Traditional: Collected Lyrics
65 / 291
Public-domain lyrics

Bring a' your maut

Traditional

“Bring a' your maut” as printed in The Book of Scottish Song (1843).

Traditional: Collected Lyrics Text 65 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

Bring a' your maut to me,

Bring a' your maut to me;

My draff ye'se get for ae pund ane,

Though a' my deukies should dee.

Some say that kissing 's a sin,

But I think it's nane ava,

For kissing has wonn'd in this warld,

Since ever that there was twa.

O, if it wasna lawfu',

Lawyers wadna allow it;

If it was na holy,

Ministers wadna do it.

If it wasna modest,

Maidens wadna tak' it;

If it wasna plenty,

Puir folk wadna get it!

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, “Bring a' your maut”

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.
Keep tracing

More from Traditional: Collected Lyrics.

01A good old SongPublic-domain lyrics02I canna be fashedPublic-domain lyrics03It's weel it's nae waurPublic-domain lyrics04'Twas na her bonnie blue e'ePublic-domain lyrics