Richard Ryan: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

The Lass wi' the bonnie blue een

Richard Ryan

“The Lass wi' the bonnie blue een” as printed in The Scottish Minstrel (First Series) (1850).

Richard Ryan: Collected Lyrics Text 1 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

Oh! saw ye the lass wi' the bonnie blue een?

Her smile is the sweetest that ever was seen;

Her cheek like the rose is, but fresher I ween,—

She's the loveliest lassie that trips on the green.

The home of my love is below in the valley,

Where wild flowers welcome the wandering bee,

But the sweetest of flowers in that spot that is seen

Is the maid that I love wi' the bonnie blue een.

Oh, saw ye the lass? &c.

Verse 2

When night overshadows her cot in the glen,

She'll steal out to meet her lov'd Donald again;

And when the moon shines on the valley so green,

I'll welcome the lass wi' the bonnie blue een.

As the dove that has wandered away from his nest,

Returns to the mate his fond heart loves the best,

I'll fly from the world's false and vanishing scene,

To my dear one, the lass wi' the bonnie blue een.

Oh, saw ye the lass? &c.

Credits

Written by Richard Ryan

Words by Richard Ryan. 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), “The Lass wi' the bonnie blue een”

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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