Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics
19 / 80
Public-domain lyrics

Blythe was she

Robert Burns

“Blythe was she” as printed in The Book of Scottish Song (1843).

Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics Text 19 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

Blythe, blythe and merry was she,

Blythe was she but and ben,

Blythe by the banks of Earn,

And blythe in Glenturit glen.

By Ochtertyre there grows the aik

On Yarrow braes the birken shaw,

But Phemie was a bonnier lass

Than braes o' Yarrow ever saw.

Her looks were like a flower in May,

Her smile was like a simmer morn;

She tripped by the banks o' Earn,

As light's a bird upon a thorn.

Her bonnie face it was as meek,

As onie lamb upon a lee;

The evening sun was ne'er sae sweet

As was the blink o' Phemie's e'e.

The Highland hills I've wander'd wide,

And o'er the Lawlands I ha'e been;

But Phemie was the blythest lass,

That ever trod the dewy green.

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, “Blythe was she”

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.
Keep tracing

More from Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics.

01A Rose-budPublic-domain lyrics02A red, red RosePublic-domain lyrics03Address to a LadyPublic-domain lyrics04AdieuPublic-domain lyrics