Oh the cuckoo she's a pretty bird
She singeth as she flies
She bringeth good tidings
She telleth no lies
She sucketh white flowers
For to keep her voice clear
And the more she singeth cuckoo
The summer draweth near.

As I was a-walking
And a-talking one day
I met my own true love
As he came that way
Oh to meet him was a pleasure
Though the courting was a woe
For I found him false hearted
He would kiss me and go.

I wish I were a scholar
And could handle the pen
I would write to my lover
And to all roving men
I would tell them of the grief and woe
That attend on their lies
I would wish them have pity
On the flower when it dies.

The Cuckoo's a pretty bird,
She sings as she flies,
She brings us good tidings,
She tells us no lies,
She sucks little birds eggs
To make 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 free.

A-walking, a-talking 
And 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,
He's worse than a thief.
A thief can but rob me
And take all I have,
But an inconstant lover
Sends me to my grave.

The grave it will rot me
And bring me to dust,
For an inconstant lover
No maiden can trust,
They'll court you, and kiss you, 
And vow they'll be true,
But the very next moment 
They'll bid you adieu.

The cuckoo's a pretty bird,
Ahe sings as she flies,
She brings us good tidings,
She 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.