"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.
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. John O'Keeffe added it to his pasticcio opera The Poor Soldier (1783) for the song "Since love is the plan, I'll love if I can".
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.
In 1904 it was used as the title of 'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad' in the book Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M. R. James in which a man digs up a bronze whistle in a possible Templar preceptory.
It was also mentioned in the series "Emily of New Moon" by L. M. Montgomery as a signal for Teddy and Emily to meet in the garden.
It gets invoked as a chapter title for The Woman in Black by Susan Hill.
It is set to music by Thea Musgrave in her set "Songs for a Winter's Evening".