Will Ye No Come Back Again?
Lady Nairne's song for Bonnie Prince Charlie, for 2 to 4 singers: two verses, each with the chorus "Will ye no come back again?". The soprano sings the melody, the alto sings the words beneath it, the tenor fills in the chord, and the bass sings the roots. Tender and moderate; the tune runs from low C to high F, a little wider than a beginner's comfortable range.
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The parts
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The first verse
Words: Carolina Oliphant, Lady Nairne (1766 to 1845)Tune: as printed under Finlay Dun's name (1795 to 1853)
Bonnie Charlie's now awa;Safely owre the friendly main;Mony a heart will break in twa,Should he ne'er come back again.
About Will Ye No Come Back Again?
Will Ye No Come Back Again? is Lady Nairne's farewell to Bonnie Prince Charlie, "now awa; Safely owre the friendly main": gone over the sea. Carolina Oliphant, Lady Nairne, kept her authorship secret, even writing as "Mrs. Bogan, of Bogan"; only after she died did her sister agree, in January 1846, to "letting it be known that she wrote them". At Gask, where she grew up, a small table reads "Charles, Prince of Wales, breakfasted at this table in the low Drawing Room at Gask, September 11th, 1745." Our tune is read from Gems of Scottish Song, in the Boston printing catalogued as 1883, in F, where it is headed "Finlay Dun."; the page doesn't say whether he wrote it or arranged it. Verse 2's words are from the book's 1894 printing, and the four parts are our own. This is two verses, each with the chorus, for 2 to 4 singers.
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