Loch Lomond Living

By Yon Bonnie Banks

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 tae gae
On the bonnie bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomond.

Chorus
O you’ll tak the high road and I’ll tak 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 o’ Loch Lomond.

****************

Twas there that we parted in yon shady glen,
On the steep, steep side o’Ben Lomond,
Where in purple hue, the highlan’ hills we view,
And the moon coming out in the gloamin.

(Chorus)

The wee birdies sing, and the wild flowers spring,
And in sunshine the waters are sleepin’,
But the broken heart it kens, nae second spring again

Tho’ the waefu’ may cease frae their greetin’

(Chorus)

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I come from a country rich in oral tradition and I am a 'Son of the Rock'; a Dumbarton Man raised where the River Leven flows down through Dumbarton to The Clyde.

I grew up in the Ancient Capital of Strathclyde in the shadow of the once strategically important Dumbarton Castle which marked the Gateway to the Highlands along the River Leven and into Loch Lomond.

Since the Industrial Revolution and the ending of Clan Warfare the Castle has majestically watched over the output of Glasgow and its shipyards as the men of the Second City of The Empire built the shipping on which sailed Britain's fortunes.

Men have traditionally sung ditties of their lives and times and the mighty River Clyde has been immortalised in many a song...none greater than

The Song of the Clyde

I sing of a river I’m happy beside,
The song that I sing is the song of the Clyde,
Of all Scottish rivers it’s dearest to me,
It flows from Leadhills all the way to the sea.
It borders the orchards of Lanark so fair,
Meanders through meadows with sheep grazing there,
But from Glasgow to Greenock in towns on each side,

The hammer’s Ding-Dong is the song o’ the Clyde.

(Chorus)

Oh the river Clyde, the wonderful Clyde,
The name o’ it thrills me and fills me wae pride,
And I’m satisfied whate’er may betide,
The sweetest o’ songs is the song o’ the Clyde.

***************

Imagine we’ve left Craigendoran behind
And wind happy yachts by Kilcreggan we find.
At Kirn and Dunoon and Inellan we stay,
Then Scotland’s Madeira, that’s Rothesay they say.
Or maybe by Fairlie and Largs we will go
Or over to Millport that thrills people so,
Maybe journey to Arran, it can’t be denied
Those scenes all belong to the song o’ the Clyde.

(Chorus)

There’s Paw and Maw at Glasgow’s Broomielaw
They’re goin "doon the water" for "the Fair".
There’s Bob and Mary on the Govan Ferry
Wishing jet propulsion could be there.
There’s steamers cruisin’ and there’s buddies snoozin’
And there’s laddies fishin’ frae the pier,
And Paw’s perspirin, very near expirin’
As he rows a boat frae there to here.
With eyes a flashin’ it is voted smashin’
To be walking daily on the prom,
And May and Evelyn are in seventh heaven
As the stroll along wae Dick and Tom,
And Dumbarton Rock to every Jean and Jock
Extends a welcome that is high and wide,
Seems to know that they are on their homeward way
To hear the song of the Clyde.

(Chorus)