Anne Hunter: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

My Mother bids me bind

Anne Hunter

“My Mother bids me bind” as printed in The Book of Scottish Song (1843).

Anne Hunter: Collected Lyrics Text 3 1843 · historical text
Public domainScottish songFolk
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from The Book of Scottish Song, edited by Alexander Whitelaw, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

My mother bids me bind my hair

With bands of rosy hue,

Tie up my sleeves with ribbons rare,

And lace my boddice blue.

For why, she cries, sit still and weep,

While others dance and play?

Alas! I scarce can go or creep,

While Lubin is away.

'Tis sad to think the days are gone,

When those we love were near;

I sit upon this mossy stone,

And sigh when none can hear.

And while I spin my flaxen thread,

And sing my simple lay,

The village seems asleep, or dead,

Now Lubin is away.

Credits

Written by Anne Hunter

Words by Anne Hunter. Historical text published in The Book of Scottish Song (1843); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Book of Scottish Song (1843), edited by Alexander Whitelaw, “My Mother bids me bind”

Every contribution in this 1843 anthology predates modern copyright terms by more than a century; any contributor died at least 130 years ago, so the text is in the public domain worldwide (life+70 terms expired no later than 2020).

How to read this historical text and its source

Read the source on Wikisource

View copyright evidence · Transcription terms (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Retrieved 2026-10-12. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
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