When the Kye come Hame
Come, all ye jolly shepherds,
That whistle through the glen!
I’ll tell ye o’ a secret
That courtiers dinna ken:
What is the greatest bliss
That the tongue o’ man can name?
’Tis to woo a bonnie lassie
When the kye come hame.
When the kye come hame,
When the kye come hame,—
‘Tween the gloamin’ an’ the mirk,
When the kye come hame.
’Tis not beneath the burgonet,
Nor yet beneath the crown;
’Tis not on couch o’ velvet,
Nor yet in bed o’ down:
’Tis beneath the spreading birk,
In the glen without the name,
Wi’ a bonnie bonnie lassie,
When the kye come hame.
There the blackbird bigs his nest
For the mate he lo’es to see,
And on the tapmost bough
O, a happy bird is he!
There he pours his melting ditty,
And love is a’ the theme;
And he’ll woo his bonnie lassie,
When the kye come hame.
When the blewart bears a pearl,
And the daisy turns a pea,
And the bonnie lucken gowan
Has fauldit up his ee,
Then the laverock, frae the blue lift,
Draps down and thinks nae shame
To woo his bonnie lassie,
When the kye come 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 bonnie lassie
When the kye come hame.
When the little wee bit heart
Rises high in the breast,
And the little wee bit starn
Rises red in the east,
O, there’s a joy sae dear
That the heart can hardly frame!
Wi’ a bonnie bonnie lassie,
When the kye come 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 perils an’ its fame,
And miss his bonnie lassie,
When the kye come hame?
James Hogg.