[Verse 1]
The cuckoo, she's a pretty bird
She sings as she flies
She brings us glad tidings
She tells us no lies
She sucks all sweet flowers
To make her voice clear
And she never sings cuckoo
'Til the spring of the year

[Verse 2]
Come all you young women
Take a warning from me
Ne'er place your affections
On the green growing tree
For the roots, they will wither
And the branches will rot
If I am forsaken
I know not for what

[Verse 3]
If I am forsaken
I'll not be forsworn
And he surely is mistaken
If he thinks that I'll mourn
I'll get myself up in
Some higher degree
And I'll pass as light by him
As he does by me
[Verse 4]
Oh, Johnny's on the water
Let him sink or let him swim
If he can live without me
I can live without him
Oh, Johnny is a young boy
But still younger am I
And often has he told me
That he'd wed me or die

[Verse 1]
Oh, the cuckoo, she's a pretty bird
She sings as she flies
She brings us glad tidings
She tells us no lies
She sucks all sweet flowers
To make her voice clear
And she never sings cuckoo
'Til the spring of the year