Henry's Songbook

Whaur hae ye been a' the day, bonnie laddie, Hieland laddie
Whaur hae ye been sae lang away, my bonnie Hieland laddie
I've been seeking fortune's road, bonnie lassie, Hieland lassie
An' there's money at the whalin' so I've been told, my bonnie Hieland lassie

I sailed for the north in a Dundee whaler, bonnie lassie, Hieland lassie
I sailed for the north as a whalin' sailor, my bonnie Hieland lassie
But Greenland shores are grey and cold, bonnie laddie, Hieland laddie
There's plenty o' ice but not much gold, my bonnie Hieland laddie

When will you come back again, bonnie laddie, Hieland laddie
You an' a' the whaling men, my bonnie Hieland laddie
Well, I'll be glad when I get hame, bonnie lassie, Hieland lassie
And I'll gie up this whalin' game, my bonnie Hieland lassie

(as sung by Archie Fisher)

[1963:] [This is] a tune too well known in tradition to need qualifying [...]. (Notes 'Edinburgh Folk Festival, vol. I')

[1993:] Highland Laddie was the tale of another youth who 'went a-whaling' and ended up wishing he was back in bonnie Scotland - 'Whaling's not the road to fortune'. Highland Laddie was a favourite towing song among Scottish whalers. In his 'Voyage of the Aurora' in 1804, Dr David Moore Lindsay described how, when the Aurora was moving up Lancaster Sound, an Eskimo was spotted on the ice singing the song. It was thought that he had heard it from his parents in the old sailing ship days. There were a number of versions of Bonnie Laddie, Hieland Laddie, including one which had a link with Dundee [see above]. (Smith, Whale Hunters 39f)