Charles Jefferys: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

My Lowland Bride

Charles Jefferys

“My Lowland Bride” as printed in The Book of Scottish Song (1843).

Charles Jefferys: 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

By the light of the moon,

The bonnie harvest moon,

On the beautiful banks of the Clyde,

I have wander'd along,

And sung the Highland song

Which my sire oft sang by his own burn-side.

For, though born ayont the Tweed,

I love the meanest weed

That has sprung by the heather in its pride;

And earth owns no dearer spot

Than the ivy-mantled cot,

Where the moments lightly pass with my bonnie Lowland bride.

Caledonia, with thee,

My bosom boundeth free;

And, wherever my footsteps may roam,

The lowland valley still,

Or the heather-blooming hill,

Shall the dear haven be of my heart's best home.

To that loved and gentle form,

Which hath braved me with life's storm,

I will sing of our cottage by the Clyde,

Till the joyous smile she wore,

In the happy days of yore,

Shall beam upon the brow of my bonnie Lowland bride.

Credits

Written by Charles Jefferys

Words by Charles Jefferys (died 1865). 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 Lowland Bride”

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). The credited author died in 1865.

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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