My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean

My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean

By Tony Sheridan

My Bonnie lies over the ocean
My Bonnie lies over the sea
My Bonnie lies over the ocean
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me…

Bring back, bring back
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me, to me
Bring back, bring back
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me

O blow ye winds over the ocean
O blow ye winds over the sea
O blow ye winds over the ocean
and bring back my Bonnie to me

Bring back, bring back
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me, to me
Bring back, bring back
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me

Last night as I lay on my pillow
Last night as I lay on my bed
Last night as I lay on my pillow
I dreamt that my Bonnie was dead

Bring back, bring back
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me, to me
Bring back, bring back
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me

The winds have blown over the ocean
The winds have blown over the sea
The winds have blown over the ocean
And brought back my Bonnie to me

Bring back, bring back
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me, to me
Bring back, bring back
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me

Summary of My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean

  • Popularity of “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean”: Composed in the 20th century by Tony Sheridan, an English-German singer, guitarist, and writer, “My Bonny Lies Over the Ocean” is a lyrical, poetic piece. This traditional Scottish folksong is listed in the Round Folk song Index at no The song records the plea of a young speaker who wants to unite with his Bonnie. Also, the repetition of the same verses explicitly highlights the pain of someone apart from the love of his life. The factual description of someone’s pain made this poem win millions of hearts globally.
  • “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” As a Representative of the Sorrow of Love: This simple poem revolves around a request. The unknown speaker expresses his intense desire to be one with his love. The poem repeats the same few verses to show how the speaker is separated from his bonnie and how this separation perplexes him. His life seems to revolve around this simple desire to become one with his bonnie once again. According to the historical sources, the bonnie of the poem may refer to Bonnie Prince Charlie, and the poem dates back to the 17th century, or it may have various other interpretations. Either way, it is interpreted as a love poem. The speaker pins his readers on an unknown person who marks the center of his life. His constant longing for the same wish shows how painful it has become for him to live without his bonnie. Therefore, he needs her to come back as soon as possible.
  • Major Themes in “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean”: Painful wait, memory, request, and sadness are the poem’s major themes. Although this simple poem was composed to amuse the children, it carries deep thought. The repetition of the verse, “Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me” intensifies the pain of the person living apart. The speaker’s life revolves around just one desire which is to get his bonnie back. Through this poem, the writer shows the pain of separation. It shows how miserable life becomes when you are forced to live without your dear ones.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean

literary devices are used to bring clarity, richness, and depth to simple poetic pieces. Their clever use brilliantly connects readers to the writer’s ideas and emotions. Tony Sheridan also used some literary devices in the poem, whose analysis is as follows.

  1. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /e/ in “The winds have blown over the ocean” and the sound of /o/ in “Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me, to me.”
  2. Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /b/ in “Bring back, bring back.”
  3. Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the first part of some verses. Some of the examples are given in the first “My Bonnie”, in the third “O blow” and in the second last “The winds.” The major example of the fifth stanza is as follows.

“Last night as I lay on my pillow
Last night as I lay on my bed
Last night as I lay on my pillow.”

  1. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /b/ in “And brought back my Bonnie to me” and the sound of /n/ in “Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me, to me.”
  2. Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;

“Bring back, bring back
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me, to me
Bring back, bring back
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me”

  1. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Tony Sheridan used imagery in this poem, such as; “The winds have blown over the ocean” and “Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me, to me.”
  2. Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects different in nature. The poet used pain as an extended metaphor to show how the separation of lovers wreaks havoc.
  3. Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols, such as request, pain, longing, and sadness to show the love of the speaker.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

  1. Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows descriptive, simple, and poetic diction.
  2. End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. The Poet has used end rhyme in this poem, such as; “bed/dead” and “sea/me.”
  3. Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here each stanza is quatrain.
  4. Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows an ABCD rhyme scheme until the last stanza.
  5. Repetition: There is a repetition of the verse “Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me” which has created a musical quality in the poem.
  6. Refrain: The lines repeated at some distance in the poems are called a refrain. The verse, “Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me” is a refrain in this poem.
  7. Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are eight stanzas in this poem, with each comprising four verses.
  8. Tone: It means the voice of the text. This poem shows an exciting, thrilling, and enjoyable tone.

Quotes to be Used

The following lines are useful to present as an example of repetition in any educational institution while teaching poetic techniques to the class.

My Bonnie lies over the ocean
My Bonnie lies over the sea
My Bonnie lies over the ocean
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me…