The Bonnie Swans Lyrics

The song The Bonnie Swans is performed by Loreena McKennitt in the album named Live in Paris and Toronto in the year 2006 .



A farmer there lived in the north country
a hey ho bonny o
And he had daughters one, two, three
The swans swim so bonny o
These daughters they walked by the river's brim
a hey ho bonny o
The eldest pushed the youngest in
The swans swim so bonny o

Oh sister, oh sister, pray lend me your hand
with a hey ho a bonny o
And I will give you house and land
the swans swim so bonny o
I'll give you neither hand nor glove
with a hey ho a bonny o
Unless you give me your own true love
the swans swim so bonny o

Sometimes she sank, sometimes she swam
with a hey ho and a bonny o
Until she came to a miller's dam
the swans swim so bonny o

The miller's daughter, dressed in red
with a hey ho and a bonny o
She went for some water to make some bread
the swans swim so bonny o

Oh father, oh daddy, here swims a swan
with a hey ho and a bonny o
It's very like a gentle woman
the swans swim so bonny o
They placed her on the bank to dry
with a hey ho and a bonny o
There came a harper pa*sing by
the swans swim so bonny o

He made harp pins of her fingers fair
with a hey ho and a bonny o
He made harp strings of her golden hair
the swans swim so bonny o
He made a harp of her breast bone
with a hey ho and a bonny o
And straight it began to play alone
the swans swim so bonny o

He brought it to her father's hall
with a hey ho and a bonny o
And there was the court, a*sembled all
the swans swim so bonny o
He laid the harp upon a stone
with a hey ho and a bonny o
And straight it began to play lone
the swans swim so bonny o

And there does sit my father the King
with a hey ho and a bonny o
And yonder sits my mother the Queen
the swans swim so bonny o
And there does sit my brother Hugh
with a hey ho and a bonny o
And by him William, sweet and true
the swans swim so bonny o
And there does sit my false sister, Anne
with a hey ho and a bonny o
Who drowned me for the sake of a man
the swans swim so bonny o




Loreena McKennitt - Live in Paris and Toronto

Dec 2006

  1. Prologue
  2. The Mummers' Dance
  3. Skellig
  4. Marco Polo
  5. The Highwayman
  6. La Serenissima
  7. Night Ride Across The Caucasus
  8. Dante's Prayer
  9. The Mystic's Dream
  10. Santiago
  11. Bonnie Portmore
  12. Between The Shadows
  13. The Lady Shallott
  14. The Bonnie Swans
  15. The Old Ways
  16. All Souls Night
  17. Cymbeline
  18. Santiago
  19. Bonny Portmore
  20. Between the Shadows
  21. Lady of Shalott
  22. Bonny Swans
  23. Old Ways
  24. All Souls Night
  25. Cymbeline


The Bonnie Swans