The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond - Ella Roberts

The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond - cover by Ella
Digital Download Available from Website

Cinematography and Production
Benjamin Fraser McKenzie

Aerial Cinematography
Ethan Roberts

Music Production and Arrangement
Adrian Hannan

Special thanks to:

Granny Janice Leah Roberts

Todd Ridgway

Sonya
Bush Bank Weddings

Cloak by

Lyrics

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

O ye'll take the high road and I'll take the low,
An' I'll be in Scotland afore ye
For 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 the purple hue the Hieland hills we view,
An' the moon comin' out in the gloamin'

O ye'll take the high road and I'll take the low,
An' I'll be in Scotland afore ye
For me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomon'

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'

O ye'll take the high road and I'll take the low,
An' I'll be in Scotland afore ye
For me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomon'

[papahobbitthompson]

My Grandma used to sing this to me as a child Im 85 now and I still hear her
.. Thank you.

[sashud]

As a Scottish person seeing these comments, i feel so happy that so many people love our country

[arno-luyendijk]

Call me a romantic sod....whatever. But whenever I listen to Scottish traditional songs like these, I don't know where it come from, but it reaches an emotion of something like I want to return to a land I had long time forgotten. Funny as it is, I am Dutch born and raised, but ever since I visited the Highlands in the early 1980's, something remained in me of a land like I had been there before. And the tears of a longing ALWAYS crack me up with songs like these. Always.

[argdansk]

The first Scottish song I ever heard as a little lad - and I swore then that I one day would stand on the banks of Loch Lomond.
And I DID IT - in 1997, just before entering my national service, I visited Scotland - and sang the song on the beach of Loch Lomond. I am NO great singer, but neithe man, beast nor vegetation were harm.

[bensy]

many dont understand and dont know the meaning and symbolism of this song, this is an adaptation of an older song, this version we written after the Jacobite rebellion about 2 soldiers, one who was sentenced to death the other got to return to Scotland. the meaning of "ye'll take the high road and ill take the low-road" is based in an old belief that if someone dies out of their home country ones soul returns home after death to pass on this was called taking the low road while the one who survived took the high road(the road on earth to scotland) love from Ireland alba go brách

[GeneRivas]

Returning from the war many years ago, my Dad taught me this song he learned in the British pubs. I was about four, and now I'm seventy-two, but I can close my eyes and be there again with crystal clarity.

[TheStobb]

The song is based on the traditional belief that your soul will return to your home before you go to heaven, so beautiful

[melissamorton]

American here but always felt like I was home when hearing this and hearing bagpipes. When I did my ancestry DNA I'm 50% Scottish 😊 My dad was adopted so I had no idea.very welcome news indeed. ❤

[rodniki]

This song makes me proud of the Scottish heritage I do not have.

[erlusurybuenafe]

I'm Asian, clearly I don't have any Scottish in me, but this music, this song gives me chills and makes me feel so much at home. Nostalgic even.

[ronaldstewart]

i think a lot of you aren't aware of the story of this song. The song is about 2 imprisoned soldiers in England, 1 was to be beheaded, the other was sent back to Scotland as a free man.


This is why the song goes, "you take the high road and I'll take the low", the low road is what we call being dead sometimes. The high road is over the hills. Then the next line is "and I'll be in Scotland before you" meaning he's going to be in heaven/Scotland.



Its about the battle of Culloden in the 1700s

[mbyrd]

I dont know why but Scottish, Irish and English folk music stirs so many emotions in me. It almost always brings a small tear to my eye, even when its a happy reeing jig. Its like the sounds of a home I've never been to, known or seen but miss terribly.

[g.hw.]

As a Korean, I loved Scotland so much that I stayed near Loch Lomond for five months. Scotland is always where I want to go again. I can't forget the clear water, wind, and sunlight.

[r.g.o]

My wife was a beautiful red head we were married for 30 wonderful years. She loved Celtic tunes. There was a poem she learned when she was young she only remembered a little part of it...grow old with me...the best is yet to be. But she passed away one night. We fell asleep in our recliners in the living room after watching one of our old favorite movies and playing her favorite word games. Some time later I heard her slump out of her chair and gently hit the floor. That was December 1st 2014.. I have missed her every single day since. It made me so sad that she wouldn't be with me any longer. I'm 64 now and another year has passed. In my heart she is still with me as we grow old together. One day I'll be able to join her. I feel her beside me always. I was a very lucky man. God bless us all

[DraggingNeedles]

This was my mother's favorite song. She sang it often. She missed her home, and wanted to return! Everytime I hear it, I think of her. I'm sure she finally made it home ....

[RobertSmith-xukp]

This song has particular meaning to me. I'm descended from Orkney Scots who fought with Bonny Prince Charlie. After the battle of Culloden in 1745 when the Scottish clans were defeated by the English, my ancestor David fled to the American colonies with his son Robert, leaving his older son John in Scotland to care for David's wife until they could be sent for. David and Robert eventually settled in upstate New York where they changed their name from McGregor to Smith. Unfortunately David's wife died before she and John could cross the ocean, and John joined the British army not wanting anything to do with his father and brother. During the American Revolution, Robert fought with the Americans and John fought with the British. According to family stories they met at the Battle of Freeman's Farm in 1777 where John was wounded. The story then has it Robert took the wounded John home to his farm a few miles away where John died after reconciling with his brother, his only request that Robert would deliver his bible to his wife in Kirkwall . Robert then journeyed back to Scotland for the first time since he fled as a child to fulfil his brother's wish. As result, to this day the American and the Scottish sides of my family are still close and every now we get together. I live just down the road from Robert's farm which is still in the family and I've twice gotten to go to Scotland where my distant cousin still has John's bible. I always imagine that this song is the two brothers speaking to each other in those last few hours they had together.

[janetstonerook]

We in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States carried these songs and traditions with us to this area as the earliest European settlers. We are proud of our Scottish heritage and carried that independence and strength with us.

[Tiger-jtqm]

My mother sang it to me as a small boy as she rocked me to sleep. Thank you Ella For your rendition. Now old, and near the low road myself, it made me weep with joy. I miss my mother... I miss my Scotland

[MartinaM.Maestas]

Still and moving, one of the most beauteous videos.

[ziyou]

I am Chinese. I don't speak Scottish. I find these local (aka not so main stream) languages, cultures and histories incredibly beautiful. Sadly the many regional dialects and cultures in China are becoming extinct at an alarming speed. Kudos to those governments and people who recognize the value of these local cultures and do their part to preserve them.