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 of Loch Lomond.

Oh! Ye'll take the high road, and I'll take the low road,
And I'll be in Scotland afore ye,
But me and my true love will never meet again,
On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.

'Twas then that we parted, In yon shady glen,
On the steep, steep side of Ben Lomond,
Where, in purple hue, The highland hills we view,
And the moon coming out in the gloaming.

And in sunshine the waters sleeping.
But the broken heart it kens, Nae second spring again,
Though the waeful may cease frae their greeting.


Background: Two of Bonnie Prince Charlie's men were 
captured and left behind in Carlisle after the failed 
rising of 1745. One young soldier was to be executed, the 
other released. The Spirit of the dead soldier travelling 
by the 'low road' would reach Scotland before his 
comrade, who would be struggling along the actual road 
over high, rugged country.