(Chorus)
Ho ro my nut-brown maiden,
Hi ri my nut-brown maiden,
Ho ro, ro, maiden!
Oh she's the maid for me.


Her eyes so mildly beaming,
Her look so frank and free,
In waking and in dreaming
Is evermore with me.

O Mary, mild-eyed Mary,
By land, or on the sea,
Though time and tide may vary,
My heart beats true to thee.

In Glasgow or Dunedin
Were maidens fair to see;
But ne'er a Lowland maiden
Could lure mine eyes from thee.

Mine eyes that never vary
From looking to the glen,
Where dwells my Highland Mary
Like wild-rose 'neath the Ben.

And when with blossom laden,
Bright summer comes again,
I'll fetch my nut-brown maiden
Down frae the bonnie glen.

abc | midi | pdf

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Source: C Findlater and M Campbell, Scottish Songs, Lomond Books, 2004

Notes:
This book contains a good selection of songs, but unfortunately no background to any of them. To me, this seems to be either composed or a reworked version of a traditional song, since certain phrases such as "mine eyes" do not ring true to my ears.

It was one of the first songs I remember learning at school and thought it was from 'Singing Together'; if so it must have been between 1958 and 1960 since that covers the time I was at school that I don't have the 'Singing Together' booklets for.

Roud: 4787 (Search Roud index at VWML)
Laws:
Child: