The lad wha lilts sae sweetly

Say lads and lasses ha' ye seen
Adown the burn or on the green
The lad, ah lang sin syne's the day,
Wha stole my careless heart away.
O dear, he is the bra'est lad,
But take him a'together, 
His jacket's made o' silken plaid,
His bonnet grac'd wi feather.
Foumanfu is his mien I trow,
He dances too so neatly.
They ca' him bony Donald O,
The lad wha lilts sae sweetly.

I vowed I ne'er consent to wed
For ilka man was fals, they said,
But Donald faith I ken not how
Has gar'd me break the silly vow.
O dear, he is the bra'est lad, etc.

He's gane the wedding ring to buy
That we to kirk this day may hie,
For mither says, and father too,
That I man ha' the lad I loo.
O dear, he is the bra'est lad, etc.

Ye lasses, never vow like me
Your hands at kirk ye'll never gi',
Lest chance the silly vow you mak,
Some lad like mine may gar ye brak.
O dear, he is the bra'est lad, etc.

by Charles Dibdin (1745-1814)

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

by James Hook (1746-1827) , "The lad wha lilts sae sweetly"

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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