Bonie Dundee
written in 1787
Bonie Dundee - meaning Summary
Soldier, Longing, Domestic Hope
The poem presents a speaker—likely a woman—who remembers a young soldier who gave her a bannock and fondly blesses his features and the child that resembles him. It mixes immediate, domestic tenderness with patriotic imagery: the soldier is both a personal love and a symbol of Scottish life. The speaker wishes protection for him and imagines a settled future on the banks of the Tay, dressing their child in tartan and raising him to be like his father. The tone combines longing, maternal hope, and national affection.
Read Complete AnalysesO Whar gat ye that hauver-meal bannock? O Silly blind body. O dinna ye see? I gat it frae a young, brisk sodger laddie, Between Saint Johnston and bonie Dundee. O gin I saw the laddie that gae me't! Aft has he doudl'd me up on his knee: May heav'n protect my bonie Scots laddie, And send him safe hame to his babie and me! My blessins upon they sweet, wee lippie! My blessins upon they bonie e'e brie! Thy smiles are sae like my blyth Sodger laddie, Thou's ay the dearer, and dearer to me! But I'll big a bow'r on yon bonie banks, Whare Tay rins wimplin by sae clear, And I'll cleed thee in the tartan sae fine, And mak thee a man like thy dadie dear.
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