Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

The Torbolton Lasses ("If ye gae up to yon hill-tap")

Robert Burns

“The Torbolton Lasses ("If ye gae up to yon hill-tap")” as printed in The Poetical Works of Robert Burns (1887).

Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics Text 411 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

If ye gae up to yon hill-tap,

Ye'll there see bonie Peggy;

She kens her father is a laird,

And she forsooth's a leddy.

Verse 2

There Sophy tight, a lassie bright,

Besides a handsome fortune:

Wha canna win her in a night,

Has little art in courting.

Verse 3

Gae down by Faile, and taste the ale,

And tak a look o' Mysie;

She's dour and din, a deil within,

But aiblins she may please ye.

Verse 4

If she be shy, her sister try,

Ye'll maybe fancy Jenny,

If ye'll dispense wi' want o' sense,

She kens hersel she's bonie.

Verse 5

As ye gae up by yon hill-side,

Speer in for bonie Bessy;

She'll gi'e ye a beck, and bid ye light,

And handsomely address ye.

Verse 6

There's few sae bony, nane sae gude,

In a' King George' dominion;

If ye should doubt the truth o' this

It's Bessy's ain opinion!

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 Torbolton Lasses ("If ye gae up to yon hill-tap")”

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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