Cam Ye By Athol

Words James Hogg / tune Neil Gow
Follow thee, follow thee, wha wadna follow thee
Lang hast thou loved and trusted us fairly
Chairlie, Chairlie, wha wadna follow thee
King o' the Highland hearts, bonnie Prince Chairlie

Cam ye by Athol, lad wi' the philabeg
Down by the Tummel or banks o' the Garry
Saw ye our lads wi' the bonnets and white cockades
Leavin' the mountains tae follow Prince Chairlie

I hae but ae son, my gallant young Donald
But if I had ten they should follow Glengarry
Health to M'Donnell and gallant Clan-Ronald
For these are the men that will die for their Chairlie

I'll to Lochiel and Appin and kneel tae them
Down by Lord Murray and Roy of Kildarlie
Brave M'Intosh, he shall fly to the field with them
These are the lads I can trust wi' my Chairlie

Down through the Lowlands, down wi' the Whigamores
Loyal true Highlanders, down wi' them rarely
Ronald and Donald, drive on wi' the broad claymore
Over the necks of the foes of Prince Chairlie

As sung by The McCalmans

Susannes Folksong-Notizen

[1988:] By no means all of Hogg's Jacobite songs found their way into the 'Relics'. One of the most famous, Bonnie Prince Charlie [Cam Ye By Athol], was first printed in 'The Border Garland', a pamphlet of nine songs issued in 1819. It reappeared in the edition of the Shepherd's 'Songs' in 1831 with the following disparaging note: "Is it not singular how this song should have been so popular? There can be no dispute that it is one of my worst. The air was...given me by my friend the late Mr Neil Gow, and to it I dashed down the words at random."
The assessment is not wholly unjust, for while it contains some lines in his best manner, Bonnie Prince Charlie is a very uneven song. The female singer urges on the Jacobite forces and dedicates herself and her children to the cause, but her loosely constructed personal testament is largely a framework for a collection of evocative personal and place names [...]. The opening and closing verses and the refrain bear the impress of that dithyrambic abandon which Hogg seems able to realise almost at will, enabling him to achieve a momentarily complete surrender to the mood of whatever he was writing [...]. (Donaldson, Song 104f.)
[1993:] Looking back at wars or conflicts we can better judge the rights and the wrongs in any situation with the benefit of hindsight. What the body of songs about Bonnie Prince Charlie reminds us of, is the fierce loyalty of people to individuals or causes. In this song a mother tells of her pride of her son fighting for Charlie and goes on to say that had she more sons she would gladly have them all fight. With our modern communications it is hard for us to imagine how these people would get their information on what was happening. Judging by these songs, the glamour of war was more apparent than the horror. (Notes Heather Heywood, 'By Yon Castle Wa'' - lyrics incomplete and given as trad.)
See also
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=47876#715749 meaning of 'white cockade'

Henry's Songbook

Cam Ye By Athol

Susannes Folksong-Notizen