Proud Maisie

By Sir Walter Scott

Proud Maisie is in the wood,

        Walking so early;

Sweet Robin sits on the bush,

        Singing so rarely.

"Tell me, thou bonny bird,

        When shall I marry me?"

"When six braw gentlemen

        Kirkward shall carry ye."

"Who makes the bridal bed,

      Birdie, say truly?"

"The gray-headed sexton

      That delves the grave duly.

"The glow-worm o'er grave and stone

      Shall light thee steady;

The owl from the steeple sing,

      'Welcome, proud lady.'

1. Sung by the madwoman Madge Wildfire on her deathbed in chapter XL of The Heart of Midlothian (1818).