Bonnie Charlie

dustyreviewer

Nov 24

To view more poems I have examined, click HERE.

Bonnie Charlie

by Lady Chairne

Bonnie Charlie's noo awa
Safely o'er the friendly main;
He'rts will a'most break in twa
Should he no' come back again.

(Chorus)
Will ye no' come back again?
Will ye no' come back again?
Better lo'ed ye canna be
Will ye no' come back again?

Ye trusted in your Hieland men
They trusted you, dear Charlie;
They kent you hiding in the glen,
Your cleadin' was but barely.

(Chorus)

English bribes were a' in vain
An' e'en tho puirer we may be
Siller canna buy the heart
That beats aye for thine and thee.

(Chorus)

We watch'd thee in the gloamin' hour
We watch'd thee in the mornin' grey
Tho' thirty thousand pound they'd gi'e
Oh, there is nane that wad betray.

(Chorus)

Sweet's the laverock's note and lang,
Liltin' wildly up the glen,
But aye to me he sings ane sang,
Will ye no come back again?

(Chorus)

____________________________

This poem is something you've probably heard set to music, as it's commonly played as a farewell tune in stories involving the Scots. It is a Scots poem by Carolina Oliphant (Lady Nairne), written in the aftermath of the Jacobite Rising of 1745. From wiki:

"Bonnie Charlie", also commonly known as "Will ye no come back again?", is a Scots poem by Carolina Oliphant (Lady Nairne), set to a traditional Scottish folk tune. As in several of the author's poems, its theme is the aftermath of the Jacobite Rising of 1745, which ended at the Battle of Culloden. Written well after the events it commemorates, it is not a genuine Jacobite song, like many other songs that were "composed in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but ... passed off as contemporary products of the Jacobite risings."

Lady Nairne came from a Jacobite family, and Prince Charles had stopped to dine at Nairne House on 4 September 1745, during the march to Edinburgh. Her father was exiled the year after, but the family "hoarded" a number of objects "supposedly given to him by Prince Charles."

The song, especially its melody, is widely and traditionally used as a song of farewell – often in association with Auld Lang Syne, and generally with no particular Jacobite or other political intent.

For a quick explanation about the historically confusing Jacobite Uprisings, I direct you to the short video below:

Bonnie Prince Charlie was the last serious Stuart claimant to the British throne, but there are societies that continue to track who *would* be the monarch if the Stuarts had remained in power. The video below does an excellent job of showing the winding family tree that even includes the current Prince William.

After the Scots defeat at Culloden, Charlie escaped to Europe. The song expresses a sentiment of loyalty for the Prince and a hope for his eventual return, along with a Jacobite victory. Today, the song is played with little regard for the message of the lyrics. It's primarily a song of nostalgia and farewell. From wiki:

The song has long been a "time honored Scottish farewell." In this function, it is generally sung (like Auld Lang Syne) as a "first verse and chorus". Also like Auld Lang Syne, the song has acquired a more general use: it was sung by Canadians, for instance, in honour of George VI in 1939; by Australians as a farewell to then-Princess Elizabeth in 1946; and by Elizabeth II's "Scottish subjects" in 1953. It was sung by an Australian choir to the departing athletes at the closing ceremonies of the Melbourne Summer Olympic Games in 1956, as seen in the 'Olympiad' documentary series by Bud Greenspan. American golfer, Bobby Jones, was serenaded out of St Andrews' Younger Hall to the tune, after being made an honorary freeman of the Borough of St Andrews, Scotland in October 1958.

With the rise of the Scottish nationalist movement it has become common to sing several verses of the song, especially the strongly "Jacobite" ones, apparently as an expression of desire for Scottish independence.

There is a kind of sweet and haunting magic in the poem once it's set to its traditional tune. The video below is a recording of the poem, set to music, by The Corries, a Scottish folk group who were active from the 1960s through the 1980s.