James Hedderwick: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

The land, the land for me

James Hedderwick

“The land, the land for me” as printed in The Scottish Minstrel (Second Series) (1851).

James Hedderwick: Collected Lyrics Text 1 1851 · historical text
Public domainScottish songFolk
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from The Scottish Minstrel (Second Series), a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

I've been upon the moonlit deep,

When the wind had died away,

And like an Ocean god asleep,

The bark majestic lay:

But lovelier is the varied scene,

The hill, the lake, the tree,

When bathed in light of midnight's queen,

The land! the land! for me.

When bathed in light of midnight's queen,

The land! the land! for me.

Verse 2

The glancing waves I've glided o'er

When gently blew the breeze;

But sweeter was the distant shore,

The zephyr 'mong the trees,

The murmur of the mountain rill,

The blossoms waving free,

The song of birds on every hill,

The land! the land! for me.

The song of birds on every hill,

The land! the land! for me.

Verse 3

The billows I have been among,

When they roll'd in mountains dark,

And night her blackest curtain hung

Around our heaving bark;

But give me, when the storm is fierce,

My home and fireside glee,

Where winds may howl, but dare not pierce,

The land! the land! for me!

Where winds may howl, hut dare not pierce

The land! the land! for me.

Verse 4

And when around the lightning flash'd,

I've been upon the deep,

And to the gulf beneath I've dash'd

Adown the liquid steep:

But now that I am safe on shore,

There let me ever be:

The sea let others wander o'er,

The land! the land! for me!

The sea let others wander o'er,

The land! the land! for me.

Credits

Written by James Hedderwick

Words by James Hedderwick. Historical text published in The Scottish Minstrel (Second Series) (1851); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Scottish Minstrel (Second Series) (1851), “The land, the land for me”

Every contribution in this 1851 anthology predates modern copyright terms; any contributor died more than 130 years ago, so the text is in the public domain worldwide.

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 2026-10-25. 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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