Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

On seeing a Wounded Hare limp by me

Robert Burns

“On seeing a Wounded Hare limp by me” as printed in The Poetical Works of Robert Burns (1887).

Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics Text 283 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

Inhuman man! curse on thy barb'rous art,

And blasted be thy murder-aiming eye;

May never pity soothe thee with a sigh,

Nor ever pleasure glad thy cruel heart!

Verse 2

Go, live, poor wanderer of the wood and field,

The bitter little that of life remains;

No more the thickening brakes and verdant plains

To thee shall home, or food, or pastime yield.

Verse 3

Seek, mangled wretch, some place of wonted rest,

No more of rest, but now thy dying bed!

The sheltering rushes whistling o'er thy head,

The cold earth with thy bloody bosom prest.

Verse 4

Oft as by winding Nith, I, musing, wait

The sober eve, or hail the cheerful dawn,

I'll miss thee sporting o'er the dewy lawn,

And curse the ruffian's aim, and mourn thy hapless fate.

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), “On seeing a Wounded Hare limp by 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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