Anonymous: Collected Lyrics
05 / 7
Public-domain lyrics

Fare ye weel, my Auld Wife

Anonymous

“Fare ye weel, my Auld Wife” as printed in The Book of Scottish Song (1843).

Anonymous: Collected Lyrics Text 5 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

And fare ye weel, my auld wife;

Sing bum, bee, berry, bum;

Fare ye weel, my auld wife;

Sing bum, bum, bum.

Fare ye weel, my auld wife,

The steerer up o' sturt and strife.

The maut 's abune the meal the nicht,

Wi' some, some, some.

And fare ye weel, my pike-staff;

Sing bum, bee, berry, bum:

Fare ye weel, my pike-staff;

Sing bum, bum, bum.

Fare ye weel, my pike-staff,

Wi' you nae mair my wife I'll baff;

The maut 's abune the meal the nicht,

Wi' some, some some.

Credits

Written by Anonymous

Words by Anonymous. 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, “Fare ye weel, my Auld Wife”

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.
Keep tracing

More from Anonymous: Collected Lyrics.

01Auld Rob Morris 1Public-domain lyrics02Comin' thro' the rye 1Public-domain lyrics03Comin' thro' the rye 2Public-domain lyrics04Ettrick BanksPublic-domain lyrics