C.D. Warner, et al., comp. The Library of the World’s Best Literature.
An Anthology in Thirty Volumes. 1917.
When Maggy Gangs Away
By James Hogg (1770–1835)
O
When Maggy gangs away?
Oh, what will a’ the lads do
When Maggy gangs away?
There’s no a heart in a’ the glen
That disna dread the day:
Oh, what will a’ the lads do
When Maggy gangs away?
A waefu’ wight is he;
Poor Harry’s ta’en the bed for’t,
An’ laid him down to dee;
An’ Sandy’s gane unto the kirk,
An’ learnin’ fast to pray:
An’ oh, what will the lads do
When Maggy gangs away?
Has drunk her health in wine;
The priest has said—in confidence—
The lassie was divine,
An’ that is mair in maiden’s praise
Than ony priest should say:
But oh, what will the lads do
When Maggy gangs away?
That day will quaver high;
’Twill draw the redbreast frae the wood,
The laverock frae the sky;
The fairies frae their beds o’ dew
Will rise an’ join the lay:
An’ hey! what a day ’twill be
When Maggy gangs away!