While killing a few minutes at the School of Scottish Studies, waiting for Hamish Henderson to arrange for a tape recorder loan, I was leafing through a book by a man named (I think!) Stenhouse, and came upon a text similar to the one given above by Murray. He claimed to have been with Burns when he first noted down the song from some unknown singer. I grabbed a scrap of paper and a pen to scribble down the words. Perhaps Bruce or Murray can find out who this Stenhouse (?) was and from whom the song was originally collected. Anyway, the minor differences between this text and the one given by Murray are worth noting, I think.

Ca' the yowes tae the knowes,
Ca' them where the heather grows,
Ca' them where the burnie rows,
My bonnie dearie.

Hark the mavis' evening sang
Sounding Cluden's woods amang.
Then a-faulding let us gang,
My bonnie dearie.

We'll gae down by Cluden side,
Through the hazels spreading wide,
I shall roll you in my plaid,
My bonnie dearie.

Ghaist nor bogie shalt thou fear,
Thou'rt tae love and heav'n sae dear,
Naught o' ill shall come thee near,
My bonnie dearie.

Fair and lovely as thou art,
Thou hast stol'n my very heart.
I can die, but cannae part,
My bonnie dearie.

It's interesting to think that this might have been the text that Burns actually did hear sung. At any rate, this is the text that I prefer to sing. Murray's, which is so similar, misses the lusty "I shall roll you in my plaid," which I like, and adds the "dewy bending flowers" which I can cheerfully live without. Another example of different strokes, I guess.

Sandy