Bonnie Lesley (Burns, set by W. Moonie) (The Lied and Art Song Texts Page: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)


O saw ye bonnie Lesley,
  As she gaed o'er the Border?
She 's gane, like Alexander,
  To spread her conquests farther.

To see her is to love her,
  And love but her for ever,
For Nature made her what she is
  And never made anither.

Thou art a queen, fair Lesley,
  Thy subjects we, before thee:
Thou art divine, fair Lesley,
  The hearts o' men adore thee.

The deil he could na scaith thee,
  Or aught that wad belang thee:
He'd look into thy bonnie face,
  And say, `I canna wrang thee!'

The Powers aboon will tent thee,
  Misfortune sha' na steer thee;
Thou 'rt like themsels sae lovely,
  That ill they'll ne'er let near thee.

Return again, fair Lesley,
  Return to Caledonie!
That we may brag, we hae a lass
  There 's nane again sae bonnie.

Authorship

Robert Burns (1759-1796)

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

William Beaton Moonie (1883-1961)

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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