"My bonny hinny" would be his/her pretty boy/girlfriend, OK?

The song is simply about two lovers separated by a piece of water - don't know where all this bit about death comes in.

Incidentally, singing hinnies are a kind of fruit cake/pancake, not my wife at the Waterson/Carthy songfest today.

Despite what you may read in song reviews, Jez Lowe is not a geordie, OK?