Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics
199 / 519
Public-domain lyrics

I see a Form, I see a Face

Robert Burns

“I see a Form, I see a Face” as printed in The Poetical Works of Robert Burns (1887).

Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics Text 199 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

O this is no my ain lassie,

Fair tho' the lassie be;

O weel ken I my ain lassie,

Kind love is in her ee.

Verse 2

I see a form, I see a face,

Ye weel may wi' the fairest place:

It wants, to me, the witching grace,

The kind love that's in her ee.

O this is no, &c.

Verse 3

She's bonie, blooming, straight, and tall,

And lang has had my heart in thrall;

And aye it charms my very saul,

The kind love that's in her ee.

O this is no, &c.

Verse 4

A thief sae pawkie is my Jean,

To steal a blink, by a' unseen;

But gleg as light are lovers' een,

When kind love is in the ee.

O this is no, &c.

Verse 5

It may escape the courtly sparks,

It may escape the learned clerks;

But weel the watching lover marks

The kind love that's in her ee.

O this is no, &c.

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), “I see a Form, I see a Face”

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.
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