LiederNet logo

CONTENTS

×
  • Home | Introduction
  • Composers (20,284)
  • Text Authors (19,813)
  • Go to a Random Text
  • What’s New
  • A Small Tour
  • FAQ & Links
  • Donors
  • DONATE

UTILITIES

  • Search Everything
  • Search by Surname
  • Search by Title or First Line
  • Search by Year
  • Search by Collection

CREDITS

  • Emily Ezust
  • Contributors (1,116)
  • Contact Information
  • Bibliography

  • Copyright Statement
  • Privacy Policy

Follow us on Facebook

Three Amorous Airs

Song Cycle by John Linton Gardner (1917 - 2011)

1. Waly waly  [sung text not yet checked]

Language: English 
O waly waly, up the bank,
And waly waly, down the brae,
And waly by yon burnside,
Where I and my Love wont to gae.
I leant my back unto an aik,
I thought it was a trusty tree,
But first it bow'd and syne it brake,
And sae did my true Love to me.

O waly waly love is bonny,
A little time while it is new;
But when it's auld, it waxeth cauld,
And fades awa' like morning dew.
O wherefore should I busk my head?
O wherefore should I kame my hair?
For my true Love has me forsook,
And says he'll never lo'e me mair.

Now Arthur-seat shall be my bed,
The sheets shall ne'er be warm'd by me;
Saint Anton's well shall be my drink,
Since my true Love's forsaken me.
O Mart'mas wind! when wilt thou blaw,
And shake the green leaves aff the tree?
0 gentle Death! when wilt thou come,
And tak' a life that wearies me?

Text Authorship:

  • from Volkslieder (Folksongs)

See other settings of this text.

waly = an interjection of distress
aik = oak tree
syne = then
busk = dress, attire one's self
Arthur-seat= volcanic hill in Edinburgh

Researcher for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]

2. The German flute

Language: English 
— This text is not currently
in the database but will be added
as soon as we obtain it. —

Text Authorship:

  • by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

Go to the general single-text view

3. The Ballad of Nancy Dee

Language: English 
— This text is not currently
in the database but will be added
as soon as we obtain it. —

Text Authorship:

  • by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

Go to the general single-text view

Total word count: 165
Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

Donate

We use cookies for internal analytics and to earn much-needed advertising revenue. (Did you know you can help support us by turning off ad-blockers?) To learn more, see our Privacy Policy. To learn how to opt out of cookies, please visit this site.

I acknowledge the use of cookies

Contact
Copyright
Privacy

Copyright © 2025 The LiederNet Archive

Site redesign by Shawn Thuris