Traditional Songs of Scotland

Bonny Mary of Argyle

I have heard the mavis singing,
His love song to the morn,
I have seen the dew-drop clinging
To the rose just newly born;
But a sweeter song has cheer'd me
At the ev'ning's gentle close,
And I've seen an eye still brighter
Than the dew-drop on the rose.
'Twas thy voice, my gentle Mary
And thine artless winning smile,
That made this world an Eden,
Bonnie Mary of Argyle

Tho' thy voice may lose its sweetness
And thine eye its brightness too;
Tho' thy step may lack its fleetness
And thy hair its sunny hue;
Still to me wilt thou be dearer
Than all the world shall own--
I have loved thee for thy beauty,
But not for that alone.
I have watch'd thy heart, dear Mary,
And its goodness was the wile
That has made thee mine for ever,
Bonnie Mary of Argyle