Traditional: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Bonnie Jean 1

Traditional

“Bonnie Jean 1” as printed in The Book of Scottish Song (1843).

Traditional: Collected Lyrics Text 57 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

See spring her graces wild disclose,

Birds sweetly chant on ilka spray;

'Mang broomy knowes the shepherd goes,

While sportive lambkins round him play.

Enraptured now I take my way,

While joy enlivens a' the scene;

Down by yon shaded stream I stray,

To meet an' hail my bonnie Jean.

Ye Kellburn groves, by spring attired,

Where zephyrs sport amang the flowers,

Your fairy scenes I've aft admired,

While jocund pass'd the sunny hours.

But doubly happy in your bowers,

When fragrance scents the devry e'en,

I wander whare your streamlet pours,

To meet an' hail my bonnie Jean.

Let grandeur rear her lofty dome,

Let mad ambition kingdoms spoil,

Through foreign lands let avarice roam,

An' for her prize unceasing toil;

Give me fair nature's vernal smile,

The shelter'd grove, and daisied green,

I'll happy tread my native soil,

To meet an' hail my bonnie Jean.

Credits

Written by Traditional

Traditional words. 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, “Bonnie Jean 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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