Who is Bonnie?

[EducadorZero]

I'm was teaching something about american folklore and suddenly asked me about the old song "My Bonnie lies over the ocean". Well, I talked about the letter, about the musicians that recorded this song but when I talked about the idea inside of the lyric I had some doubt. So, please, tell me if someone knows:
Was Bonnie a beautiful girl or just a little toy?
Was it inspired in a real history?
How do people see this song? Do they think that it's a nice or sad song?
Well, that's all folks!

 

[5jj]

Was Bonnie a beautiful girl or just a little toy?
'My Bonnie' means 'My pretty one, mydear, my loved one'.
Was it inspired by an event/person in [STRIKE]a[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]real[/STRIKE] history? It has been suggested that it might be a reference to Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Young Pretender.

5

 

[bhaisahab]

It's Scottish, not American.

 

[EducadorZero]

Thanks for this information, but please, tell me more, I've never listened it.

 

[birdeen's call]

Thanks for this information, but please, tell me more, I've never listened it.

But what do you want to know?

 

[Barb_D]

I remember my mom singing that to me. I think we would over-dramatize the words "bring back."

My kids and I sing Katy Perry song. My how times have changed!

 

[bhaisahab]

Thanks for this information, but please, tell me more, I've never listened it.

Have a look at this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Bonnie_Lies_over_the_Ocean

 

[EducadorZero]

Thank you and thanks everyone that helped me to find more informations about this.
I finished to read now the subject in this link in the last reply and I liked so much of this.

Thats grea!!!

 

[emsr2d2]

Thank you and thanks to everyone [STRIKE]that[/STRIKE] who helped me to find more information[STRIKE]s[/STRIKE] (singular - uncountable) about this.

I have now finished [STRIKE]to[/STRIKE] reading [STRIKE]now[/STRIKE] the [STRIKE]subject in this[/STRIKE] contents of the link in the last reply and I liked it [STRIKE]so[/STRIKE] very much. [STRIKE]of this.[/STRIKE]

That was great!

We're glad you enjoyed learning about Bonnie Prince Charlie. Please see some amendments I have made to your post above.

 

[BobK]

We're glad you enjoyed learning about Bonnie Prince Charlie. ....

A bit more about BPC. The young pretender escaped, after the battle of Culloden, to Skye in a boat (another song is The Skye Boat Song ('Carry the lad that's born to be King/Over the sea to Skye') and thence to France ('My b*onnie lies over the sea'). It was a crime (punishable by death) to drink a toast to him, so in many Highland families the toast would be 'The King' - but the raised glasses would be passed over the water jug, to signify that the toast was to 'the King across the water'.

*I don't think, at the time, 'bonnie' was a name. It's just the Scots (and Geordie, and many other dialects) word for an attractive or admirable thing. Many documents - particularly more recent ones - will have capitalized it.

b