Bonnie Bessie Lee had a face fu' o' smiles,
And mirth round her ripe lip was aye dancing slee;
And light was the footfa', and winsome the wiles,
O' the flower o' the parochin -- our ain Bessie Lee.

Wi'the bairns she would rin, and the school laddies paik
And o'er the broomy braes like a fairy would flee, 
Till auld hearts grew young again wi' love for her sake:
There was life in the blithe blink o' Bonnie Bessie Lee.

 ... 

And she whiles had a sweetheart, and sometimes had twa --
A limmer o' a lassie! -- but, atween you and me,
Her warm wee bit heartie she ne'er threw awa',
Though mony a ane had sought it frae Bonnie Bessie Lee.

But ten years had gane since I gaz'd on her last,
For ten years had parted my auld hame and me;
And I said to mysel', as her mither's door I past,
"Will I ever get anither kiss frae Bonnie Lee?"

But Time changes a' thing -- the ill-natur'd loon!
Were it ever sae rightly he 'll no let it be;
But I rubbit at my een, and I thought I would swoon,
How the carle had come roun' about our ain Bessie Lee!

The wee laughing lassie was a gudewife grown auld,
Twa weans at her apron and ane on her knee;
She was douce, too, and wiselike -- and wisdom's sae cauld:
I would rather ha'e the ither ane than this Bessie Lee!