When the Kye Comes Hame
James Hogg
Come all ye jolly shepherds
That whistle through the glen,
I’ll tell ye of a secret
That courtiers dinna ken;
What is the greatest bliss
That the tongue o’ man can name?
’Tis to woo a bonny lassie
When the kye comes hame.
When the kye comes hame,
When the kye comes hame,
‘Tween the gloamin’ and the mirk,
When the kye comes hame.
’Tis not beneath the coronet,
Nor canopy of state,
’Tis not on couch of velvet,
Nor arbour of the great—
’Tis beneath the spreading birk,
In the glen without the name,
Wi’ a bonny, bonny lassie,
When the kye comes hame.
See yonder pawky shepherd
That lingers on the hill—
His yowes are in the fauld,
And his lambs are lying still;
Yet he downa gang to bed,
For his heart is in a flame
To meet his bonny lassie
When the kye comes hame.
When the little wee bit heart
Rises high in the breast,
And the little wee bit stars
Rise bright in the east,
O there’s a joy sae dear,
That the heart can hardly frame,
Wi’ a bonny, bonny lassie,
When the kye comes hame.
Then since all nature joins
In this love without alloy,
O’ wha wad prove a traitor
To nature’s dearest joy?
Or wha wad choose a crown,
Wi’ its pearls and its fame,
And miss his bonny lassie
When the kye comes hame?
When the kye comes hame,
When the kye comes hame,
‘Tween the gloamin’ and the mirk,
When the kye comes hame.