The Black-bird/The Simmer Gloamin'
For other versions of this work, see "The Midges Dance Aboon the Burn".
The Simmer Gloamin'.
A Scottish Song.
By Robert Tannahill.
Tune—“Alex. Donn’s Strathspey.”
The midges dance aboon the burn, The dew begins to fa’,The pairtricks down the rushy howm, Set up their e’ening ca’;Now loud and clear the blackbird’s sang Rings through the briery shaw,While fleeting gay, the swallows playAround the castle-wa’.
Beneath the gowden gloamin sky The mavis mends his lay,The redbreast pours its, sweetest strains, To charm the lingering day:While weary yeldrins seem to wail Their little nestlings torn,The merry wren, frae den to den, Gaes jinkin’ through the thorn.
The roses fauld their silken leaves, The foxglove shuts its bell,The honey-suckle and the birk Spread fragrance through the dell:Let others crowd the giddy court Of mirth and revelry,The simple joys that nature yield, Are dearer far to me.