Lyrics The Bonny Swans - Loreena McKennitt

The Bonny Swans

A farmer there lived in the north country
A hey ho and me bonny-o
And he had daughters one, two, three
The swans swim so bonny-o
These daughters they walked by the river’s brim
A hey ho and me bonny-o
The eldest pushed the youngest in
The swans swim so bonny-o
Oh sister, oh sister, pray lend me your hand
A hey ho and me bonny-o
And I will give you house and land
The swans swim so bonny-o
I’ll give you neither hand nor glove
A hey ho and me bonny-o
Unless you give me your own true love
The swans swim so bonny-o
Sometimes she sank, sometimes she swam
A hey ho and me bonny-o
Until she came to a miller’s dam
The swans swim so bonny-o
The miller’s daughter, dressed in red
A hey ho and me bonny-o
She went for some water to make her bread
The swans swim so bonny-o
O father, o daddy, here swims a swan
A hey ho and me bonny-o
It’s very like a gentle woman
The swans swim so bonny-o
They laid her on the bank to dry
A hey ho and me bonny-o
There came a harper passing by
The swans swim so bonny-o
He made harp pins of her fingers fair
A hey ho and me bonny-o
He made harp strings of her golden hair
The swans swim so bonny-o
He made a harp of her breast bone
A hey ho and me bonny-o
And straight it began to play alone
The swans swim so bonny-o
He brought it to her father’s hall
A hey ho and me bonny-o
And there was the court assembled all
The swans swim so bonny-o
He laid the harp upon the stone
A hey ho and me bonny-o
And straight it began to play alone
The swans swim so bonny-o
There does sit my father, the King
A hey ho and me bonny-o
And yonder sits my mother the Queen
The swans swim so bonny-o
And there does sit my brother Hugh
A hey ho and me bonny-o
And by him William, sweet and true
The swans swim so bonny-o
And there does sit my false sister Anne
A hey ho and me bonny-o
Who drowned me for the sake of a man
The swans swim so bonny-o