Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

The Collier Laddie

Robert Burns

“The Collier Laddie” as printed in The Poetical Works of Robert Burns (1887).

Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics Text 368 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 whare live ye my bonie lass,

And tell me how they ca' ye?

My name, she says, is Mistress Jean,

And I follow my Collier laddie.

Verse 2

O see ye not yon hills and dales

The sun shines on sae brawly:

They a' are mine, and they shall be thine,

If ye'll leave your Collier laddie.

Verse 3

And ye shall gang in rich attire,

Weel buskit up fu' gaudy;

And ane to wait at every hand,

If ye'll leave your Collier laddie.

Verse 4

Tho' ye had a' the sun shines on,

And the earth conceals sae lowly;

I would turn my back on you and it a',

And embrace my Collier laddie.

Verse 5

I can win my five pennies in a day,

And spend it at night fu' brawlie;

I can mak my bed in the Collier's neuk,

And lie down wi' my Collier laddie.

Verse 6

Loove for loove is the bargain for me,

Tho' the wee cot-house should haud me;

And the warld before me to win my bread,

And fare fa' my Collier laddie.

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), “The Collier Laddie”

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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