Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Whistle o'er the lave o't

Robert Burns

“Whistle o'er the lave o't” as printed in The Scottish Minstrel (Second Series) (1851).

Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics Text 519 1851 · historical text
Public domainScottish songFolk
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from The Scottish Minstrel (Second Series), a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

First when Maggy was my care,

Heaven I thought was in her air,

Now we're married, speer nae mair,

But whistle o'er the lave o't.

Meg was meek and Meg was mild,

Sweet and harmless as a child,

Wiser men than me's beguil'd;

Sae whistle o'er the lave o't.

Verse 2

How we live, my Meg and me,

How we love, and how we gree,

I carena by how few may see;

Sae whistle o'er the lave o't.

Wha I wish were maggots' meat,

Dish'd up in her winding-sheet,

I could write—but Meg wad see't,

Sae whistle o'er the lave o't.

Credits

Written by Robert Burns

Words by Robert Burns. Historical text published in The Scottish Minstrel (Second Series) (1851); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Scottish Minstrel (Second Series) (1851), “Whistle o'er the lave o't”

Every contribution in this 1851 anthology predates modern copyright terms; any contributor died more than 130 years ago, so the text is in the public domain worldwide.

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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