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Alicia Cockburn
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Alicia Cockburn

Scottish author
Also known as: Alison Cockburn
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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•History

Alicia Cockburn (born Oct. 8, 1713, Fairnilee, Selkirkshire, Scot.—died Nov. 22, 1794, Edinburgh) was a Scottish author who wrote the original version of the popular ballad “Flowers of the Forest.” Her lyrics beginning “I’ve seen the smiling of Fortune beguiling,” set to the old air of “Flowers of the Forest,” were probably written before 1731, although they were not published until 1765. They were occasioned by the failure of seven Selkirkshire lairds in their financial...

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