Traditional: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Love

Traditional

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

Traditional: Collected Lyrics Text 236 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

O say not—"Love will never

Breathe in that breast again;"

That "where he bled, must ever

All pleasureless remain."

Shall tempest-riven blossom,

When fair leaves fall away,

In coldness close its bosom

'Gainst beams of milder day

O never!—nay

It blooms—whene'er it may.

Though ruthless tempest tear—

Though biting frosts subdue—

And leave no tendril where

Love's pretty flowrets grew;

The soil, all ravag'd so,

Will nurture more and more,

And stately roses blow

Where gowans droop'd before.

Then why—O! why

Should sweet love ever die?

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, “Love”

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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