Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

The Lass o' Ballochmyle

Robert Burns

“The Lass o' Ballochmyle” as printed in The Poetical Works of Robert Burns (1887).

Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics Text 396 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

'Twas even—the dewy fields were green,

On every blade the pearls hang;

The Zephyrs wanton'd round the bean,

And bore its fragrant sweets alang:

In every glen the Mavis sang,

All nature listening seem'd the while:

Except where green-wood echoes rang,

Amang the braes o' Ballochmyle.

Verse 2

With careless step I onward stray'd,

My heart rejoic'd in nature's joy,

When musing in a lonely glade,

A maiden fair I chanc'd to spy;

Her look was like the morning's eye,

Her air like nature's vernal smile,

Perfection whisper'd passing by,

Behold the lass o' Ballochmyle!

Verse 3

Fair is the morn in flowery May,

And sweet is night in Autumn mild,

When roving thro' the garden gay,

Or wandering in a lonely wild:

But Woman, Nature's darling child!

There all her charms she does compile;

Ev'n there her other works are foil'd

By the bonie lass o' Ballochmyle.

Verse 4

O, had she been a country maid,

And I the happy country swain,

Tho' shelter'd in the lowest shed

That ever rose on Scotland's plain!

Thro' weary winter's wind and rain,

With joy, with rapture, I would toil;

And nightly to my bosom strain

The bonie lass o' Ballochmyle.

Verse 5

Then pride might climb the slipp'ry steep,

Where fame and honours lofty shine;

And thirst of gold might tempt the deep,

Or downward seek the Indian mine;

Give me the cot below the pine,

To tend the flocks or till the soil,

And every day has joys divine,

With the bonie lass o' Ballochmyle.

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 Lass o' Ballochmyle”

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

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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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