The Book of Scottish Song/Whistle o'er the lave o't

Whistle o’er the lave o’t.

[The popular tune called "Whistle o'er the lave o't" was composed about 1720, by John Bruce, a musician belonging to Dumfries. The old words are unfit for publication. The following was written by Burns for Johnson's Museum.]

First when Maggie was my care,
Heaven, I thought, was in her air;
Now we're married—speir nae mair;
⁠But whistle o'er the lave o't.
Meg was meek and Meg was mild,
Sweet and harmless as a child;
Wiser men than me's beguiled;
⁠Sae, whistle o'er the lave o't.

How we live, my Meg and me,
How we love, and how we gree,
I carena by how few may see;
⁠Sae, whistle o'er the lave o't.
Wha I wish were maggots' meat,
Dished up in her winding-sheet,
I could write—but Meg maun see't;
⁠Sae, whistle o'er the lave o't.

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