Adown winding Nith I did wander

written in 1793

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. Awa wi' your Belles and your Beauties, They never wi' her can compare: Wha-ever has met wi' my Phillis, Has met wi' the Queen o' the Fair. 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. 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. Yon knot of gay flowers in the arbour, They ne'er wi' my Phillis can vie: Her breath is the breath o' the woodbine, Its dew-drop o' diamond, her eye. Her voice is the songs of the morning, That wake thro' the green-spreading grove; When Phebus peeps over the mountains On music, and pleasure, and love. But Beauty, how frail and how fleeting, The bloom of a fine summer's day; While Worth in the mind of my Phillis Will flourish without a decay. Awa wi' your Belles and your Beauties, They never wi' her can compare: Wha-ever has met wi' my Phillis, Has met wi' the Queen o' the Fair.