Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Where are the joys

Robert Burns

“Where are the joys” as printed in The Poetical Works of Robert Burns (1887).

Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics Text 499 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

Where are the joys I have met in the morning,

That danc'd to the lark's early sang?

Where is the peace that awaited my wand'ring,

At evening the wild woods amang?

Verse 2

No more a-winding the course of yon river,

And marking sweet flow'rets so fair:

No more I trace the light footsteps of pleasure,

But sorrow and sad sighing care.

Verse 3

Is it that summer's forsaken our valleys,

And grim, surly winter is near?

No, no, the bees humming round the gay roses,

Proclaim it the pride of the year.

Verse 4

Fain would I hide what I fear to discover

Yet long, long too well have I known:

All that has caus'd this wreck in my bosom,

Is Jenny, fair Jenny alone.

Verse 5

Time cannot aid me, my griefs are immortal,

Nor hope dare a comfort bestow:

Come, then, enamour'd and fond of my anguish,

Enjoyment I'll seek in my woe.

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), “Where are the joys”

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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