Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Banks o' Doon 2

Robert Burns

“Banks o' Doon 2” as printed in The Book of Scottish Song (1843).

Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics Text 12 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

Ye banks and braes o' bonnie Doon,

How can ye bloom sae fresh and fair!

How can ye chant, ye little birds,

And I sae weary, fu' o' care!

Thou'lt break my heart, thou warbling bird,

That wantons through the flowering thorn;

Thou minds me o' departed joys,

Departed never to return.

Oft ha'e I roved by bonnie Doon,

To see the rose and woodbine twine;

And ilka bird sang o' its love,

And fondly sae did I o' mine.

Wi' lightsome heart I pu'd a rose,

Fu' sweet upon its thorny tree;

But my fause lover stole my rose,

And ah! he left the thorn wi' me.

Credits

Written by Robert Burns

Words by Robert Burns. 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, “Banks o' Doon 2”

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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