Loch Lomond

Song Information

Composer: Traditional

Lyric Author: Traditional

Published: 19th Century

Country of origin: Scotland

General Interest

The original composer is unknown, as with so many ancient songs, but many believe this son was based on a poem written after the Battle of Culloden (1745), which marked the end of the Jacobite uprising.

One interpretation based on the lyrics is that the song is sung by the lover of a captured Jacobite rebel set to be executed in London following a show trial. The heads of the executed rebels were then set upon pikes and exhibited in all of the towns between London and Edinburgh in a procession along the "high road" (the most important road), while the relatives of the rebels walked back along the "low road" (the ordinary road travelled by peasants and commoners).

What is known is that this is a much-loved ballad from Scotland, which has been recorded many times by artists all around the world. It's probably the best-known of all the songs the Foothills Pub Chorus sing.

Here's a link to the Lyric:

Loch Lomond Lyric

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