Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

O wha is she that lo'es me

Robert Burns

“O wha is she that lo'es me” as printed in The Poetical Works of Robert Burns (1887).

Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics Text 271 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 wha is she that lo'es me,

And has my heart a-keeping?

O sweet is she that lo'es me,

As dews o' simmer weeping,

In tears the rose-buds steeping.

Verse 2

Chorus.

O that's the lassie o' my heart,

My lassie ever dearer;

O that's the queen o' womankind,

And ne'er a ane to peer her.

Verse 3

If thou shalt meet a lassie,

In grace and beauty charming,

That e'en thy chosen lassie,

Erewhile thy breast sae warming,

Had ne'er sic powers alarming;

O that's, &c.

Verse 4

If thou hadst heard her talking,

And thy attentions plighted,

That ilka body talking,

But her by thee is slighted,

And thou art all delighted;

O that's, &c.

Verse 5

If thou hast met this fair one;

When frae her thou hast parted,

If every other fair one,

But her, thou hast deserted,

And thou art broken-hearted;

O that's, &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), “O wha is she that lo'es me”

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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