A Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow

"A Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow," or "The Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow," is a traditional Irish folksong which is also known by the Irish language title "Cailin Deas Cruite na mBo." Dating back to at least the mid-1700s, it has been performed and recorded by both English and Irish-language singers, and is an old favorite among Irish folksingers, both professional and amateur.

Below is just one English translation of lyrics. A single line has been kept in the Irish language: "a chuisle, a leanbh, mo mhuirnin, a sholais mo chroi," which is a string of terms of endearment (approximately "my pulse, my child, my darling, the light of my heart"). Also, the word "colleen" (Irish "cailin") means simply "a young girl." To print these lyrics without an advertisement, please click on the printer icon to the right of the "share" button on the red bar at the top of this page.

'Twas on a bright morning in summer that I first heard his voice speakin' low
As he said to a colleen beside him, "Who's that pretty girl milking her cow?"
Oh! Many times often ye met me and told me that I should be your darling
A chuisle, a leanbh, mo mhuirnin, a sholais mo chroi.

I have not the manners or graces of the girls in the world where ye move
I have not their beautiful faces, but oh! I've got a heart that can love
If it please ye, I'll dress me in satin and jewels I'll put on my brow
But oh! Don't be after forgetting your pretty girl milking her cow.

The summer has yielded to autumn and the daisies and clovertops fade
And the cattle come home from the pastures then say do ye love me indeed?
Sure your love will not fade like the summer, but ever your colleen will be
A chuisle, a leanbh, mo mhuirnin, a sholais mo chroi.

More Irish Folksongs About Love

Oh, Danny Boy
The Snowy-Breasted Pearl
The Spinning Wheel
The Rose of Tralee