Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Bonie Ann

Robert Burns

“Bonie Ann” as printed in The Poetical Works of Robert Burns (1887).

Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics Text 123 1887 · historical text
Public domainScottish songSong lyrics
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from The Poetical Works of Robert Burns, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

Ye gallants bright, I red you right,

Beware o' bonie Ann:

Her comely face sae fu' o' grace,

Your heart she will trepan.

Her een sae bright, like stars by night,

Her skin is like the swan;

Sae jimpy lac'd her genty waist,

That sweetly ye might span.

Verse 2

Youth, grace, and love, attendant move,

And pleasure leads the van;

In a' their charms, and conquering arms,

They wait on bonie Ann.

The captive bands may chain the hands,

But love enslaves the man:

Ye gallants braw, I red you a',

Beware o' bonie Ann.

Credits

Written by Robert Burns

Words by Robert Burns. Historical text published in The Poetical Works of Robert Burns (1887); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Poetical Works of Robert Burns (1887), “Bonie Ann”

Every text in this 1887 collected edition is by Robert Burns (1759-1796), who died more than 230 years ago, so the text is in the public domain worldwide; the edition carries a Wikisource PD-old determination and a pre-1931 United States publication.

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 2026-10-25. 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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