Does anyone know the origin for the song “My Bonnie”? Or, how I could track down the origin??? I assume it must be an old sailor’s song. Is there any way to track it down, do you think??? (While the Beatles have a version, I doubt it started here!)
My searching has led to a lot mention of the source of the music and lyrics as “Traditional,” so we’ll probably never know who exactly wrote it. As for a rough idea of when and where it came from, it seems to be Scottish in origin, as indicated by use of the word “bonnie”. You’re probably right about it being a sailor’s song, as this site alludes to. It also suggests that the song originated sometime during the 17th century. I’ve also seen it referred to as a nursery rhyme, which probably happened later. This site has a recording of the song from 1901 (as *Bring back my Bonnie to me, or, My Bonnie lies over the ocean *) by Harry Macdonough and the Haydn Quartet which could very well be the oldest recording of the song.