Traditional Scottish Songs
- The Bonnie Hoose o' Airlie

This ballad recalls the destruction of Forter Castle in Angus in 1640 by the Earl of Argyll, which left the Countess of Airlie to wander on the adjacent hills. The "Charlie" mentioned in this ballad is King Charles I, not Bonnie Prince Charlie. Forter Castle was restored in 1988.


The Bonnie Hoose o' Airlie

It fell on a day, on a bonnie summer's day,
When the sun shone bright and clearly,
That there fell oot a great dispute
Atween Argyll and Airlie.

Argyll he has mustered a thousand o' his men,
He has marched them oot richt early;
He has marched them in by the back o' Dunkeld,
To plunder the bonnie hoose o' Airlie.

Lady Ogilvie she looked frae her window sae high,
And O but she grat sairly,
To see Argyll and a' his men
Come to plunder the bonnie hoose o' Airlie.

"Come doon, come doon, Lady Ogilvie" he cried:
"Come doon and kiss me fairly,
Or I swear by the hilt o'my guid braidsword
That I winna leave a stan'in' stane in Airlie."

"I winna come doon, ye cruel Argyll,
I winna kiss ye fairly;
I wadna kiss ye, fause Argyll,
Though ye sudna leave a stan'in' stane in Airlie."

"Come tell me whaur your dowry is hid,
Come doon and tell me fairly."
"I winna tell ye whaur my dowry is hid,
Though ye sudna leave a stan'in' stane in Airlie."

They socht it up and they socht it doon,
I wat they socht it early;
And it was below yon bowling green
They found the dowrie o' Airlie.

"Eleven bairns I hae born
And the twelfth ne'er saw his daddie,
But though I had gotten as mony again,
They sud a' gang to fecht for Charlie.

"Gin my guid lord had been at hame,
As he's awa' for Charlie,
There dursna a Campbell o' a' Argyll
Set a fit on the bonnie hoose o' Airlie."

He's ta'en her by the milk-white hand,
But he didna lead her fairly;
He led her up to the tap o' the hill,
Whaur she saw the burnin' o' Airlie.

The smoke and flame they rose so high
The walls they were blackened fairly;
And the lady laid her doon on the green to dee
When she saw the burnin' o' Airlie.

Meaning of unusual words:
bonnie=handsome
frae=from
sae=so
grat sairly=cried
sudna=should not
socht=sought
dursna= is not

Return to the Index of Traditional Scottish Songs




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