Six Popular Songs (4)/Waes me for Prince Charlie
WAES ME FOR PRINCE CHARLIE.
A wee bird cam' to our ha' door,He warbled sweet and clearly,And aye the o'ercome o' his sangWas, 'Waes me for Prince Charlie.' Oh, when I heard the bonnie bonnie bird, The tears cam' drappin' rarely,I took the bonnet aff my head, For weel I lo'ed Prince Charlie.
Quo' I, my bird, my bonnie bonnie bird, Is that a tale ye borrow,Or is't some words ye've learnt by rote, Or a lilt o' dool and sorrow?Oh no, no, no, the wee bird sang, I've flown sin' morning early;But sic a day of wind and rain— Oh waes me for Prince Charlie.
On hills that are by right his ain, He roams, a lonely stranger:On every side he's press'd by want— On every side by danger.Yestreen I met him in a glen, My heart maist bursted fairly,For sadly chang'd indeed was he, Oh waes me for Prince Charlie.
Dark night cam' on, the tempest howl'd, Out o'er thy hills and valleys;And whare was't that your Prince lay down, Whase hame should been a palace?He row'd him in his Highland plaid, Which cover'd him but sparely,An' slept beneath a bush o' broom— Oh waes me for Prince Charlie.