Traditional: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

My Heather Land

Traditional

“My Heather Land” as printed in The Book of Scottish Song (1843).

Traditional: Collected Lyrics Text 270 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

My heather land, my heather land!

My dearest prayer be thine,

Although upon thy hapless heath

There breathes nae friend of mine.

The lanely few that heaven has spared,

Fend on a foreign strand;

And I maun wait to weep wi' thee,

My hameless heather land.

My heather land, my heather land!

Though fairer lands there be—

Thy gowanie braes in early days

Were gowden ways to me.

Maun life's poor boon gae dark'ning doun,

Nor die whaur it had dawn'd,

But claught a grave ayont the wave,—

Alas, my heather land!

My heather land, my heather land!

Though chilling winter pours

Her freezing breath round fireless hearth,

Whaur breadless misery cowers!

Yet breaks the light that soon shall blight

The godless reivin' hand—

Whaun wither'd tyranny shall reel

Frae our roused heather land.

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, “My Heather Land”

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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