Scottish Music Lyrics - Ye Banks and Braes

Ye Banks and Braes

Ye banks and braes o' Bonnie Doon,
How can ye bloom sae fresh and fair?
How can ye chant ye little birds,
And I sae weary, fu' o' care?
Ye'll break my heart, ye warbling birds,
That wanton through the flow'ry thorn,
Ye mind me o' departed joys,
Departed never to return.

Aft hae I rov'd by Bonnie Doon,
To see the rose and woodbine twine:
And ilka bird sang o' its luve,
And fondly sae did I o' mine.
Wi' lightsome heart I pu'd a rose,
Fu' sweet upon its thorny tree!
And my fause luver staw my rose,
But ah! he left the thorn wi' me.

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Scottish Music Lyrics - Wild Mountain Thyme

Wild Mountain Thyme

Oh, the summertime is coining
And the trees are sweetly blooming
And the wild mountain thyme
Grows around the blooming heather,
Will ye go, lassie, go?

Chorus:
And we'll all go together
To pluck wild mountain thyme.
All around the blooming heather,
Will ye go, lassie, go?

I will build my love a tower
Near yon pure crystal fountain,
And on it I will pile
All the flowers of the mountain,
Will ye go, lassie, go?

Chorus

If my true love she were gone,
I would surely find another,
Where wild mountain thyme
Grows around the blooming heather,
Will ye go, lassie, go?

Chorus

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Scottish Music Lyrics - Westering Home

Westering Home

Chorus:
And it's westering home, and a song in the air,
Light in the eye, and it's goodbye to care.
Laughter o' love, and a welcoming there,
Isle of my heart, my own one.

Tell me o' lands o' the Orient gay,
Speak o' the riches and joys o' Cathay:
Eh, but it's grand to be wakin' ilk day
To find yourself nearer to Isla,

Chorus

Where are the folk like the folk o' the west?
Canty and couthy and kindly, the best;
There I would hie me, and there I would rest
At hame wi' my am folk in Isla.

Chorus

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Scottish Music Lyrics - Uist Tramping Song

Uist Tramping Song

Chorus:
Come along, come along,
Let us foot it out together,
Come along, come along,
Be it fair or stormy weather,
With the hills of home before us,
And the purple of the heather,
Let us sing in happy chorus,
Come along, come along.

O gaily sings the lark,
And the sky's all awake,
With the promise of the day
For the road we gladly take;
So it's heel and toe and forward,
Bidding farewell to the town,
For the welcome that awaits us
Ere the sun goes down.

Chorus

It's the call of sea and shore
It's the tang of bog and peat,
And the scent of brier and myrtle
That puts magic in our feet;
So it's on we go rejoicing,
Over bracken, over stile,
And it's soon we will be tramping
Out the last long mile.

Chorus

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Scottish Music Lyrics - The Road to the Isles

The Road to the Isles

A far croonin' is pullin' me away
As take I wi' my cromak to the road.
The far Coolins are puttin' love on me,
As step I wi' the sunlight for my load.

Chorus:
Sure, by Tummel and Loch Rannoch
And Lochaber I will go,
By heather tracks wi' heaven in their wiles;
If it's thinkin' in your inner heart
Braggart's in my step,
You've never smelt the tangle o' the Isles.
Oh, the far Coolins are puttin' love on me,
As step I wi' my cromak to the Isles.

It's by 'Sheil water the track is to the west,
By Aillort and by Morar to the sea,
The cool cresses I am thinkin' o' for pluck,
And bracken for a wink on Mother's knee.

It's the blue Islands are pullin' me away,
Their laughter puts the leap upon the lame,
The blue Islands from the Skerries to the Lews,
Wi' heather honey taste upon each name.

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Scottish Music Lyrics - The Road to Dundee

The Road to Dundee

Cauld winter was howlin' o'er moor and o'er mountain
And wild was the surge of the dark rolling sea,
When I met about daybreak a bonnie young lassie,
Wha asked me the road and the miles to Dundee.

Says I 'My young lassie, I canna' weel tell ye,
The road and the distance I canna' weel gie,
But if you'll permit me tae gang a wee bittie,
I'll show you the road and the miles to Dundee.'

At once she consented, and gave me her arm,
Ne'er a word I did speir wha the lassie might be:
She appeared like an angel in feature and form,
As she walked by my side on the road to Dundee.

At length wi' the Howe o' Strathmartine behind us,
And the spires o' the toon in full view we could see;
She said, 'Gentle sir, I can never forget ye
For showing me so far on the road to Dundee.

This ring and this purse take to prove I am grateful,
And some simple token I trust ye'11 gie me,
And in times to come I'll remember the laddie
That showed me the road and the miles to Dundee.'

I took the gowd pin from the scarf on my bosom,
And said, 'Keep ye this in remembrance o' me',
Then bravely I kissed the sweet lips o' the lassie
Ere I parted wi' her on the road to Dundee.

So here's to the lassie—I ne'er can forget her—
And ilka young laddie that's listening tae me;
And never be sweer to convoy a young lassie,
Though it's only to show her the road to Dundee.

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Scottish Music Lyrics - Skye Boat Song

Skye Boat Song

Chorus:
Speed bonnie boat like a bird on the wing.
Onward, the sailors cry.
Carry the lad that's born to be king
Over the sea to Skye.

Loud the winds howl, loud the waves roar.
Thunderclaps rend the air,
Baffled, our foes stand by the shore,
Follow they will not dare.

Chorus

Though the waves leap, soft shall ye sleep,
Ocean's a royal bed.
Rocked in the deep Flora will keep
Watch by your weary head.

Chorus

Many's the lad fought on that day
Well the claymore could wield
When the night came silently lay
Dead on Culloden's field.

Chorus

Burned are our homes, exile and death
Scatter the loyal men;
Yet, ere the sword cool in the sheath,
Charlie will come again.

Chorus

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Scottish Music Lyrics - Scots Wha Hae

Scots Wha Hae

Scots, wha hae wi' Wallace bled,
Scots wham Bruce has often led,
Welcome to your gorie bed,
Or to Victorie!
Now's the day, and now's the hour;
See the front o' battle lour,
See approach proud Edward's pow'r
Chains and slaverie!

Wha will be a traitor knave?
Wha can fill a coward's grave?
Wha sae base as be a slave?
Let him turn and flee!
Wha, for Scotland's King and Law,
Freedom's sword will strongly draw,
Freeman stand, or Freeman fa',
Let him on wi, me!

By Oppression's woes and pains!
By your sons in servile chains!
We will drain our dearest veins,
But they shall be free!
Lay the proud Usurpers low!
Tyrants fall in every foe!
Liberty's in every blow!
Let us do or die!

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Scottish Music Lyrics - Scotland the Brave

Scotland the Brave

Hark when the night is falling
Hear! the pipes are calling,
Loudly and proudly calling,
Down thro' the glen.
There where the hills are sleeping,
Now feel the blood a-leaping.
High as the spirits of the old Highland men.

Chorus:

Towering in gallant fame,
Scotland my mountain hame,
High may your proud standards gloriously wave,
Land of my high endeavour.
Land of the shining river,
Land of my heart forever,
Scotland the brave.

High in the misty Highlands,
Out by the purple islands,
Brave are the hearts that beat
Beneath Scottish skies.
Wild are the winds to meet you,
Staunch are the friends that greet you,
Kind as the love that shines
From fair maidens' eyes.

Chorus

Far off in sunlit places,
Sad are the Scottish faces,
Yearning to feel the kiss
Of sweet Scottish rain.
Where tropic skies are beaming,
Love sets the heart a-dreaming,
Longing and dreaming for the homeland again.

Chorus

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Scottish Music Lyrics - My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose

My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose

O my love is like a red red rose,
That's newly sprung in June.
O my love is like a melodic
That's sweetly play'd in tune.
As fair art thou, my bonnie lass.
So deep in love am I.
And I will love thee still, my dear.
Till a the seas gang dry.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry.
And I will love thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun;
And I will love thee still, my dear,
While the sands o' life shall run.
And fare-thee-weel, my only love!
And fare-thee-weel a while!
And I will come again, my love,
Tho' 'twere ten thousand mile.

Tho' 'twere ten thousand mile, my love,
Tho' 'twere ten thousand mile.
And I will come again, my love,
Tho' 'twere ten thousand mile.

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Scottish Music Lyrics - Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond

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 to gae
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.

Chorus:

O ye'll tak the high road and I'll tak' the low road
An' 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.

We'll meet where we parted in yon shady glen,
On the steep, steep side o' Ben Lomond,
Where in purple hue the Hieland hills we view,
And the moon looks out frae the gloamin.

Chorus

O brave Charlie Stuart! dear to the true heart.
Wha could refuse thee protection
Like the weeping birch on the wild hillside,
How graceful he looked in dejection!

Chorus

The wild birdies sing and the wild flowers spring.
An' in sunshine the waters are sleepin;
But the broken heart it kens, nae second spring,
Tho' the waefu' may cease frae their greetin'!

Chorus

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Scottish Music Lyrics - Ae Fond Kiss

Ae Fond Kiss

Ae fond kiss and then we sever
Ae fareweel, alas for ever,
Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee.
Had we never lov'd sae kindly,
Had we never lov'd sae blindly,
Never met-or never parted.
We had ne'er been broken-hearted.

I'll ne'er blame my partial fancy,
Naething could resist my Nancy:
But to see her was to love her:
Love but her, and love for ever.
Had we never lov'd sae kindly,
Had we never lov'd sae blindly,
Never met-or never parted.
We had ne'er been broken-hearted.

Fare-thee-weel, thou first and fairest!
Fare-thee-weel, thou best and dearest!
Thine be ilka joy and treasure,
Peace, Enjoyment, Love and Pleasure!
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever!
Ae fareweel, alas, for ever!
Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee.
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee.

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Book - In Famed Breadalbane

This is a history of a district of the Grampian Mountains in western Perthshire, bordered by Lochaber and Atholl on the north and Strathearn and Menteith on the south. We long have been in pursuit of this elusive regional history, which begins with an account of the region in earliest times and proceeds through the coming of the Scots, the Celtic church, the coming of the Campbells, the establishment of the Campbells of Breadalbane, down into the 20th century. It is of particular relevance for the Campbell, MacNab, Buchanan, Cameron, Dewar, Drummond, MacDonald, MacDougall, MacEwen, MacFarlane, MacGregor, MacIntyre, Mackay, Mackenzie, MacNaughton, and Menzies families, as well as many others. A wealth of local history!

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Take a Pride in Perthshire - Aberfeldy win 3rd place

Aberfeldy flower power. Thanks to a fantastic effort by the committee of Aberfeldy's Move2Improve, volunteers, local community and local businesses the town won third place in the large village category in this years Take a Pride in Perthshire competition.

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Childrens Activities - Victoria Park - Aberfeldy

Victoria Park in Aberfeldy has a recently upgraded fantastic play area. It includes safety surfacing, earth mounding and natural play logs, boulders and planting, challenging rope climbs, various swings, slide and a silicon-glass shade sail (7mx7m) which will provide some much needed shelter in the park along with a wide range of seating. This new area adjoins the existing skate park.

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Book - Highland Reflections by Donald Fraser(Aberfeldy)

Donald Fraser’s book Highland Reflections is a fascinating insight into a lifetime spent in and around forestry. It is also an account of life in the Highlands, and offers a very personal reflection on the often radical changes seen and experienced by that society over recent generations.

Highland Reflections is the story of a Perthshire man brought up on a highland estate in the 1930’s, who spent the majority of his life working for the Forestry Commission based in a variety of locations in central and highland Scotland.

As well as being the story of a forester, the book charts Donald’s life and is populated by an array of lively characters encountered over his period of service and beyond. Highland Reflections also includes accounts of general and historical interest directly related to forestry life. It unfolds at a gentle, conversational pace and will reinforce the views held by many on the nature of rural life and its qualities.


Highland Reflections takes readers on a lifetime’s journey starting in Blair Atholl, and includes life in Fife, Inverness, Angus and Lochtayside. The story also takes in visits to Avoch in the Black Isle, Islay, and RAF national service in the 1950s England.

This is the diverse narrative of a career in and around forestry and it offers readers an often lighthearted insight into a highland man’s life spent in a very specialised industry.

Highland Reflections by Donald Fraser (Wm Culross & Son, Coupar Angus)ISBN 1 873891 80 6

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St Mary's Chapel - Grandtully, Perthshire

This chapel served the small settlement of Pitcairn, which extended around the walls of the castle of Grandtully, and which was within the parish of Dull. It was probably built around 1533, when Alexander Stewart, who lived in the castle, provided endowments for a priest to serve here. It was enlarged and refitted in 1636 by Sir William Stewart, who was the Sheriff-Principal of Perth under Charles I. In 1883 it briefly became a parish church, but nine years later was abandonded for worship when a new church was built elsewhere, and for a while it was partly used as a byre and farm store.

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Scone Palace - Perthshire

Scone is a place that breathes history like nowhere else in Scotland. Today, in the 21st century, it is the home of the Earls of Mansfield, and a major attraction to visitors from all over the world. Fifteen hundred years ago, it was the capital of the Pictish kingdom and the centre of the ancient Celtic church. In the intervening centuries, it has been the seat of parliaments and the crowning place of Kings. Scone Palace has housed the Stone of Destiny and been immortalised in Shakespeare's Macbeth.

Poised above the River Tay, the Palace overlooks the routes north to the Highlands and east through Strathmore to the coast. The Grampian mountains form a distant backdrop, and across the river stands the city of Perth. Two thousand years ago, the Romans camped here, at the very limit of their empire. They never defeated the warlike Picts, who later came to rule Scone, but the followers of St Columba had more success.

By the early 7th century, a group of early Christians, the Culdees or servants of God, had established themselves here. The early history of Scone as a centre of religion continued for many centuries. In 906, King Constantine proclaimed on the Hill of Credulity that the religious laws and customs of the Celtic or Culdee Church be established. Scone remained a College of the Culdee Church until 1114, when it was superceded by a monastery founded by Alexander I.

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Perthshire History - Dunfallandy Stone

At Dunfallandy, just south of Pitlochry, you will find the Dunfallandy Stone. This Pictish cross slab was probably carved around the 9th century. On the front is a cross divided into panels of interlaced ornament and flanked by angels and beasts. On the back, framed by two serpents, are seated figures to either side of a cross, a horseman, tools and five of the enigmatic Pictish symbols.

These stone slabs are the most enduring and distinctive legacy of the Picts. At a time when the rest of Britain used the Roman alphabet for memorials, the Picts preferred graphic symbols. The symbols were used and understood throughout Pictland: about 200 symbol stones have been found, some complete and others fragmentary. The earliest stones were rough slabs with the designs cut into the surface. Later the symbols were sculpted in relief on elaborate cross slabs.

The stones are difficult to date but seem to span the three centuries between about AD 550 and AD 850. Symbols were also carved on the walls of caves and on small objects including silver jewellery. It is impossible to know what some of these symbols meant to the Picts, for they have left no written records apart from a list of their kings. Many theories have been argued. The stones may have marked land boundaries or the graves of important people. The symbols may represent tribes or noble lineages and their messages record marriage alliances. Perhaps there is no single answer - the Picts may have set up stone monuments for as many reasons as does modern society.

The Picts were converted to Christianity during the late sixth and early seventh centuries, and thereafter the symbols were used on shaped cross-slabs as well as on rough stones. Usually one side was carved with the cross surrounded by clerics, angels and intricate patterns, while the other side might bear a medley of Pictish symbols, huntsmen and Biblical scenes: Pictish symbolism and Christian symbolism in harmony. Themes based on the Biblical stories of David were especially popular.

The use of Pictish symbols was abandoned in the ninth century under Scottish rule in central Scotland and as a result of Viking dominance in the north and west.

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Birks of Aberfeldy

The Birks of Aberfeldy which is a steep sided, wooded glen and the Falls of Moness are among the most spectacular and accessible walks in Perthshire. The circular walk, also a nature trail, follows the path alongside the Moness Burn reaching the highest point where it crosses the bridge above the Falls of Moness. There are seats and viewpoints on the way. The map shows the car parks and footpaths. The main walk can be extended by taking the path through the "Lower Birks" into Aberfeldy town centre.

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