", is a Scots poem by Carolina Oliphant (Lady Nairne), set to a traditional Scottish folk tune.
The song expresses joy in Bonnie Charlie's escape from capture and possible execution, and celebrates the loyalty of his followers and their longing for his return.
The song has been described as evoking a type of nostalgic idealism: "Who that hears "Bonnie Charlie" sung...but is touched by that longing for the unattainable which is the blessing and the despair of the idealist?
[8] It was sung by an Australian choir to the departing athletes at the closing ceremonies of the Melbourne Summer Olympic Games in 1956, as seen in the 'Olympiad' documentary series by Bud Greenspan.
These words seem to be Lady Nairne's own: they are taken from an 1869 edition of her songs, which cites five stanzas (alternating with the "Will ye no' come back again" chorus), of which the middle three are explicitly Jacobite.