The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond

"The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond", or simply "Loch Lomond" for short, is a well-known traditional Scottish song (Roud No. 9598) first published in 1841 in Vocal Melodies of Scotland.^[1][2] (Loch Lomond is the largest Scottish loch, located between the counties of Dunbartonshire and Stirlingshire.) In Scotland, the song is often the final piece of music played during an evening of revelry (a dance party or dinner, etc.).

The song has been recorded by many performers over the years, including the rock band AC/DC, jazz singer Maxine Sullivan (for whom it was a career-defining hit), the Mudmen, and Scottish-Canadian punk band The Real McKenzies. Both Runrig and Quadriga Consort used to perform Loch Lomond as their concert's final song.

Lyrics

By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes,
Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond,
Where me and my true love were ever wont to gae,
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.

Chorus:
O ye'll tak' the high road, and I'll tak' the low road,
And I'll be in Scotland afore ye,
But me and my true love will never meet again,
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.

'Twas there that we parted, in yon shady glen,
On the steep, steep side o' Ben Lomond,
Where in purple hue, the hieland hills we view,
And the moon coming out in the gloaming.

Chorus

The wee birdies sing and the wildflowers spring,
And in sunshine the waters are sleeping.
But the broken heart it kens, nae second spring again,
Though the waeful may cease frae their grieving.

Chorus

Origins

The original composer is unknown, as is definitive information on any traditional lyrics. Scots tradition and belief is that when a Scot dies his/her soul/spirit shall travel to Scotland before passing onto the next world, which is called the low road in the song. The high road belongs to the living and the low road to the dead. The song goes "you take the high road and I'll take the low road and I'll be in Scotland before ye", "but me and my true love will never meet again". This part of the song emphasizes the death of the one who travels the low road.

The lyrics most commonly known are not the original, which was based on a Jacobean lament written after the battle of Culloden. The 2nd verse goes as: As weel may I weep, O yet dreams in my sleep, we stood bride and bridegroom together, but his arms and his breath were as cold as the earth and his hearts blood ran red in the heather.

Interpretation

There are many theories about the meaning of the song, most of which are connected to the Jacobite Uprising of 1745. One interpretation based on the lyrics is that the song is sung by the lover of a captured Jacobite 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 Edinburgh 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).^[3]

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.^[3][4]

Another similar interpretation also attributes it to a Jacobite Highlander captured after the 1745 rising. The Hanoverian British victors were known to play cruel games on the captured Jacobites, and would supposedly find a pair of either brothers or friends and tell them one could live and the other would be executed, and it was up to the pair to decide. Thus the interpretation here is that the song is sung by the brother or friend who chose or was chosen to die. He is therefore telling his friend that they will both go back to Scotland, but he will go on the 'low road', his body being paraded along the main road controlled by the Duke of Cumberland's forces, whereas his friend will have to head for the hilltops, taking longer to get back. Another supporting feature of this is that he states he will never meet his love again in the temporal world, on Loch Lomond. Some believe that this version is written entirely to a lover who lived near the loch.^[3][5]

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 of 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.^[3]

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^[6][7]—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.^[8] Lawing means reckoning in Scots. The poem continues:

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

Free o' Carlisle gaol in the dawing.

Wuddy means hangman´s rope, according to Lang's own notes on the poem; dawing is dawn.^[9] 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.^[9]

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.^[10]
• Jazz singer Maxine Sullivan had a hit with a swing adaptation of "Loch Lomond" in 1937.
• 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. At the 1978 anniversary concert Tilton had a guest appearance, singing the song in an (improvised) duet with Goodman.
• In 1957, Bill Haley & His Comets recorded a popular rock and roll version retitled "Rock Lomond".
• In the early 1960s, The Ramrods (instrumental group) an American instrumental rock group, recorded a rocked-up version called "Loch Lomond Rock".
• 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.
• In The Brady Bunch season 2 episode 16 "The Drummer Boy", it is sung by Peter (Christopher Knight), Jan (Eve Plumb) and Cindy (Susan Olsen) Brady.
• "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.^[11]
• 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.
• "Rhythm of My Heart" is a rock song written by Marc Jordan and John Capek for Rod Stewart's 1991 album Vagabond Heart. The melody is an adaptation of "Loch Lomond". The meter, stanzas and lyrics are also based on the poem, a nod to Stewart's own Scottish heritage.
• The progressive rock band Marillion played the song with their former singer Fish in the 1980s, as part of a medley called "Margaret" which also featured another traditional song, "Marie's Wedding" (usually played as an 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!.
• David Knopfler played the tune as an intro to his Scottish-inspired song "When GrandPappa sailed" in 1984 on his album "Cut the Wire"
• 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.
• Golden Bough covered the song on their 2009 album Celtic Love Songs.
• The tune is used in a song sung by the Scottish terrier Jock in the Disney film Lady and the Tramp.
• The song is sung by Mr. Scheck (Paul Sorvino) in Hey Arnold!: The Movie.
• The tune is used by German football club 1. FC Köln in their anthem "Mer stonn zo dir FC Kölle". The song, written by Die Höhner, 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 film 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.
• The Scottish music duo, Two Men In Skirts featuring Gaitley and Jim Stevenson-Mathews covered the song on their album The Music of Scotland released in 2009.
• The song is sung in the BBC TV series Cranford by the character played by Julia Sawalha.
• There is a popular choral/A cappella version arranged by Jonathan Quick^[12]

Other performers include: Paul Robeson, with Harriet Wingreen on piano; John Barrowman; The Corries; Matt McGinn, John McDermott; Moira Kerr^[13] and the King's Singers.

Media

Loch Lomond 1917 recording by Marie Morrisey. Originally recorded on an Edison cylinder. Problems playing this file? See media help.	Loch Lomond Runrig perform the song live in 1999. Problems playing this file? See media help.
Loch Lomond The Nyzonza Singers' rendition of the song as heard in The Last King of Scotland (2007) Problems playing this file? See media help.	Loch Lomond A part-song version arranged for TTBB choir by Vaughan Williams (London Madrigal Singers) Problems playing this file? See media help.

"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.^[14] 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.^[15]

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 on mony a briar grows

And white blooms the lily sae bonny

And clear is the watter that flows down Lomonds braes

But my lass is fairer than ony

Lyrics

Come over the hill, my bonnie Irish lass
Come over the hill to your darling
You chose a rose love and I have made a vow
Thet she'll be my true love forever

Chorus

Red is the Rose by yonder garden grows

And fair is the lily of the valley

Clear is the water that flows from the Boyne

But my love is fairer than any.

T'was down by Killarney's green woods that we strayed
And the moon and the stars they were shining
The moon shone its rays on her locks of golden hair
And she swore she'd be my love forever.

repeat chorus

It's not for the parting that my sister pains
It's not for the grief of my mother
It is all for the loss of my bonnie Irish lass
That my heart is breaking forever.

repeat chorus

Notes

References

• Lang, Andrew; Philipp, Peter-Eric (2000). Complete Poems of Andrew Lang: The Essential Library 2. Essential Library (xLibris). p. 235. ISBN 978-0-7388-2837-4.