| |
| OH, the auld house, the auld house,— | |
| What though the rooms were wee? | |
| Oh! kind hearts were dwelling there, | |
| And bairnies fu’ o’ glee; | |
| The wild rose and the jessamine | 5 |
| Still hang upon the wa’: | |
| How mony cherished memories | |
| Do they, sweet flowers, reca’! | |
| |
| Oh, the auld laird, the auld laird, | |
| Sae canty, kind, and crouse,— | 10 |
| How mony did he welcome to | |
| His ain wee dear auld house; | |
| And the leddy too, sae genty, | |
| There sheltered Scotland’s heir, | |
| And clipt a lock wi’ her ain hand, | 15 |
| Frae his lang yellow hair. | |
| |
| The mavis still doth sweetly sing, | |
| The bluebells sweetly blaw, | |
| The bonny Earn ’s clear winding still, | |
| But the auld house is awa’. | 20 |
| The auld house, the auld house,— | |
| Deserted though ye be, | |
| There ne’er can be a new house | |
| Will seem sae fair to me. | |
| |
| Still flourishing the auld pear-tree | 25 |
| The bairnies liked to see; | |
| And oh, how aften did they speir | |
| When ripe they a’ wad be! | |
| The voices sweet, the wee bit feet | |
| Aye rinnin’ here and there, | 30 |
| The merry shout—oh! whiles we greet | |
| To think we ’ll hear nae mair. | |
| |
| For they are a’ wide scattered now: | |
| Some to the Indies gane, | |
| And ane, alas! to her lang hame: | 35 |
| Not here we ’ll meet again. | |
| The kirkyaird, the kirkyaird! | |
| Wi’ flowers o’ every hue, | |
| Sheltered by the holly’s shade | |
| An’ the dark sombre yew. | 40 |
| |
| The setting sun, the setting sun! | |
| How glorious it gaed doon; | |
| The cloudy splendor raised our hearts | |
| To cloudless skies aboon. | |
| The auld dial, the auld dial! | 45 |
| It tauld how time did pass: | |
| The wintry winds hae dung it doon, | |
| Now hid ’mang weeds and grass. | |
| |
