Lyrics - Bonnie Banks O' Loch Lomond by Celtic Folk

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By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes,
Where the sun shines bright on
Loch
Lomon'.where me and my true love were ever wont to gae
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o'
Loch
Lomon'.
Chorus:
O ye'll tak' the high road and
I'll tak the low road,
An'
I'll be in
Scotland afore ye;
But me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o'
Loch
Lomon'.'
Twas there that we parted in yon shady glen,
On the steep, steep side o'
Ben
Lomon',
Where in purple hue the
Hieland hills we view,
An' the moon comin' out in the gloamin'.(chorus)
The wee birdies sing and the wild flow'rs spring,
And in sunshine the waters are sleepin';
But the broken heart it kens nae second spring,
Tho' the waefu' may cease frae their greetin'(chorus)composer's name unknown
Notes:
Lomon' is short for
Lomond, it is probably spelled this way to allowthe second verse to rhyme.
There are a number of variations to this song, probably the most well known
Scottish song after 'auld lang syne'.
The song was apparantly written by a young soldier to his sweetheart.
Twoof
Bonnie
Prince
Charlies soldiers were captured in
Carlisle after theabortive rising of 1745.
One wrote the song, the other was released andtook it back to
Scotland to give to his colleagues sweetheart.
The lowroad refers to the soldiers impending death and the path of his spirit,whilst the high road is either the sign of hope for which he sacrificedhis life, or the actual road back to
Scotland over the high rugged hills.
Hence, his spirit would return via the low road and be back in
Scotlandfirst.

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