When I've done the work of day,
And I row my boat away,
Down the waters of Loch Tay,
As the evening lights are fading
And I look upon Ben Lawers
Where the after glory glows;
And I think on two bright eyes
And the melting mouth below.
She's my beauteous nighean ruadh,
She's my joy and sorrow too;
And although she is untrue,
Well I cannot live without her,
For my heart's a boat in tow,
And I'd give the world to know
Why she means to let me go,
As I sing horee horo.
Nighean ruadh, your lovely hair
Has more glamour I declare
Than all the tresses rare
'Tween Killin and Aberfeldy.
Be they lint white, brown or gold,
Be they blacker than the sloe,
They are worth no more to me
Than the melting flake of snow.
And her eyes are like the gleam
O' the sunlight on the stream;
And the songs the fairies sing
Oh, they're the songs she sings at milking.
But my heart is full of woe,
For last night she bade me go
And the tears begin to flow,
As I sing horee, horo.
Instrumental
When I've done the work of day,
And I row my boat away,
Down the waters of Loch Tay,
As the evening light is fading
And I look upon Ben Lawers
Where the after glory glows;
And I think on two bright eyes
And the melting mouth below.
She's my beauteous nighean ruadh,
She's my joy and sorrow too;
And although she is untrue,
Well I cannot live without her,
For my heart's a boat in tow,
And I'd give the world to know
Why she needs to let me go,
As I sing horee horo.
End