The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #1239   Message #4221685
Posted By: Jack Horntip
27-Apr-25 - 02:09 PM
Thread Name: Origins: She Had a Dark and a Rovin' Eye
Subject: RE: Origins: She Had a Dark and a Rovin' Eye
THE LASS O' LIVISTON.

THE bonny lass o' Liviston,
Her name ye ken, her name ye ken;
And ay the welcomer ye'll be,
The farther ben, the farther ben.
And she has it written in her contract
To lie her lane, to lie her lane;
And I hae written in my contract
To claw her wame, to claw her wame.
The bonny lass o' Liviston,
She's berry brown, she's berry brown;
An' ye winna true her lovely locks,
Gae farther down, gae farther down.
She has a black and a rolling eye,
And a dimplit chin, and a dimplit chin;
And no to prie her rosy lips,
Wad be a sin, wad be a sin.
The bonny lass o' Liviston,
Cam in to me, cam in to me;
I wat wi' baith ends o' the busk,
I made me free, I made me free.
I laid her feet to my bed-stock,
Her head to the wa', her head to the wa';
And I gied her her wi' coat in her teeth,
Her sark an a', her sark an a'.


1799. The Merry Muses of Caledonia. pp.6-7.

See here: https://archive.org/details/1799themerrymusesofcaledonia/page/n6/mode/1up?q=Liviston

For the phrase "Black and Roving Eye".