Traditional: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Jocky met wi' Jenny

Traditional

“Jocky met wi' Jenny” as printed in The Book of Scottish Song (1843).

Traditional: Collected Lyrics Text 207 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

Jocky met with Jenny fair,

Aft by the dawning of the day;

But Jocky now is full of care,

Since Jenny staw his heart away.

Although she promised to be true,

She proven has, alake! unkind;

Which gars poor Jocky often rue,

That e'er he loved a fickle mind.

And it's over the hills and far away,

Over the hills and far away,

Over the hills and far away,

The wind has blawn my plaid away.

Now Jocky was a bonnie lad

As e'er was born in Scotland fair;

But now, poor man! he's e'en gane wud,

Since Jenny has gart him despair.

Young Jocky was a piper's son,

And fell in love when he was young;

But a' the springs that he could play,

Was o'er the hills, and far away.

And it's o'er the hills, &c.

He sung—When first my Jenny's face

I saw, she seem'd sae fu' of grace,

With meikle joy my heart was fill'd,

That's now, alas! with sorrow kill'd.

Oh! was she but as true as fair,

'Twad put an end to my despair;

Instead of that she is unkind,

And wavers like the winter wind.

And it's o'er the hills, &c.

Ah! could she find the dismal wae,

That for her sake I undergae,

She could nae choose but grant relief,

And put an end to a' my grief,

But, oh! she is as fause as fair,

Which causes a' my sighs and care;

But she triumphs in proud disdain,

And takes a pleasure in my pain.

And it's o'er the hills, &c.

Hard was my hap to fa' in love

With ane that does sae faithless prove;

Hard was my fate to court a maid,

That has my constant heart betray'd.

A thousand times to me she swore,

She wad be true for evermore;

But, to my grief, alake! I say,

She staw my heart and ran away.

And it's o'er the hills, &c.

Since that she will nae pity take,

I maun gae wander for her sake,

And, in ilk wood and gloomy grove,

I'll sighing sing, adieu to love!

Since she is fause whom I adore,

I'll never trust a woman more;

Frae a' their charms I'll flee away,

And on my pipe I'll sweetly play.

And it's o'er the hills, &c.

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, “Jocky met wi' Jenny”

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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