Behold, My Love, How Green the Groves

Behold, My Love, How Green the Groves by Robert Burns

Behold, my love, how green the groves,

  The primrose banks how fair;

The balmy gales awake the flowers,

  And wave thy flowing hair.

The lav’rock shuns the palace gay,

  And o’er the cottage sings:

For Nature smiles as sweet, I ween,

 To Shepherds as to Kings.

Let minstrels sweep the skilfu’ string,

  In lordly lighted ha’:

The Shepherd stops his simple reed,

  Blythe in the birken shaw.

The Princely revel may survey

  Our rustic dance wi’ scorn;

But are their hearts as light as ours,

  Beneath the milk-white thorn!

The shepherd, in the flowery glen;

  In shepherd’s phrase, will woo:

The courtier tells a finer tale,

  But is his heart as true!

These wild-wood flowers I’ve pu’d, to deck

  That spotless breast o’ thine:

The courtiers’ gems may witness love,

  But, ’tis na love like mine.

This work published before January 1, 1923 is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.