The song's correct title is NOT Bonnie Scotland, it's Take Me Back, and as someone else mentioned, it was written by Andy Stewart. The full lyrics are as follows:

TAKE ME BACK
Andy Stewart

1. In a far distant land
By a fair and golden strand
There I met a highland laddie in the morning
And he sang me his song
As he proudly marched along
Of a land of lochs and glens and silver sea.

CHORUS: Take me back; take me back again,
Where heather hills are high
And I'll hear a mavis singing in the morning;
For there's no place on earth
Like the homeland of my birth.
O my Scotland, I am coming home to you.

2. Now there's wonders I've seen
In the countries I have been
And there's beauty in the lands where I have wandered
But while I travelled free
Yet my heart kept calling me
To the land of lochs and glens and silver sea. CHORUS

3. I have stood on the shores
Where the great Pacific roars
From out yonder to down under I have wandered
And great cities I've walked
In from Sydney to New York
But give me my lochs and glens and silver sea. CHORUS

4. From Stranraer to Kintyre
From Kilcreggan up to Skye
From Cape Ross to Aberdeen and Border Shieling
That's the world of my home
And I'm longing now to roam
By the land of lochs and glens and silver sea. CHORUS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A recording by Andy Stewart is available on Amazon. It doesn't include the last verse, so I can't be certain that I've got the lyrics of that verse 100% right, but I've heard that verse sung, and it's pretty accurate. The rest is definitely accurate.


I am NOT a fan of Andy Stewart's style of singing, and I can't stand the way he sings this song - he conveys no feeling whatsoever, and there is a complete lack of musicality in his singing. I have no idea why he was such a popular singer. But I love the song itself, and to his credit, he did write it, so I can't fault him as a songwriter. I think both the words and tune are lovely, and the song is in the great tradition of "missing home" Scottish folk songs, such as Westering Home, The Dark Island, Caledonia, etc. I think it compares well with any of those, provided one sings it oneself and forgets about the horrible way he sings it! It's a shame that no good Scottish folk groups (such as the Corries) ever covered it.