Robert Allan: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Caledonia 1

Robert Allan

“Caledonia 1” as printed in The Book of Scottish Song (1843).

Robert Allan: Collected Lyrics Text 4 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

The simmer sweetly smiles in Caledonia,

The simmer sweetly smiles in Caledonia,

Whare the scented hawthorns blaw,

White as the drifted snaw,

'Mang the bonnie woods and wilds o' Caledonia.

There's motintain, hill, and dale, in Caledonia,

There's mountain, hill, and dale, in Caledonia,

There's mountain, hill, and dale,

Where lovers tell their tale,

By the bonnie siller streams o' Caledonia.

The twilight hour is sweet in Caledonia,

The twilight hour is sweet in Caledonia,

The twilight hour is sweet,

When fa's the dewy weet,

On the bonnie banks and braes o' Caledonia.

The glens are wild and steep in Caledonia,

The glens are wild and steep in Caledonia,

The glens are wild and steep,

And the ocean's wide and deep,

That encircles thee, my native Caledonia.

There's a bonnie, bonnie lass in Caledonia,

There's a bonnie, bonnie lass in Caledonia,

Ilka airt the wind can blaw,

She's fairest o' them a',

An' the dearest ane to me in Caledonia.

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, “Caledonia 1”

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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