Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics
77 / 80
Public-domain lyrics

The Banks o' Doon

Robert Burns

“The Banks o' Doon” as printed in The Scottish Minstrel (First Series) (1850).

Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics Text 77 1850 · historical text
Public domainScottish songFolk
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from The Scottish Minstrel (First Series), a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

Ye banks and braes o' bonnie Doon,

How can ye bloom sae fresh and fair!

How can ye chant, ye little birds,

And I sae weary, fu' o' care!

Thou'lt break my heart, thou warbling bird,

That wantons through the flowering thorn;

Thou mind'st me o' departed joys,

Departed never to return.

Verse 2

Oft hae I roved by bonnie Doon,

To see the rose and woodbine twine;

And ilka bird sang o' its love,

And fondly sae did I o' mine.

Wi' light some heart I pu'd a rose,

Fu' sweet upon its thorny tree;

But my fause lover stole my rose,

But ah! he left the thorn wi' me.

Credits

Written by Robert Burns

Words by Robert Burns. Historical text published in The Scottish Minstrel (First Series) (1850); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Scottish Minstrel (First Series) (1850), “The Banks o' Doon”

Every contribution in this 1850 anthology predates modern copyright terms; any contributor died more than 130 years ago, so the text is in the public domain worldwide.

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 2026-10-12. 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