Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

The gowden Locks of Anna

Robert Burns

“The gowden Locks of Anna” as printed in The Poetical Works of Robert Burns (1887).

Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics Text 428 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

Yestreen I had a pint o' wine,

A place where body saw na';

Yestreen lay on this breast o' mine

The gowden locks of Anna.

The hungry Jew in wilderness

Rejoicing o'er his manna,

Was naething to my hinny bliss

Upon the lips of Anna.

Verse 2

Ye monarchs, tak the east and west,

Frae Indus to Savannah !

Gie me within my straining grasp

The melting form of Anna.

There I'll despise imperial charms,

An Empress or Sultana,

While dying raptures in her arms,

I give and take with Anna!

Verse 3

Awa, thou flaunting god o' day!

Awa, thou pale Diana!

Ilk star gae hide thy twinkling ray

When I'm to meet my Anna.

Come, in thy raven plumage, night,

Sun, moon, and stars withdrawn a';

And bring an angel pen to write

My transports wi' my Anna!

Verse 4

POSTSCRIPT.

The kirk and state may join, and tell

To do such things I mauna:

The kirk and state may gae to hell,

And I'll gae to my Anna.

She is the sunshine o' my ee,

To live but her I canna;

Had I on earth but wishes three,

The first should be my Anna.

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 gowden Locks of Anna”

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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