Hew Ainslie: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Dowie in the hint o' hairst

Hew Ainslie

“Dowie in the hint o' hairst” as printed in The Book of Scottish Song (1843).

Hew Ainslie: Collected Lyrics Text 2 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

It's dowie in the hint o' hairst,

At the wa'-gang o' the swallow,

When the wind grows cauld, and the burns grow bauld,

And the wuds are hingin' yellow;

But oh, its dowier far to see

The wa'-gang o' her the heart gangs wi',

The dead-set o' a shinin' ee,

That darkens the wearie warld on thee.

There was mickle love atween us twa—

Oh, twa could ne'er be fonder;

And the thing on yerd was never made

That could ha'e gart us sunder.

But the way o' Heav'n's abune a' ken—

And we maun bear what it likes to sen'—

It's comfort, though, to wearie men,

That the warst o' this warld's waes maun en'.

There's mony things that come and gae—

Just kent and just forgotten—

And the flowers that busk a bonnie brae,

Gin anither year lie rotten.

But the last look o' that lovely e'e,

And the dying grip she ga'e to me,

They're settled like eternitie—

Oh, Mary! that I were wi' thee.

Credits

Written by Hew Ainslie

Words by Hew Ainslie. 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, “Dowie in the hint o' hairst”

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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