Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Open the Door to me, Oh!

Robert Burns

“Open the Door to me, Oh!” as printed in The Poetical Works of Robert Burns (1887).

Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics Text 293 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

Oh, open the door, some pity to shew,

Oh, open the door to me, Oh!

Tho' thou hast been false, I'll ever prove true,

Oh, open the door to me, Oh!

Verse 2

Cauld is the blast upon my pale cheek,

But caulder thy love for me, Oh!

The frost that freezes the life at my heart,

Is nought to my pains frae thee, Oh!

Verse 3

The wan moon is setting behind the white wave,

And time is setting with me, Oh!

False friends, false love, farewell! for mair

I'll ne'er trouble them, nor thee, Oh!

Verse 4

She has open'd the door, she has open'd it wide;

She sees his pale corse on the plain, Oh!

My true love, she cried, and sank down by his side,

Never to rise again, Oh!

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), “Open the Door to me, Oh!”

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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