#Carolina Oliphaunt

[versey21]

16th April

Will Ye No Come Back Again? by Carolina Oliphaunt, Lady Nairne

On this day in 1746, the Jacobite Rebellion, led by Prince Charles Edward Stuart (“Bonnie Prince Charlie”) was finally defeated by the Hanoverian forces of King George II at the Battle of Culloden. The prince fled for France, deserting his largely Highland Scots army, never to return. Oliphaunt summons up the feelings of sorrow and loss the defeat of the Jacobite cause left in many of Charles’ followers.

Source: Historic UK

Will Ye No Come Back Again?

Will ye no come back again?

Will ye no come back again?

Better lo’ed ye cannae be,

Will ye no come back again?

Bonnie Charlie’s now awa,

Safely owre the friendly main;

Mony a heart will break in twa,

Should he ne’er 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.

…

We watched thee in the gloaming hour,

We watched thee in the morning grey;

Tho’ thirty thousand pounds they’d gie,

Oh there is nane that wad betray.

…

Will ye no come back again?

Will ye no come back again?

Better lo’ed ye cannae be,

Will ye no come back again?

Despite the romanticism surrounding Charles’ doomed attempt to restore the Stuarts to the throne of the United Kingdom, the defeat of the rebellion was disastrous for the Highlanders, leading directly to the Highland Clearances and the destruction of an entire way of life.