Archibald Crawfurd: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Bonnie Mary Hay

Archibald Crawfurd

“Bonnie Mary Hay” as printed in The Book of Scottish Song (1843).

Archibald Crawfurd: Collected Lyrics Text 1 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

Bonnie Mary Hay, I will lo'e thee yet;

For thy eye is the slae, and thy hair is the jet,

The snaw is thy skin, and the rose is thy cheek:

Oh! bonnie Mary Hay, I will lo'e thee yet.

Bonnie Mary Hay, will you gang wi' me,

When the sun's in the west, to the hawthorn tree?

To the hawthorn tree in the bonnie berry den?

And I'll tell you, Mary, how I lo'e you then.

Bonnie Mary Hay, it's haliday to me,

When thou art coothie, kind, and free:

There's nae clouds in the lift, nor storms in the sky,

My bonnie Mary Hay, when thou art nigh.

Bonnie Mary Hay, thou maunna say me nay:

But come to the bow'r by the hawthorn brae,

But come to the bow'r, an' I'll tell ye a' what's true,

How, Mary! I can ne'er lo'e ane but you.

Credits

Written by Archibald Crawfurd

Words by Archibald Crawfurd. 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, “Bonnie Mary Hay”

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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