Hi

I'm having trouble making sense of some of Burns' lyrics. I've put my queries inline in square brackets, within the lyrics, below:

CHORUS:

Ye Jacobites by name, give an ear, give an ear,
Ye Jacobites by name, give an ear,

[On almost all the recordings I've heard - with the one exception of the recording by Jean Redpath - even on recordings by respected Scottish singers such as The Corries, they sing "lend an ear," not "give an ear".

According to Wikipedia, the Burns version was "give an ear" whereas in the pre-Burns, anti-Jacobite song it was "lend an ear" - so it seems odd to me that almost everyone sings "lend an ear", while using Burns words in the rest of the song. Is this in order to make it easier for English people because "lend an ear" is more commonly used in England? Or does anyone have any idea why this might be?]

Ye Jacobites by name,
Your fautes I will proclaim,
Your doctrines I maun blame, you shall hear, you shall hear
Your doctrines I maun blame, you shall hear.

[I'm not really sure what this means but I'm guessing that by "your doctrines" he means "your obsession with reviving the lost Jacobite cause," which, he's arguing, can only lead to more war and pointless deaths. Is that right?]


What is Right, and What is Wrang, by the law, by the law?
What is Right and what is Wrang by the law?
What is Right, and what is Wrang?
A weak arm and a strang,
A short sword, and a lang, for to draw, for to draw
A short sword, and a lang, for to draw.

[I'm guessing that this verse means that the Jacobites were insisting that Charlie was still the lawful king of Scotland, and he's saying, well maybe so, but they way to prove it is not by using might and the sword - the only thing that proves is who happens to have more might and a better sword. It doesn't prove who was actually right or wrong at all. Is that right?]


What makes heroic strife, famed afar, famed afar?
What makes heroic strife famed afar?
What makes heroic strife?
To whet th' assassin's knife,
Or haunt a Parent's life, wi' bluidy war?

[I'm guessing that he's saying if you perpetuate the myth of heroism on the battlefield, all that happens is that people start murdering each other in the name of the cause - or worse still, pointless wars ensue - and in both cases, the real outcome is not anything heroic at all, but the ruined lives of the parents whose offspring are killed as a result. Is that right?]


Then let your schemes alone, in the state, in the state,
Then let your schemes alone in the state.
So let your schemes alone,
Adore the rising sun,
And leave a man undone, to his fate, to his fate.
And leave a man undone, to his fate.

[I think I understand most of this last verse, but not all. In the last two lines, he's presumably saying "leave Bonnie Prince Charlie to his fate" - Charlie's "undone "(i.e. his cause has been well and truly lost), and no amount of scheming will change that. So, I'm guessing he's saying, instead of scheming to make the world a better place as you see it, appreciate how beautiful the world already is ("enjoy the rising sun"). Have I got that right so far?

But the bit I don't understand in its context, is the phrase: "in the state". If he's written "for the state" it would have made sense to me. But why "in" the state?]


Dave