Mirk and rainy is the nicht,
There's no a starn in a' the carry;
Lightnings gleam athwart the lift,
And the cauld winds drive wi' winter's fury.
Chorus:
O! are ye sleepin', Maggie?
O! are ye sleepin', Maggie?
Let me in, for loud the linn
Is roarin' o'er the warlock craigie!
Fearfu' soughs the boortree bank,
The rifted wood roars wild and drearie,
Loud the iron yett does clank,
And the cry o' howlets makes me eerie.
Chorus
Aboon my breath I daurna speak
For fear I rouse your waukrife daddie;
Cauld's the blast upon my cheek,—
Arise, arise, my bonnie lady!
Chorus
She op'd the door, she let him in;
He coost aside his dreepin' plaidie;
Blaw your warst, ye rain and win',
Since, Maggie, now I'm in aside ye.
Final Chorus:
Now since ye're waukin', Maggie,
Now since ye're waukin', Maggie,
What care I for howlet's cry,
For boortree bank, or warlock craigie?
This song was written by the Paisley weaver Robert Tannahill, a younger contemporary of Robert Burns. The Tannahill Weavers have recorded it twice— on their first album Are Ye Sleeping Maggie (1976) and also on a more recent album. A slower verson can be found on Ray Fisher's Willie's Lady (1982).
While I sing it in the key of D Minor, I capo my guitar at the fifth fret and play in A Minor.