Tobias Smollett: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Blue-eyed Anne 1

Tobias Smollett

“Blue-eyed Anne 1” as printed in The Book of Scottish Song (1843).

Tobias Smollett: Collected Lyrics Text 1 1843 · historical text
Public domainScottish songFolk
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from The Book of Scottish Song, edited by Alexander Whitelaw, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

When the rough north forgets to howl,

And ocean's billows cease to roll;

When Lybian sands are bound in frost,

And cold to Nova Zembla's lost;

When heavenly bodies cease to move,

My blue-eyed Anne I'll cease to love.

No more shall flowers the meads adorn,

Nor sweetness deck the rosy thorn,

Nor swelling buds proclaim the spring,

Nor parching heats the dog-star bring,

Nor laughing lilies paint the grove,

When blue-eyed Anne I cease to love.

No more shall joy in hope be found,

Nor pleasures dance their frolic round,

Nor love's light god inhabit earth,

Nor beauty give the passion birth,

Nor heat to summer-sunshine cleave,

When blue-eyed Nanny I deceive.

When rolling seasons cease to change,

Inconstancy forgets to range;

When lavish May no more shall bloom,

Nor gardens yield a rich perfume,

When nature from her sphere shall start,

I'll tear my Nanny from my heart.

Credits

Written by Tobias Smollett

Words by Tobias Smollett. Historical text published in The Book of Scottish Song (1843); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Book of Scottish Song (1843), edited by Alexander Whitelaw, “Blue-eyed Anne 1”

Every contribution in this 1843 anthology predates modern copyright terms by more than a century; any contributor died at least 130 years ago, so the text is in the public domain worldwide (life+70 terms expired no later than 2020).

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 2026-10-12. 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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