1.
When daisies pied and violets blue,
And lady-smocks all silver-white,
And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue
Do paint the meadows with delight,
Chorus:
The cuckoo then on every tree
‖: Mocks married men; :‖ (×3) for thus sings he:
‖: Cuckoo! :‖ (×5) ‖: O word of fear, :‖
‖: Unpleasing to a married ear. :‖
2.
When shepherds pipe on oaten straws,
And merry larks are ploughmen’s clocks;
When turtles tread, and rooks and daws,
And maidens bleach their summer smocks,
Chorus