Robin Adair (Glasgow)/When the kye comes hame

When The Kye Come Hame.

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 bonnie lassie when the kye come hame.

CHORUS.

When the kye come hame, when the kye come home,
'Tween the gloamin and the mirk, when the kye come hame

Tis not beneath the burgonet, nor yet beneath the crown,
Tis not on couch of velvet, nor yet in bed of down—
'Tis beneath the spreading birch, in the dell without a name
Wi' a bonnie, bonnie lassie, when the kye come hame.

Then the eye shines so bright the hale soul to beguile,
There's love in every whisper and joy in every smile;
O, wha would choose a crown wi' its perils and its fame,
And miss a bonnie lassie, when the kye come hame.

See yonder pawkie shepherd, that lingers on the hill,
His ewes 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.

Awa wi' fame and fortune—what comfort can they gi'e?—
And a' the arts that prey upon man's life and liberty
Gi'e me the highest joy that the heart o' man can frame,—
My bonnie bonnie lassle when the kye come hame!

 

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