O the broom, the bonnie, bonnie broom
The broom o the cowdenknowes
Fain would I be in the north country
Herding her father's ewes.

We neither herded ewes nor lamb
While the flock near us lay
She gathered in the sheep at night
And cheered me all the day.

Hard fate that I should banished be
Gone way o'er hill and moor
Because I loved the fairest lass
That ever yet was born.

Adieu, ye cowdenknowes, adieu
Farewell all pleasures there
To wander by her side again
Is all I crave or care.

Cowdenknowes is a village on the Scottish Border. Yellow flowering broom can be found all over Scotland. From the 17th Century.