Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Bess and her Wheel

Robert Burns

“Bess and her Wheel” as printed in The Book of Scottish Song (1843).

Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics Text 16 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

O Leeze me on my spinning-wheel!

O leeze me on my rock and reel!

Frae tap to tae that deeds me bien,

And haps me feil and warm at e'en!

I'll set me doun, and sing, and spin,

While laigh descends the simmer sun;

Blest wi' content, and milk, and meal—

O leeze me on my spinning-wheel!

On ilka hand the burnies trot,

And meet below my theekit cot;

The scented birk and hawthorn white

Across the pool their arms unite,

Alike to screen the birdie's nest,

And little fishes' caller rest;

The sun blinks kindly in the biel,

Where blythe I turn my spinning-wheel.

On lofty aiks the cushats wail,

And echo cons the doolfu' tale;

The lintwhite in the hazel braes,

Delighted, rival ither's lays:

The craik among the clover hay,

The paitrick whirring ower the lea,

The swallow jinkin' round my shiel:

Amuse me at my spinning-wheel.

Wi' sma' to sell, and less to buy,

Aboon distress, below envy,

O wha wad leave this humble state,

For a' the pride of a' the great?

Amid the flaring idle toys,

Amid their cumbrous, dinsome joys,

Can they the peace and pleasure feel

Of Bessy at her spinning-wheel?

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, “Bess and her Wheel”

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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