O Boat of my lover, go softly, go safely;
O boat of my lover, that bears him from me!
From the homes of the clachan, from the burn singing sweetly,
From the loch and the mountain, that he'll never more see.
O boat of my lover, go softly, go safely;
Thou bearest my soul with thee over the tide.
I said not a word, but my heart it was breaking,
For life is so short, and the ocean so wide.
O boat of my lover, go softly, go safely;
Though the dear voice is silent, the kind hand is gone:
But oh, love me, my lover! and I'll live till I find thee;
Till our parting is over, and our dark days are done.
Deep in the valley, afar from every beholder,
In the May morning my true love came to me:
Silent we sate, her head upon my shoulder;
Fondly we dreamed of the days about to be:
Fondly we dreamed of the days so soon to be.
Deep in the valley, the rain falls colder and colder:
Safely she sleeps beneath the churchyard tree:
Yet still I feel her head upon my shoulder,
Yet still I dream of the days that could not be:
Yet still I weep o'er the days that will not be.