Henry's Songbook

I hae nae kith, I hae nae kin, nor yin that's dear tae me
For the bonnie lad that I lo'e best is far across the sea
He's gane wi' yin that was our ain and may we rue the day
When our king's daughter came her tae play sae foul play

O gin I were a bonnie bird with wings that I might flee
Then I wid travel o'er the main my ain true love tae see
Then I wid tell a joyful tale tae yin that's dear tae me
And I'd sit upon a king's window and sing my melody

The adder lies in the corbie's nest aneath the corbie's wame
For the blast that reives the corbie's brood shall blow our good king hame
So blow ye east or blow ye west or blow ye o'er the faem
Ay bring the lad that I lo'e best and yin I dare nae name

(as sung by The Battlefield Band)

[1988:] The device of using animals to signify people is as old as traditional music itself, and the convention was particularly useful to writers of political songs, as the naming of names could often be treasonable. This obviously Jacobite song makes no pretence about "bringing the good king hame" - but the author is still circumspect enough to refer to the reigning monarch (William of Orange?) as the "corbie"- the crow, a bird which had a thief's reputation. Who the "adder" was, we can only guess. (Battlefield Band Songbook 124)

[1993:] This lovesong first appears in James Hogg's 'Jacobite Relics'. Its origins are obscure but we think it may date from the period immediately following the union of the crowns. If this is true then the king referred to in the song would be James, the 'Old Pretender', and the 'bonnie lad' one of his followers exiled with him in France at the time. We thought the original tune a little too jolly so Brian composed one more suitably sombre. (Notes Battlefield Band, 'Stand Easy' CD)