Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

The Lover's Morning Salute to his Mistress

Robert Burns

“The Lover's Morning Salute to his Mistress” as printed in The Poetical Works of Robert Burns (1887).

Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics Text 401 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

Sleep'st thou, or wak'st thou, fairest creature?

Rosy morn now lifts his eye,

Numbering ilka bud which Nature

Waters wi' the tears o' joy:

Now thro' the leafy woods,

And by the reeking floods,

Wild Nature's tenants freely, gladly stray;

The lintwhite in his bower

Chants o'er the breathing flower;

The lav'rock to the sky

Ascends wi' sangs o' joy,

While the sun and thou arise to bless the day.

Verse 2

Phœbus, gilding the brow o' morning,

Banishes ilk darksome shade,

Nature gladdening and adorning;

Such to me my lovely maid.

When absent frae my fair,

The murky shades o' care

With starless gloom o'ercast my sullen sky:

But when, in beauty's light,

She meets my ravish'd sight,

When thro' my very heart

Her beaming glories dart—

'Tis then I wake to life, to light, and joy.

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 Lover's Morning Salute to his Mistress”

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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