Under My Window

Thomas Westwood (1814–1888)

UNDER my window, under my window,

All in the Midsummer weather,

Three little girls with fluttering curls

Flit to and fro together:—

There ’s Bell with her bonnet of satin sheen,

And Maud with her mantle of silver-green,

And Kate with her scarlet feather.

Under my window, under my window,

Leaning stealthily over,

Merry and clear, the voice I hear,

Of each glad-hearted rover.

Ah! sly little Kate, she steals my roses;

And Maud and Bell twine wreaths and posies,

As merry as bees in clover.

Under my window, under my window,

In the blue Midsummer weather,

Stealing slow, on a hushed tiptoe,

I catch them all together:—

Bell with her bonnet of satin sheen,

And Maud with her mantle of silver-green,

And Kate with the scarlet feather.

Under my window, under my window,

And off through the orchard closes;

While Maud she flouts, and Bell she pouts,

They scamper and drop their posies;

But dear little Kate takes naught amiss,

And leaps in my arms with a loving kiss,

And I give her all my roses.