"Oh, whistle and I'll come to you, my lad" is the title and refrain of a poem and song by Robert Burns, first written in 1787, and then expanded in 1793.
[1][2] The air called "Oh, whistle and I'll come to you, my lad" was composed around the middle of the eighteenth century by John Bruce, a famous fiddler of Dumfries.
[1] Robert Burns wrote two sets of words to the tune, using the existing title as the first line for both versions.
The first was written for James Johnson's Scots Musical Museum (volume 2, 1788), and consists of only two verses.
The second version was written for George Thomson's A Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs for the Voice (1793), and consists of a chorus and three verses.