Daniel Weir: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

'Neath the wave

Daniel Weir

“'Neath the wave” as printed in The Book of Scottish Song (1843).

Daniel Weir: 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

'Neath the wave thy lover sleeps,

And cold, cold is his pillow;

O'er his bed no maiden weeps,

Where rolls the white billow.

And though the winds have sunk to rest

Upon the ocean's troubled breast,

Yet still, oh still there's left behind

A restless storm in Ellen's mind.

Her heart is on yon dark'ning wave,

Where all she lov'd is lying,

And where around her William's grave,

The sea-bird is crying.

And oft on Jura's lonely shore,

Where surges beat and billows roar,

She sat—but grief has nipt her bloom,

And there they made young Ellen's tomb.

Credits

Written by Daniel Weir

Words by Daniel Weir. 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, “'Neath the wave”

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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