Wha'll be King but Charlie?: Difference between revisions
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{{short description|Jacobite song}} |
{{short description|Jacobite song}} |
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"'''Wha'll be King but Charlie?'''" also known as '''The News from Moidart''' is a song about [[Bonnie Prince Charlie]] written by [[Carolina, Baroness Nairne]], a [[Jacobitism|Jacobite]], in the period when the last remnants of political [[Jacobitism]] were fading as Scotland entered a period of [[Romantic nationalism]] and [[Romanticism in Scotland]]. |
"'''Wha'll be King but Charlie?'''" also known as '''The News from Moidart''' is a song about [[Bonnie Prince Charlie]], sung to the tune of 'Tidy Woman', a traditional Irish jig. The author of the lyrics is disputed and the time of writing is unclear but it was well known by 1745.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fraser |first1=Simon |title=Airs and Melodies peculiar to the Highlands of Scotland and the Isles |date=1816 |location=Edinburgh}}</ref> It may have been written by [[Carolina, Baroness Nairne]], a [[Jacobitism|Jacobite]], in the period when the last remnants of political [[Jacobitism]] were fading as Scotland entered a period of [[Romantic nationalism]] and [[Romanticism in Scotland]]. |
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The song was popular from the late 18th into the 20th century.<ref name="cre">{{cite book |last1=Rogers (editor) |first1=Charles |title=Life and songs of the Baroness Nairne, with a memoir and poems of Caroline Oliphant the younger |date=1872 |publisher=J. Grant}}</ref><ref name="CRB">{{cite book |last1=Rogers |first1=Charles |title=The Scottish minstrel : the songs and song writers of Scotland subsequent to Burns |date=1871 |publisher=Lee and Shepherd |page=62}}</ref> In the 1840s bestseller ''[[Two Years Before the Mast]]'', [[Richard Henry Dana Jr.|Richard Henry Dana]], describes a gathering of sailors with the French singing "[[La Marseillaise]]", the Germans singing "[[O du lieber Augustin]]", British sailors singing "[[Rule, Britannia!]]" and the Scots, "Wha'll be King but Charlie?".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dana |first1=Richard Henry |title=Two Years Before the Mast |date=1840}}</ref> |
The song was popular from the late 18th into the 20th century.<ref name="cre">{{cite book |last1=Rogers (editor) |first1=Charles |title=Life and songs of the Baroness Nairne, with a memoir and poems of Caroline Oliphant the younger |date=1872 |publisher=J. Grant}}</ref><ref name="CRB">{{cite book |last1=Rogers |first1=Charles |title=The Scottish minstrel : the songs and song writers of Scotland subsequent to Burns |date=1871 |publisher=Lee and Shepherd |page=62}}</ref> In the 1840s bestseller ''[[Two Years Before the Mast]]'', [[Richard Henry Dana Jr.|Richard Henry Dana]], describes a gathering of sailors with the French singing "[[La Marseillaise]]", the Germans singing "[[O du lieber Augustin]]", British sailors singing "[[Rule, Britannia!]]" and the Scots, "Wha'll be King but Charlie?".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dana |first1=Richard Henry |title=Two Years Before the Mast |date=1840}}</ref> |
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==Notable usage of the song== |
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The song is one of the dance tunes played in the final scene of the 1921 film ''[[Sentimental Tommy]]'' as dancers fill the screen.<ref>{{cite news |title=Scotch Atmosphere For "Sentimental Tommy" Is Thick |publisher=New York Tribune |date=27 March 1921}}</ref> |
The song is one of the dance tunes played in the final scene of the 1921 film ''[[Sentimental Tommy]]'' as dancers fill the screen.<ref>{{cite news |title=Scotch Atmosphere For "Sentimental Tommy" Is Thick |publisher=New York Tribune |date=27 March 1921}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 04:04, 23 January 2020
An editor has nominated this article for deletion. You are welcome to participate in the deletion discussion, which will decide whether or not to retain it. |
"Wha'll be King but Charlie?" also known as The News from Moidart is a song about Bonnie Prince Charlie, sung to the tune of 'Tidy Woman', a traditional Irish jig. The author of the lyrics is disputed and the time of writing is unclear but it was well known by 1745.[1] It may have been written by Carolina, Baroness Nairne, a Jacobite, in the period when the last remnants of political Jacobitism were fading as Scotland entered a period of Romantic nationalism and Romanticism in Scotland.
The song was popular from the late 18th into the 20th century.[2][3] In the 1840s bestseller Two Years Before the Mast, Richard Henry Dana, describes a gathering of sailors with the French singing "La Marseillaise", the Germans singing "O du lieber Augustin", British sailors singing "Rule, Britannia!" and the Scots, "Wha'll be King but Charlie?".[4]
Notable usage of the song
The song is one of the dance tunes played in the final scene of the 1921 film Sentimental Tommy as dancers fill the screen.[5]
In his novel The starling: a Scotch story, Norman McLeod tells of a boy who taught his pet starling to whistle the tune of "Wha'll be King but Charlie?".[6]
The Corries performed the song in concert and recorded it.[7][8] Video of the Corries singing "The News From Moidart" [1].
Meaning
The song references Bonnie Prince Charlie, Stuart pretender to the crown.[9] Prince Charlie traveled to Scotland to lead the Jacobite rising of 1745, which would prove to be the last Jacobite attempt to capture the throne. After losing the Battle of Culloden, Prince Charlie fled to the remote peninsula of Moidart, and, with a handful of leading Jacobites, fled to France.
Lyrics[10]
- The news fraw Moidart cam' yestreen
- Will soon gar mony ferlie;
- For ships o' war hae just come in,
- And landit Royal Charlie?
Chorus
- Come thro' the heather, around him gather,
- Ye're a' the welcomer early;
- Around him cling wi' a' your kin;
- For wha'll be king but Charlie?
- Come thro' the heather, around him gather,
- Come Ronald, come Donald, come a' thegither,
- And crown your rightfu' lawfu' king!
- For wha'll be king but Charlie.
- The Hieland clans, wi sword in hand,
- Frae John o' Groats' to Airlie,
- Hae to a man declared to stand
- Or fa' wi' Royal Charlie.
Chorus
- The Lowlands a', baith great an' sma,
- Wi' mony a lord and laird, hae
- Declar'd for Scotia's king an' law,
- An' speir ye wha but Charlie.
Chorus
- There's ne'er a lass in a' the lan',
- But vows baith late an' early,
- She'll ne'er to man gie heart nor han'
- Wha wadna fecht for Charlie.
Chorus
- Then here's a health to Charlie's cause,
- And be't complete an' early;
- His very name out heart's blood warms;
- To arms for Royal Charlie!
- Come thro' the heather, around him gather,
- Ye're a' the welcomer early;
- Around him cling wi' a' your kin;
- For what'll be king but Charlie?
- Come thro' the heather, around him gather,
- Come Ronald, come Donald, come a' thegither,
- And crown your richtfu' lawfu' king!
- For wha'll be king but Charlie?
References
- ^ Fraser, Simon (1816). Airs and Melodies peculiar to the Highlands of Scotland and the Isles. Edinburgh.
- ^ Rogers (editor), Charles (1872). Life and songs of the Baroness Nairne, with a memoir and poems of Caroline Oliphant the younger. J. Grant.
{{cite book}}:|last1=has generic name (help) - ^ Rogers, Charles (1871). The Scottish minstrel : the songs and song writers of Scotland subsequent to Burns. Lee and Shepherd. p. 62.
- ^ Dana, Richard Henry (1840). Two Years Before the Mast.
- ^ "Scotch Atmosphere For "Sentimental Tommy" Is Thick". New York Tribune. 27 March 1921.
- ^ "The Starling by the late Norman McLeod, D.D. (book review, this is the year the Canadian edition of The Starling was published)". Daily American. 17 June 1877.
- ^ Green, Ian (2011). Fuzz to Folk: Trax of My Life. Luath Press Ltd. p. 282. ISBN 1906817693.
- ^ Gilchrist, Jim (18 October 2010). "CD Reviews: Pop, Classical, Folk". The Scotsman.
- ^ Brown, John (1902). Rab and His Friends. Rand, McNally & Co. p. 136.
- ^ "Poetry - Wha'll be King but Charlie?". electricscotland.com. Retrieved 2020-01-01.
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