Traditional: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Honest men

Traditional

“Honest men” as printed in The Book of Scottish Song (1843).

Traditional: Collected Lyrics Text 163 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

How green the fields, the flowers so fair,

How bright the sun, that o'er us passes,

How useless these if that there were

Nae honest men, nor bonnie lassies.

Honest men and bonnie lasses,

Honest men and bonnie lasses,

Lang may live and happy be,

A' honest men and bonnie lasses.

God's noblest work's an honest man,

A bonnie lass by far's the fairest,

Of all that's fair in nature's plan,

And e'er to man will be the dearest.

Honest men, &e.

How happy, and how blest the man,

His days or nights can ne'er be dreary,

Who calls an honest man his friend,

And has a bonnie lass for's deary.

Honest men and bonnie lasses,

Honest men and bonnie lasses,

A' they wish and a' they want,

To honest men and bonnie lasees.

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, “Honest men”

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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