{"id":42462,"date":"2024-04-25T13:15:32","date_gmt":"2024-04-25T11:15:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/44bb746e-1428-4548-94e6-00311186b1b9"},"modified":"2024-05-01T14:40:05","modified_gmt":"2024-05-01T12:40:05","slug":"loch-lomond-lyrics-what-are-the-lyrics-to-the-classic-scottish-tune","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/loch-lomond-lyrics-what-are-the-lyrics-to-the-classic-scottish-tune\/","title":{"rendered":"Loch Lomond lyrics: what are the lyrics to the classic Scottish tune?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"rssexcerpt\"><\/p><p class=\"rssauthor\">By Jeremy Pound\n      <\/p><p class=\"rssbyline\">Published: Thursday, 25 April 2024 at 11:15 AM<\/p><hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/><?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\" standalone=\"yes\"?>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body><p><em>Loch Lomond <\/em>(or <em>The Bonnie Banks o&#8217;Loch Lomond<\/em>) is a classic Scottish tune you&#8217;ll have undoubtedly heard, so here is all you need to know about the traditional folksong \u2013 including its lyrics so you can sing along. <\/p><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/><script src=\"https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/players\/YCjcY8vg-lqFafnwo.js\"\/><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-is-loch-lomond\">What is <em>Loch Lomond<\/em>?<\/h2><p><em>Loch Lomond<\/em> is a <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/scottish-songs\/\">traditional Scottish folksong<\/a><\/strong>, in which the singer reminisces about the beauty of the famous loch just north of Glasgow and how he and his lover used to meet there. Alas, he rues, those meetings will never happen again. Although it usually known simply as <em>Loch Lomond<\/em>, it is sometimes called <em>The Bonnie Banks o\u2019 Loch Lomond<\/em> or <em>The Banks of Loch Lomond<\/em>.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond - Ella Roberts\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gb8AGuD2uOI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-when-does-the-song-date-from\">When does the song date from?<\/h2><p>The earliest published version we have of <em>Loch Lomond<\/em> is 1841, in a collection called <em>Vocal Melodies of Scotland<\/em>. It certainly predates that date significantly, however, and the tune may well be older than the words.<\/p><p\/><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-are-the-lyrics-to-loch-lomond\">What are the lyrics to <em>Loch Lomond?<\/em><\/h2><p>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.<\/p><p><strong>Chorus:<\/strong> O ye'll tak' the high road, and I'll tak' the low road, And I'll be in Scotland a'fore ye, But me and my true love will never meet again, On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.<\/p><p>'Twas there that we parted, in yon shady glen,On the steep, steep side o' Ben Lomond,Where in soft purple hue, the highland hills we view,And the moon coming out in the gloaming.<\/p><p>Repeat <strong>Chorus<\/strong> <\/p><p>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.<\/p><p>Repeat <strong>Chorus<\/strong><\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-do-the-loch-lomond-lyrics-mean\">What do the <em>Loch Lomond<\/em> lyrics mean?<\/h2><p>There are various theories here, though most centre around the invasion of England by Bonnie Prince Charlie and his Jacobite army in 1745, their retreat and eventual defeat at the Battle of Culloden the following April. One of the more popular versions is that the words are spoken by a Jacobite soldier who has been captured after Culloden and, incarcerated in Carlisle prison, is awaiting execution, while the person he addressing is set to be released. The souls of the dead travel quicker along \u2018the low road\u2019 than do living people walking along \u2018the high road\u2019, hence he will get to Scotland first.<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-group highlight-box is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\"><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-more-lyric-pieces\">More lyric pieces<\/h4><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/skye-boat-song-lyrics\/\">What are the lyrics to 'The Skye Boat Song'?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/what-are-the-lyrics-to-auld-lang-syne\/\">What are the lyrics to Auld Lang Syne?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/danny-boy-lyrics\/\">What are the lyrics to 'Danny Boy'?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/molly-malone-lyrics\/\">What are the lyrics to the Irish song 'Molly Malone'?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><p> <\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-makes-the-tune-so-evocative\">What makes the tune so evocative?<\/h2><p>Partly, its simplicity. The melody is written almost entirely using the pentatonic scale (i.e. the five notes that can be played on just the black keys of the piano) with a sixth note appearing only once, on the \u2018nev-\u2018 of \u2018never meet again\u2019 in the third line. That simplicity has also proved a magnet for composers looking to make an arrangement of it.<\/p><p> <\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-are-the-best-settings-of-loch-lomond\">What are the best settings of <em>Loch Lomond<\/em>?<\/h2><p> Given its popularity there are, unsurprisingly, a lot of settings of <em>Loch Lomond<\/em> and, of course, recordings. One particularly famous setting for unaccompanied choir is that made by Vaughan Williams in 1921 \u2013 try the recording by the Armonico Consort. Also recommended is David Overton\u2019s setting for the King\u2019s Singers, recorded by the six-voice ensemble in 2017. Though you don\u2019t get any words in the evocative arrangement featured on Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti\u2019s 2014 <em>Homecoming<\/em> album, the playing is simply stunning. And, finally, let\u2019s not forget Runrig. The Scottish rock group has adopted <em>Loch Lomond<\/em> almost as its signature tune, and memorably performed and recorded it live in front of the Loch itself in 1991. <\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Jeremy Pound Published: Thursday, 25 April 2024 at 11:15 AM Loch Lomond (or The Bonnie Banks o&#8217;Loch Lomond) is a classic Scottish tune you&#8217;ll have undoubtedly heard, so here is all you need to know about the traditional folksong \u2013 including its lyrics so you can sing along. What is Loch Lomond? Loch Lomond [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":42463,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/05\/loch-lomond-lyrics-what-are-the-lyrics-to-the-classic-scottish-tune-scaled.jpg",2560,1548,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/05\/loch-lomond-lyrics-what-are-the-lyrics-to-the-classic-scottish-tune-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/05\/loch-lomond-lyrics-what-are-the-lyrics-to-the-classic-scottish-tune-300x181.jpg",300,181,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/05\/loch-lomond-lyrics-what-are-the-lyrics-to-the-classic-scottish-tune-768x464.jpg",768,464,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/05\/loch-lomond-lyrics-what-are-the-lyrics-to-the-classic-scottish-tune-1024x619.jpg",800,484,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/05\/loch-lomond-lyrics-what-are-the-lyrics-to-the-classic-scottish-tune-1536x929.jpg",1536,929,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/05\/loch-lomond-lyrics-what-are-the-lyrics-to-the-classic-scottish-tune-2048x1239.jpg",2048,1239,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Jeremy Pound Published: Thursday, 25 April 2024 at 11:15 AM Loch Lomond (or The Bonnie Banks o&#8217;Loch Lomond) is a classic Scottish tune you&#8217;ll have undoubtedly heard, so here is all you need to know about the traditional folksong \u2013 including its lyrics so you can sing along. What is Loch Lomond? Loch Lomond&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/42462"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}