Bonnie George Campbell - guitar tab, notes and lyrics
“Bonnie George Campbell” (a.k.a. “Bonnie James Campbell”) is a balled included in the body of Scottish traditional songs and it appeared in Volume IV of Francis J. Childs The English and Scottish Popular Ballads published between 1882 and 1898. It's believed to have been composed in the 16th century, but the originator is not known. The lyrics tell about a certain Bonnie George Campbell, who rode a day but never returned – only his horse.
The music transcriptions of the song with tabs and notes are available for download as PDFs. It's free for personal use only.
Bonnie George Campbell (full accompaniment)
"Bonnie George Campbell" for guitar with full accompaniment. Free download in pdf-file and audio.
Bonnie George Campbell guitar accompaniment
Bonnie George Campbell (only melody)
“Bonnie George Campbell” standard and tablature notation for guitar presented as an image.
Tips on how to learn this song
The “Bonnie George Campbell” melody has repeating features in which open strings are altered with notes on the second and third frets. The challenge is more about finding the right tempo than playing the right notes.
Lyrics
Bonnie George Campbell lyrics
Verse 1:
Hie upon the Highlands, and laigh upon the Tay,
Bonnie George Campbell rode, out on a day.
He saddled, he bridled, and gallant rode he,
And hame came his guid horse, but never cam he.
Verse 2:
Out cam his mother, dear, greeting fu sair,
And out cam his bonnie bryde, riving her hair.
"The meadow lies green the corn is unshorn
But bonnie George Campbell will never return.
Verse 3:
Saddled and bridled and booted rode he,
A plume in his helment, a sword at his knee.
but toom cam his saddle, all bloody to see
Oh, hame cam his guid horse, but never cam he.
Archaic words:
hie = to hasten
hame = home
guid = good
sair = sore
toom = empty
Key, time, tuning and tempo
Information about "Bonnie George Campbell" considering musical key, time signature, tuning and bpm.
Key
The presented version of Bonnie George Campbell is played in the key of G.
Time signature
The song is played in 3/4 tempo (counted one, two, three for each measure).
Tuning
The song is normally played in standard tuning (EADGBE).
Tempo (BPM)
The tempo in beats per minute is 120 for the presented version.