Will Ye No Come Back Again? Poem by Carolina Oliphant

Bonnie Charlie's now awa',
Safely owre the friendly main;
Mony a heart will break in twa,
Should he no' come back again.

Will ye no come back again?
Will ye no come back again?
Better lo'ed ye canna be,
Will ye no come back again?

Ye trusted in your Hieland men,
They trusted you, dear Charlie;
They kent you hiding in the glen.
Your cleadin' was but barely.

Will ye no come back again?
Will ye no come back again?
Better lo'ed ye canna be,
Will ye no come back again?

We watched you in the gloamin' hour,
We watched thee in the mornin' grey;
Tho' thirty thousand pounds they'd gie,
Oh, there was nane that wad betray.

Will ye no come back again?
Will ye no come back again?
Better lo'ed ye canna be,
Will ye no come back again?

Mony a traitor 'mange the isles
Brak the band o' nature's laws;
Mony a traitor wi' his wiles,
Sought to wear his life awa'.

Will ye no come back again?
Will ye no come back again?
Better lo'ed ye canna be,
Will ye no come back again?

Many a gallant sodger gaught,
Mony a gallant chief did fa,
Death itself were dearly bought,
A' for Scotland's king and law.

Will ye no come back again?
Will ye no come back again?
Better lo'ed ye canna be,
Will ye no come back again?

Whene'er I hear the blackbird sing,
Unto the evening sinking down,
Or merl that makes the wood to ring,
To me they hae nae other sound.

Will ye no come back again?
Will ye no come back again?
Better lo'ed ye canna be,
Will ye no come back again?

Sweet the lav'rock's note and lang,
Lilting wildly up the glen;
And aye the o'erworld o' he sang,
'Will he no' come back again?'

Will ye no come back again?
Will ye no come back again?
Better lo'ed ye canna be,
Will ye no come back again?