Chapter CXLVIII: The King Over the Water

Bonnie Charlie’s noo awa’
Safely o’er the friendly main;
Mony a heart will break in twa,
Should he ne’er 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?_

The hills he trod were a’ his ain,
And bed beneath the birken tree;
The bush that hid him on the plain,
There’s none on earth can claim but he.

Sweet the laverock’s note and lang,
Liltin’ wildly up the glen;
But he sings nae ither sang
Than ‘Will ye no come back again?’

Whene’er I hear the blackbird sing
Unto the e’enin’ sinkin’ down,
Or merle that makes the woods to ring,
To me they hae nae ither soun’
Than--

_Will ye no come back again?
Will ye no come back again?
Better lo’ed ye canna be--
Will ye no come back again?_

_Anonymous._