Robert Allan: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

A lassie cam' to our gate

Robert Allan

“A lassie cam' to our gate” as printed in The Book of Scottish Song (1843).

Robert Allan: 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

A lassie cam' to our gate, yestreen,

An' low she curtsied down;

She was lovelier far an' fairer to see

Than a' our ladies roun'.

O whare do ye wend, my sweet winsome doo?

An' whare may your dwelling be?

But her heart, I trow, was liken to break,

An' the tear-drap dim'd her e'e.

I ha'ena a hame, quo' the bonnie lassie—

I ha'ena a hame nor ha',

Fain here wad I rest my weary feet,

For the night begins to fa'.

I took her into our tapestry ha',

An' we drank the ruddy wine:

An' aye I strave, but fand my heart

Fast bound wi' love's silken twine.

I ween'd she might be the fairies' queen,

She was sae jimp and sma';

And the tear that dim'd her bonnie blue e'e

Fell owre twa heaps o' snaw.

O whare do ye wend, my sweet winsome doo?

An' whare may your dwelling be?

Can the winter's rain an' the winter's wind

Blaw cauld on sic as ye?

I ha'ena a hame, quo' the bonnie lassie—

I ha'ena a ha' nor hame;

My father was ane o' "Charlie's" men,

An' him I daurna name.

Whate'er be your kith, whate'er be your kin,

Frae this ye mauna gae;

An' gin ye'll consent to be my ain,

Nae marrow ye shall ha'e.

Sweet maiden, tak' the siller cup,

Sae fu' o' the damask wine,

An' press it to your cherrie lip,

For ye shall aye be mine.

An' drink, sweet doo, young Charlie's health,

An' a' your kin sae dear,

Culloden has dim'd mony an e'e

Wi' mony a saut, saut tear.

Credits

Written by Robert Allan

Words by Robert Allan. 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, “A lassie cam' to our gate”

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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