Thou [hinderest]5 thy mother 
  In many a turn.
    Canny at night, 
  Bonny at morn,
Thou's ower lang in thy bed,
  Bonny at morn.

We're all laid idle 
  Wi' keeping the bairn,
[The lass wi' net learn,
  The lad wi' net work]6.
    Canny at night, 
  Bonny at morn,
Thou's ower lang in thy bed,
  Bonny at morn.

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Littell's Living Age, Volume 198, page 376.

¹ Britten: "meadows"
² Banks: "cow's"
³ Banks: "overlong"
⁴ Banks, Britten: "nest"
⁵ Banks, Britten: "hinders"
⁶ Banks: "The lad will not work/ and the lass will not learn"; Britten: "The lad winnot work/ And the lass winnot lairn"

Text Authorship:

• from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "Bonny at Morn" [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 Don Banks (1923 - 1980), "Bonny at Morn", 1953 [ voice and piano or strings ], from Five North Country Folk Songs, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Bonny at morn", 1976 [ voice and harp ], from 8 Folk Song Arrangements, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Ernest Bristow Farrar (1885 - 1918), "Bonny at morn", op. 28 no. 1, published 1927 [ voice and piano ], from North Country Folk Tunes, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]

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

• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Beau le matin", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Bertram Kottmann) , "Niedlich am Morgen", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Virginia Knight

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 23
Word count: 97

Les moutons sont dans les prairies, la vache est dans le blé,
Tu es allongé sur ton lit, beau le matin,
Malin la nuit, beau le matin,
Tu es allongé sur ton lit,
Beau le matin.

L'oiseau est dans le nid, la truite est dans le ruisseau,
Tu gênes ta mère par tes tours,
Malin la nuit, beau le matin,
Tu es allongé sur ton lit,
Beau le matin.

Nous sommes tous allongés à paresser en gardant les enfants,
Le garçon ne veut pas travailler et la fille ne veut pas apprendre,
Malin la nuit, beau le matin,
Tu es allongé sur ton lit,
Beau le matin.