Oh! stopna, bonnie bird, that strain,
Frae hopeless love itsel' it flows;
Sweet bird, oh! warble it again,
Thou'st touch'd the string o' a' my woes;
Oh! lull me with it to repose,
I 'll dream of her who 's far away,
And fancy, as my eyelids close,
Will meet the maid of Oronsey.
Couldst thou but learn frae me my grief,
Sweet bird, thou 'dst leave thy native grove,
And fly to bring my soul relief,
To where my warmest wishes rove;
Soft as the cooings of the dove,
Thou 'dst sing thy sweetest, saddest lay,
And melt to pity and to love
The bonnie maid of Oronsey.
Well may I sigh and sairly weep,
The song sad recollections bring;
Oh! fly across the roaring deep,
And to my maiden sweetly sing;
'Twill to her faithless bosom fling
Remembrance of a sacred day;
But feeble is thy wee bit wing,
And far 's the isle of Oronsey.
Then, bonnie bird, wi' mony a tear,
I 'll mourn beside this hoary thorn,
And thou wilt find me sitting here,
Ere thou canst hail the dawn o' morn;
Then high on airy pinions borne,
Thou 'lt chant a sang o' love an' wae,
An' soothe me, weeping at the scorn,
Of the sweet maid of Oronsey.
And when around my weary head,
Soft pillow'd where my fathers lie,
Death shall eternal poppies spread,
An' close for aye my tearfu' eye;
Perch'd on some bonnie branch on high,
Thou 'lt sing thy sweetest roundelay,
And soothe my "spirit, passing by"
To meet the maid of Oronsey.
JESS M'LEAN.[38]
Her eyes were red with weeping,
Her lover was no more,
Beneath the billows sleeping,
Near Ireland's rocky shore;
She oft pray'd for her Willy,
But it was all in vain,
And pale as any lily
Grew lovely Jess M'Lean.
She sat beside some willows
That overhung the sea,
And as she view'd the billows,
She moan'd most piteously;
The storm in all its rigour
Swept the bosom of the main,
And shook the sylph-like figure
Of lovely Jess M'Lean.
Her auburn hair was waving
In ringlets on the gale,
And the tempest join'd its raving,
To the hapless maiden's wail;
Wild was the storm's commotion,
Yet careless of the scene,
Like the spirit of the ocean
Sat lovely Jess M'Lean.