John Imlah: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

There lives a young Lassie

John Imlah

“There lives a young Lassie” as printed in The Scottish Minstrel (First Series) (1850).

John Imlah: Collected Lyrics Text 3 1850 · historical text
Public domainScottish songFolk
Complete public-domain lyrics

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

Verse 1

There lives a young lassie, far doon in yon glen,

And I lo'e that lassie, as nao ane may ken!

O! a saint's faith may vary, but faithfu' I'll be,

For weel I lo'e Mary, and Mary lo'es me.

Red, red as the rowan, her smiling wee mou';

And white as the gowan, her breast and her brow!

Wi' the foot of a fairy, she links o'er the lea

O! weel I lo'e Mary, and Marry lo'es me.

There lives a young lassie, &c.

Verse 2

She sings sweet as ony wee bird o' the air,

She's blythe as she's bonnie, she's gude as she's fair;

Like a lammie, as airy and artless is she;

O! weel I lo'e Mary, and Mary lo'es me.

There lives a young lassie, &c.

Credits

Written by John Imlah

Words by John Imlah. Historical text published in The Scottish Minstrel (First Series) (1850); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Scottish Minstrel (First Series) (1850), “There lives a young Lassie”

Every contribution in this 1850 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 2026-10-12. 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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