When I've done my work of day
And I row my boat away
Doon the waters o' Loch Tay
As the evening light is fadin'
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 ruach
She's my joy and sorrow too
And although she is untrue
Ah, but 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 ruach, your lovely hair
Has more glamour I declare
Than all the tresses rare
From Killen to Aberfeldy
Be they lint, white, brown, or gold
Be they blacker than the sloe
They have no more worth to me
Than a meltin flake o' snow
And her eyes are like the gleam
O' the sunlight on the stream
And the songs the faeries sing
Seem like songs she sings at milkin'
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
She's my beauteous nighean ruach
She's my joy and sorrow too
And although she is untrue
Ah, but 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