Loch Lomond Songtext
von John Barrowman

By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes,
Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond.
Where me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o′ Loch Lomond.

O ye'll take′ the high road and I'll take the low
road,
An' I′ll be in Scotland afore ye;
But me and me 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 deep purple hue the Hieland hills we view,
An' the moon comin′ out in the gloamin'.

()

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
again,
Tho′ the waefu' may cease frae their greetin′


()
The song was apparently written by a young soldier
to
his sweetheart. Two
of Bonnie Prince Charlies soldiers were captured in
Carlisle after the
abortive rising of 1745. One wrote the song, the
other
was released and
took it back to Scotland to give to his colleagues
sweetheart. The low road
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
sacrificed his 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 Scotland
first.