Phillis the Queen o’ the Fair

Adown winding Nith I did wander,To mark the sweet flowers as they spring;Adown winding Nith I did wander,Of Phillis to muse and to sing.

Chorus

Awa’ wi’ your belles and your beauties,They never wi’ her can compare,Whaever has met wi’ my Phillis,Has met wi’ the queen o’ the fair.8

The daisy amus’d my fond fancy,So artless, so simple, so wild;Thou emblem, said I, o’ my Phillis—For she is Simplicity’s child.

Chorus

Awa’ wi’ your belles and your beauties,They never wi’ her can compare,Whaever has met wi’ my Phillis,Has met wi’ the queen o’ the fair.16

The rose-bud’s the blush o’ my charmer,Her sweet balmy lip when ’tis prest:How fair and how pure is the lily!But fairer and purer her breast.

Chorus

Awa’ wi’ your belles and your beauties,They never wi’ her can compare,Whaever has met wi’ my Phillis,Has met wi’ the queen o’ the fair.24

Yon knot of gay flowers in the arbour,They ne’er wi’ my Phillis can vie:Her breath is the breath of the woodbine,Its dew-drop o’ diamond her eye.

Chorus

Awa’ wi’ your belles and your beauties,They never wi’ her can compare,Whaever has met wi’ my Phillis,Has met wi’ the queen o’ the fair.32

Her voice is the song o’ the morning,That wakes thro’ the green-spreading groveWhen Phoebus peeps over the mountains,On music, and pleasure, and love.

Chorus

Awa’ wi’ your belles and your beauties,They never wi’ her can compare,Whaever has met wi’ my Phillis,Has met wi’ the queen o’ the fair.40

But beauty, how frail and how fleeting!The bloom of a fine summer’s day;While worth in the mind o’ my Phillis,Will flourish without a decay.

Chorus

Awa’ wi’ your belles and your beauties,They never wi’ her can compare,Whaever has met wi’ my Phillis,Has met wi’ the queen o’ the fair.48