The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond

"The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond", or simply "Loch Lomond" for short, is a well-known traditional Scottish song (Roud No. 9598). It was first published in 1841 in Vocal Melodies of Scotland.^[1]

Loch Lomond is a large Scottish loch located between the traditional counties of Dunbartonshire and Stirlingshire. The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond is often the final piece of music played during an evening of revelry (a disco or dinner, etc.) in Scotland, a phenomenon not seen in other parts of the United Kingdom.

Contents 1 Origins 1.1 Andrew Lang 2 Lyrics 3 Interpretation 4 Arrangements and recordings 5 Media 6 "Red Is the Rose" 7 Notes 8 References

Origins

Andrew Lang

About 1876, the Scottish poet and folklorist Andrew Lang wrote a poem based on the song titled "The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond". The title sometimes has the date "1746" appended^[2][3]—the year of the defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie's rebellion and the hanging of some of his captured supporters. Lang's poem begins:

There's an ending o' the dance, and fair Morag's safe in France,

And the Clans they hae paid the lawing,

Morag—great one in Gaelic—referred to Bonnie Prince Charlie, who fled to France after his forces were defeated.^[4] Lawing means reckoning in Scottish dialect. The poem continues:

And the wuddy has her ain, and we twa are left alane,

Free o' Carlisle gaol in the dawing.

Wuddy means gallows, according to Lang's own notes on the poem; dawing is dawn.^[5] The poem continues with the song's well-known chorus, then explains why the narrator and his true love will never meet again:

For my love's heart brake in twa, when she kenned the Cause's fa',

And she sleeps where there's never nane shall waken

The poem's narrator vows to take violent revenge on the English:

While there's heather on the hill shall my vengeance ne'er be still,

While a bush hides the glint o' a gun, lad;

Wi' the men o' Sergeant Môr shall I work to pay the score,

Till I wither on the wuddy in the sun, lad!

"Sergeant Môr" is John Du Cameron, a supporter of Bonnie Prince Charlie who continued fighting as an outlaw until he was hanged in 1753.^[5]

Lyrics

By yon bonnie banks an' by yon bonnie braes

Whaur the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond

Whaur me an' my true love will ne-er meet again (alternate: Where me and my true love were ever lak/wont tae gae)

On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomon'.

Chorus:

O ye'll tak' the high road, and Ah'll tak' the low (road)

And Ah'll be in Scotlan' afore ye

Fir me an' my true love will ne-er meet again

On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomon'.

'Twas there that we perted in yon shady glen

On the steep, steep sides o' Ben Lomon'

Whaur in (soft) purple hue, the hielan hills we view

An' the moon comin' oot in the gloamin’.

Chorus

The wee birdies sing an' the wild flouers spring

An' in sunshine the waters are sleeping

But the broken heart, it kens nae second spring again

Tho' the waeful may cease frae their greetin'. (alternate: Tho' the world knows not how we are grieving)

Chorus

Interpretation

There are many theories about the meaning of the song. One interpretation is that it is attributed to a Jacobite Highlander who was captured after the 1745 rising. The British played games with the Jacobites, and said that one of them could live and one would die. This is sung by the one who was sentenced to die, the low road referred to being the passage to the underworld. Some believe that this version is written to a lover who lived near the loch.

A related interpretation holds that a professional soldier and a volunteer were captured by the English in one of the small wars between the countries in the couple hundred years prior to 1746. Volunteers could accept parole, a release contingent on the volunteer's refusal to rejoin the fighting, but regulars could not and so could face execution. The volunteer would take the high road that linked London and Edinburgh while the soul of the executed regular would return along the "low road" and would get back to Scotland first.

Another interpretation is that the song is sung by the lover of a captured rebel set to be executed in London following a show trial. The heads of the executed rebels were then set upon pikes and exhibited in all of the towns between London and Glasgow in a procession along the "high road" (the most important road), while the relatives of the rebels walked back along the "low road" (the ordinary road travelled by peasants and commoners).

It captures some of the romantic spirit of the lost cause of Bonnie Prince Charlie.^[6]

Another interpretation of the 'Low Road' is that it refers to the traditional underground route taken by the 'fairies' or 'little people' who were reputed to transport the soul of a dead Scot who died in a foreign land - in this case, England - back to his homeland to rest in peace.

Arrangements and recordings

"Loch Lomond" has been arranged and recorded by many composers and performers over the years, in styles ranging from traditional Scottish folk to barbershop to rock and roll.

• In 1921, the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, a keen collector and arranger of English folk music, arranged "Loch Lomond" as a part song for an unaccompanied four-part male voice choir with baritone solo.^[7]
• At his 1938 Carnegie Hall Concert, Benny Goodman swung this song with Martha Tilton singing. The audience demanded an encore so heartily that, none being ready, Goodman announced that Tilton would be back later with another song.
• In 1957, Bill Haley & His Comets recorded a popular rock and roll version retitled "Rock Lomond".
• Noted concert band composer Frank Ticheli composed a song called "Loch Lomond," based on the original, in 2002.
• The song is featured in the 1946 film, The Green Years, based on the novel of the same title by Scots author, A. J. Cronin.
• "Loch Lomond" was featured on the American television program The Lawrence Welk Show in 1972, in which it was sung by Jack Imel, Bobby Burgess, Mary Lou Metzger and Cissy King.^[8]
• The Australian hard rock group AC/DC, whose members have Scottish origins and roots, released an instrumental version of the song titled "Fling Thing" on the B-side of the "Jailbreak" single in 1976. They also performed it live as "Bonny", in which the band plays the music while the crowd sings the verse.
• The progressive rock band Marillion played the song with their former singer "Fish" in the 80's, as part of a medley called 'Margaret' which also featured another traditional song, Marie's Wedding (usually played as a encore at Scottish shows). A live version can be found on B'Sides Themselves, recorded at Edinburgh Playhouse in December 1983.
• The melody is used at the beginning of the song "El Hijo del Blues" from the 1994 self-titled album by Spanish folk metal group Mägo de Oz.
• Scottish folk-rock band Runrig have made the song their unofficial anthem, closing their concerts with a rendition for over 25 years. They also had a top ten hit with a re-recorded version in 2007, released for BBC Children in Need, hitting number 9 in the whole of the UK and number 1 in Scotland.
• Canadian punk band Real McKenzies recorded their own version of "Loch Lomond" on their 1995 debut album The Real McKenzies in their own Scottish-influenced Celtic punk styling.
• The lyrics are parodied by Tenacious D at the end of their song "Wonderboy".
• The lead singer of American group The Fray has also been known to do the chorus at gigs in Edinburgh while supporting The Feeling, and most recently their gig in Glasgow in October 2007. The reason for this appears to be that his grandfather is Scottish.
• Dan Zanes' album "Catch That Train" features a version of the song in which he splits the vocal credits with Natalie Merchant.
• The film the Last King of Scotland features the song sung by the Nyzonga Singers.
• Serbian band Orthodox Celts recorded a version which featured Serbian actress Ana Sofrenović, released on their album The Celts Strike Again.
• The song is featured in the track "A Very British Tribute" on the Royal Celebration album by the band of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and the Band of the Coldstream Guards.
• The series Smallville used the tune for a non-existent folk song called "The Birks of Saint Kilda" played by a clock as a clue for finding a relic that activated a piece of alien technology.
• The science fiction television programme "Farscape" used the song in part of the score.
• The Celtic rock band Off Kilter included a version on their 2005 album Kick It!.
• Mark Knopfler played the tune as an intro to his Scottish-inspired song "What It Is" in 2001, then in the middle of the song in 2002 and 2005.
• Canadian rock band the Mudmen covered the song on their album The High Road released in 2009.
• The tune is used in a song sung by the Scottish terrier Jock in the Disney film Lady and the Tramp.
• The tune is used by German football club 1. FC Köln in their anthem "Mer stonn zo dir F.C. Kölle". The song is in Ripurian dialect.
• The German folk metal band Suidakra used Loch Lomond's melody in their 2005 song "Dead Man's Reel".
• The song is sung by Monty (Edward Norton) and his father in Spike Lee's movie The 25th Hour.
• The song is referenced in HBO's Boardwalk Empire, Eli's friend sings "and i'll be in Scotland before ye".
• The song is played by the University of Notre Dame Marching Band's baritone horn section before every home game.
• The band Emily's Army covered the song, which is featured on their album Don't Be A Dick.

Other performers include: Paul Robeson, with Harriet Wingreen on piano; John Barrowman; The Corries; John McDermott; Moira Kerr^[9] and the King's Singers.

Media

"Red Is the Rose"

The Irish variant of the song is called "Red Is the Rose" and is sung with the same melody but different (although similarly themed) lyrics.^[10] It was popularized by Irish folk musician Tommy Makem. Even though many people mistakenly believe that Makem wrote "Red is the Rose", it is a traditional Irish folk song. ^[11]

The chorus of "Red Is the Rose" is:

Red is the rose that in yonder garden grows

And fair is the lily of the valley

Clear are the waters that flow from the Boyne

But my love is fairer than any

This version was also reworked by the Scottish Musician Alastair McDonald, who set it by Loch Lomond, too. This chorus was:

Red is the rose, that sae bonnie and brightly grows

And white blooms the lily sae bonny

And clear is the watter that flows down Lomonds braes

But my lass is fairer than a' they (Although, some may argue whether he says "fairer" or "famer")

Notes

References

• Lang, Andrew; Philipp, Peter-Eric (2000). Complete Poems of Andrew Lang: The Essential Library. 2. Essential Library (xLibris). p. 235. ISBN 9780738828374.