Bonnie Dundee


Melody -

Scottish

Tae the lairds i' convention t'was Claverhouse spoke
E'er the Kings crown go down, there'll be crowns to be broke;
Then let each cavalier who loves honour and me
Come follow the bonnet o' bonnie Dundee.

Chorus:
Come fill up my cup, come fill up my can
Saddle my horses and call out my men
And it's Ho! for the west port and let us gae free,
And we'll follow the bonnets o' bonnie Dundee!

2. Dundee he is mounted, he rides doon the street,
The bells they ring backwards*, the drums they are beat,
But the Provost, douce man, says "Just e'en let him be
For the toon is well rid of that de'il o' Dundee."
Chorus:

3. There are hills beyond Pentland and lands beyond Forth,
Be there lairds i' the south, there are chiefs i' the north!
There are brave duniewassals, three thousand times three
Will cry "Hoy!" for the bonnets o' bonnie Dundee.
Chorus:

4. Then awa' to the hills, to the lea, to the rocks
E'er I own a usurper, I'll couch wi' the fox!
Then tremble, false Whigs, in the midst o' your glee
Ye ha' no seen the last o' my bonnets and me.
Chorus:


* Ringing the bells backwards, is ringing a muffled peal. To ring a muffled peal, is to ring a peal of sorrow, not of joy. In olden times bells were rung backwards as a tocsin, or notice of danger:
Beacons were lighted upon crags and eminences; the bells were rung backwards in the churches; and the general summons to arm announced an extremity of danger.Sir W. Scott: The Betrothed. chap. iii
.
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