Scottish Songs

My Bonnie - Chords, Lyrics and Origins

Origins

My Bonnie, or to use its full name 'My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean', was first published in America in 1881. However, it was popular some time before that, and is probably of Scottish origin. One theory is that it was a Jacobite song. Bonnie Prince Charlie, of the (Scottish) Stuart family, was the grandson of the deposed British King, James II. Known in Britain as 'the young pretender', he led the Jacobite rebellion against the Hanovarian dynasty in 1745. After his defeat by loyalist forces at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, he fled to France and spent the rest of his life in exile. Hence: 'My Bonnie lies over the ocean'. In a side note of Rock and Roll history, the Beatles recorded 'My Bonnie' with Tony Sheridan in the early 1960s shortly before they shot to fame.

Chords

Verse

      G                  C             G
My Bonnie lies over the ocean,

                    A7                 D        D7
My Bonnie lies over the sea,

      G                  C             G
My Bonnie lies over the ocean,

        A7                    D7             G        D7
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me.

Chorus

G                   C       A7
Bring back, bring back,

D                        D7            G
Bring back my Bonnie to me, to me;

G                  C        A7
Bring back, bring back,

D                        D7            G        C     G
Bring back my Bonnie to me.

Lyrics

My Bonnie lies over the ocean,
My Bonnie lies over the sea,
My Bonnie lies over the ocean,
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me.

Bring back, bring back,
Bring back my Bonnie to me, to me;
Bring back, bring back,
Bring back my Bonnie to me.

Last night as I lay on my pillow,
Last night as I lay on my bed,
Last night as I lay on my pillow,
I dreamed my poor Bonnie was dead.

Bring back, bring back,
Bring back my Bonnie to me, to me;
Bring back, bring back,
Bring back my Bonnie to me.

Oh blow the winds over the ocean,
And blow the winds over the sea,
Oh blow the winds over the ocean,
And bring back my Bonnie to me.

Bring back, bring back,
Bring back my Bonnie to me, to me;
Bring back, bring back,
Bring back my Bonnie to me.

The winds have blown over the ocean,
The winds have blown over the sea,
The winds have blown over the ocean,
And brought back my Bonnie to me.

Bring back, bring back,
Bring back my Bonnie to me, to me;
Bring back, bring back,
Bring back my Bonnie to me.