Traditional: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Love at Thirty-nine

Traditional

“Love at Thirty-nine” as printed in The Book of Scottish Song (1843).

Traditional: Collected Lyrics Text 239 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, no! I may not love thee now,

As when thou wert the witching quean

That charm'd my heart, I wot not how,

And I could sing my lovely Jean:—

I may not now so praise thy een,

And say that they the stars outshine;

The love we felt at gay eighteen

Is not like that of Thirty-nine.

Thy matron lip I may not kiss,

As when the cherry ripen'd there;

Nor say, that in thy smile is bliss,

Thy bosom more than lily fair;

Nor play me with thy tressed hair,

And round thy brow sweet roses twine;

Nor with an angel thee compare,

With fading charms at Thirty-nine.

And yet I love thee with a love

That cannot fade or pass away;

And time alone such love can prove,

As orient sunshine proves the day.

Sweet wert thou in thy maiden May!

And all its balmy blooms were mine;

When gently now these flowers decay,

Truth makes us friends at Thirty-nine.

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 at Thirty-nine”

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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