Ay Wakin' O!

Chorus:
Ay wakin' O, 
Wakin' ay and wearie;
Sleep I canna get
For thinkin' o' my dearie.
Ay wakin' O.

Ay wakin' O, etc
Lanely night comes on,
An' a' the lave are sleepin'.
I think on my bonnie lad,
An' bleer my een wi' greetin'
Ay wakin' O, etc

Ay wakin' O, etc
When I sleep I dream,
And when I wake I'm eerie;
Rest I canna get,
For thinkin' o' my dearie.
Ay wakin' O, etc

Ay wakin' O, etc
Simmer's a pleasant time,
Flowers of every colour;
The water runs o'er the heugh,
And I long for my true lover.
Ay wakin' O, etc

Allan Cunningham, in his Songs of Scotland, says of "Ay wakin' O!"- "This song is 
the work of several hands, and though some of it is very ancient, it has been so 
often touched and retouched, that it is not easy to show where the old ends or 
the new commences. Most of the chorus is certainly old, and part of the second 
verse." The words we have adopted are part of those given by Mr Stenhouse, as 
"all that is known to exist of the original verses." We give also the four lines 
added by Burns to the old words. They offer some variety to the singer, who must, 
however, repeat, before and after them, the four lines "Ay wakin', O!" etc, in 
order to suit the music. Mr Stenhouse gives also a version of what he calls "the 
ancient air," though he does not tell us where he found it, and, consequently, 
offers no proof of his assertion. He says: "In Mr George Thomson's Collection of 
Scottish Songs, the air of 'Ay wakin' o!' is enlarged so as to finish on the key 
note, and the time changed from triple to common. The time, however, is far 
better in its native wildness and simplicity: both Tytler and Ritson were of 
opinion that this air, from its intrinsic evidence, was one of our oldest 
melodies, and I see no reason to differ from them." The form which the air has 
assumed within the last thirty years has now taken repossession of the popular 
ear, and we shall not try to displace it. The latter part of the air must remind 
the reader of the conclusion of "Gala Water." In May 1795, Burns wrote for Mr 
George Thomson a song "On Chloris being ill" to the tune "Ay wakin' O!," 
beginning - "Long, long the night," and which appears in an altered form in Mr 
G Thomson's Collection.

G Farquhar Graham, "The Popular Songs and Melodies of Scotland" (1893)