Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

There was a Lass ("There was a lass, they ca'd her Meg")

Robert Burns

“There was a Lass ("There was a lass, they ca'd her Meg")” as printed in The Poetical Works of Robert Burns (1887).

Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics Text 442 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

There was a lass, they ca'd her Meg,

And she held o'er the moors to spin;

There was a lad that follow'd her,

They ca'd him Duncan Davison.

The moor was driegh, and Meg was skiegh,

Her favour Duncan could na win;

For wi' the rock she wad him knock,

And ay she shook the temper-pin.

Verse 2

As o'er the moor they lightly foor,

A burn was clear, a glen was green,

Upon the banks they eased their shanks,

And ay she set the wheel between:

But Duncan swore a haly aith,

That Meg should be a bride the morn;

Then Meg took up her spinnin' graith,

And flung them a' out o'er the burn.

Verse 3

We'll big a house—a wee, wee house,

And we will live like King and Queen,

Sae blythe and merry we will be

When ye set by the wheel at e'en.

A man may drink and no be drunk;

A man may fight and no be slain;

A man may kiss a bonie lass,

And ay be welcome back again.

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), “There was a Lass ("There was a lass, they ca'd her Meg")”

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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