C.D. Warner, et al., comp. The Library of the World’s Best Literature.
An Anthology in Thirty Volumes. 1917.

Gude-Nicht, and Joy Be wi’ Ye A’

THE BEST o’ joys maun hae an end,

The best o’ friends maun part, I trow;

The langest day will wear away,

And I maun bid farewell to you.

The tear will tell when hearts are fu’;

For words, gin they hae sense ava,

They’re broken, faltering, and few:

Gude-nicht, and joy be wi’ you a’.

Oh, we hae wandered far and wide,

O’er Scotia’s lands o’ firth and fell,

And mony a simple flower we’ve pu’d,

And twined it wi’ the heather bell.

We’ve ranged the dingle and the dell,

The cot-house and the baron’s ha’;

Now we maun tak a last farewell:

Gude-nicht, and joy be wi’ you a’.

My harp, fareweel: thy strains are past,

Of gleefu’ mirth, and heart-felt wae;

The voice of song maun cease at last,

And minstrelsy itsel’ decay.

But, oh! where sorrow canna win,

Nor parting tears are shed ava,

May we meet neighbor, kith and kin,

And joy for aye be wi’ us a’!