SKYE BOAT SONG - chords and comments

At the bottom you'll find a link to the complete lyrics.

The song is often referred to as "traditional", but this is only partially correct, neighter is it as old as many may believe: the lyrics were written by Sir Harold Boulton, 2nd Baronet in 1884, with historical background from 1746; see below.
The melody though, is ancient. It seems to be a compound of two motifs: an old sea shanty and the Gaelic rowing song "Cuachag nan Craobh" ("The Cuckoo in the Grove"), collected by composer and singer Miss Annie MacLeod (Lady Wilson) from memory after a boat trip to the Isle of Skye.
The Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson wrote alternative lyrics a couple of years afterwards, but Sir Boulton's lyrics have remained most used. The song has, despite the content, gained wide popularity as a lullaby.

Legend and terminology:
"claymore" - a double-edged sword.
"Culloden field" - The Battle of Culloden in 1746, 3 miles east of Inverness, ended the Jacobite Uprise.
"Charlie" - Prince Charles Edward Stuart (1720-1788) was a claimant to the throne of Great Britain, leader of the rebellion and died in exile in France.
"Flora" - Flora MacDonald (1722-1790), from the Clan Macdonald of Sleat, assisted Stuart to evade the government troops, even though her clan never joined the rebellion.
"Skye" - an island in the Hebrides, to where Stuart fled from the island Benbecula; a narrow escape after being defeated by the Hanoverians.

Another famous song with the same historical background, is Loch Lomond.

A            F#m         Bm           E7
speed bonnie boat like a bird on the wing
A              D        A
"onward!" the sailors cry
A         F#m         Bm         E7
carry the lad that's born to be king
A         D       A
over the sea to Skye
F#m                   Bm
loud the winds howl  loud the waves roar
D             D6      F#m
thunderclaps rend the air
A                  Bm
baffled our foes stand on the shore
D            D6       F#m ...E7...
follow they will not dare