Traditional Scottish Songs
- Bonnie Jenny Shaw

Here is a love song by Charles Nicol which sings the praises of a simple milkmaid whose young man thinks she is the best lass in the world - as all young men in love tend to do.


Bonnie Jenny Shaw

Nae doot ye've heard o' Jenny Shaw,
   Wha lives doon by the burn;
That winsome lass few can surpass,
   Wha daily works the churn.
An' tho' she's but a dairymaid,
   She's a' the warl' to me;
She is my jewel, my Jenny fair,
   Wi' modest grace to see.

When gloamin' shadows a' the glen,
   An' tranquil is the scene,
'Tis then I wander forth to meet
   My ain, my lovely queen.
An' then sic voos as 'tween us pass,
   To be for ever true;
Oh, gin that happy time could last
   We aften wish anew.

Fu' aft we wander through the fields,
   When nae a ane is near,
An' whisper a' oor tales o' love
   That's to each ither dear.
But some day sune a bride she'll be,
   A bride fu' bien an' braw;
An' then she'll hae to change her name,
   My bonnie Jenny Shaw.

Meaning of unusual words:
winsome = comely, attractive
gloamin' = dusk
sic voos = such vows
gin = until
fu' bien an' braw = very eager and excellent

Return to the Index of Traditional Scottish Songs




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