The Cuckoo Songtext
von Anne Briggs

The cuckoo′s a pretty bird
She sings as she flies
She brings us good tidings
Tells us no lies
She sucks the little birds' eggs
To keep her voice clear
And when she sings cuckoo
The summer draws near

As I walked down by the side of a 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 we are free


A walking, a talking
A walking was I
To meet my true lover
He′ll come by and by
To meet him in the meadows
Is all my delight
A walking and talking
From morning till night

Meeting is pleasure
But parting is a grief
And 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 the grave
And the grave it will rot me
And bring me to dust
An inconstant lover
No maiden 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
Tells us no lies
And when her time is come
Her voice we don't hear
And where she goes we do not know
Until another year