The Cuckoo

The cuckoo's a pretty bird, she sings as she flies

She brings us glad tidings, she tells us no lies

She sucks little birds eggs to keep her voice clear

And when she sings cuckoo, the summer draws near

As I was a walking, o down by the bush

I heard two birds whistling, the blackbird and the thrush

I asked them the reason so merry they be

And the answer they gave me, we are single and free

A walking and a talking, a walking was I

To meet my true lover, she'll come by and by

To meet her in the meadows is all my delight

A walking and a talking from morning till night

A meeting is a pleasure but parting is a grief

An inconstant lover is worse than a thief

A thief can but rob me and take all I have

But an inconstant lover sends me to my grave

And the grave it will rot me and bring me to dust

An inconstant lover no young man can trust

They'll court you and kiss you and vow they'll be true

And the very next moment they'll bid you adieu

The cuckoo's a pretty bird, she sings as she flies

She brings us glad tidings, she tells us no lies

And when her time is come, her voice we don't hear

And where she goes we don't know until the next year