"My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean"

Traditional Scottish Tune

Washburn banjo gDGBD

"My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" is one of a number of tunes sung by the Jacobites in honor of Charles Edward Stuart, the Bonnie Prince Charlie, after the defeat in the Battle of Culladen in 1746. It is still possible to hear the longing to restore the exiled prince in the lyrics:

My Bonnie lies over the ocean
My Bonnie lies over the sea
My Bonnie lies over the ocean
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me.
 
Bring back, bring back
O,Bring back my Bonnie to me, to me
Bring back, bring back
O,Bring back my Bonnie to me.

The fact that the word Bonnie could be a lover disquised the true political intent of the song, apparently.  It was the rage in the nineteenth century when sheet music was popular, but it is still sung today and is often paridoed.  Here is one from Wikipedia:

My Bonnie leaned over the gas tank,
The height of its contents to see,
I lit a small match to assist her,
O Bring back my Bonnie to me.

We had a little fun with the photos in the video this time.  My apologies to the Bonnie plant company, but it was too good to resist!