"My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean," also called "My Bonnie," is a traditional Scottish folk song and children's song. It is popular in Western culture and is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as No. 1422. Many artists have recorded the song since the early 1900s, and several parody versions also exist.

One well-known recording is a rock and roll version titled "My Bonnie" by Tony Sheridan and The Beatles. This version was recorded during the first commercial recording session that included The Beatles. The single created from this recording is often considered The Beatles' first official single.

History

The song's origin is not known for sure, but one idea is that it was originally written about Charles Edward Stuart, called "Bonnie Prince Charlie." After Charles lost a battle in 1746 and was forced to leave his country, his supporters may have sung the song or one like it to show their support for him. The word "Bonnie" is not specific to one gender, which might have helped hide the song's true meaning as a message about lost love.

In 1881, Charles E. Pratt published sheet music for "Bring Back My Bonnie to Me" using two fake names, H. J. Fuller and J. T. Wood. In a book from 1964, Theodore Raph wrote that people had been asking for the song at music stores as early as the 1870s, and Pratt agreed to publish it under the fake names. The song became very popular, especially among college singing groups and other groups who performed it.

Another song from English tradition, "My Barney Lies over the Ocean," has a slightly different melody and is thought to be an earlier version of "My Bonnie." In notes for a 1975 album, musicologist A. L. Lloyd wrote that "My Barney" was a stage song popular with Irish comedians starting in the 1860s. By the 1880s, students at American universities changed it into the more famous version, "My Bonny Lies over the Ocean." The Watersons, an English traditional singing group, learned this version from Bob Davenport, who had heard it from a recording by Frank Quinn.

Early recordings

Many early versions of the song were recorded with the title "Bring Back My Bonnie to Me." For example, the singing group Haydn Quartet released a recording of this song in 1901. Other recordings with the same title include an instrumental version by The Taylor Trio in 1916 and a vocal version by Alma Gluck and the Orpheus Quartet in 1918. The song was recorded in many different musical styles. For instance, the country group The Leake County Revelers recorded a country version in 1927 with the title "My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean." A big band version was recorded by Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra in 1938, and a calypso-style version was recorded by Ella Fitzgerald with Bobby Orton's Teen-Aces in 1952. This calypso version was released as the flip side of another song titled "Trying."

In 1919, Billy Murray released a different song titled "My Barney Lies Over the Ocean (Just the Way He Lied to Me)." This song used some modified lines from "My Bonnie" as its chorus. It was sung from the perspective of a woman who suspected her partner, named "Barney" in the song, of lying and being unfaithful.

A few traditional versions of the song have been recorded in field recordings. In 1951, a resident of Birmingham named Cecilia Costello sang a version that was recorded by Peter Kennedy. In 1960, members of the "East Grinstead Old People's Club" in East Grinstead, Sussex, England, sang a version that was recorded by Ken Stubbs. This recording can be heard online through the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website. Traditional versions of the song have also been recorded in the United States and Canada.

Variations and parodies

The song's structure and melody made it a good choice for creating parodies, and many versions of the song have been made over time. Some of these versions are sung as children's songs, and others are often performed as campfire songs by groups like the Boy Scouts. These campfire songs sometimes include actions, such as sitting down or standing up each time a word starting with the letter "b" is sung. Two examples are shown below: the first can be added as extra verses or variations to the original song, and the second is a song called "Oh God, How the Money Rolls In," which is sung to the same melody as "My Bonnie":

Last night as I lay on my pillow, Last night as I lay on my bed, I stuck my feet out of the window, In the morning the neighbors were dead. Bring back, bring back, oh bring back my neighbor to me, to me Bring back, bring back, oh bring back my neighbor to me My Bonnie leaned over the gas tank, The height of its contents to see, I lighted a match to assist her, O 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. My breakfast lies over the ocean, My luncheon lies over the rail. My supper lies in a commotion. Won't somebody bring me a pail? Please bring, please bring, oh please bring a pail to me, to me. Please bring, please bring, oh please bring a pail to me.

My mother makes beer in the bathtub, My father makes synthetic gin, My sister makes fudge for a quarter, My God, how the money rolls in. [chorus] Rolls in, rolls in, my God, how the money rolls in, rolls in, Rolls in, rolls in, my God, how the money rolls in. My mother, she drowned in the bathtub, My father, he died from his gin, My sister, she choked on her chocolate, My God, what a jam I am in. [Repeat chorus] I tried making beer in the bathtub, I tried making synthetic gin, I tried making fudge for a living, Now look at the shape that I'm in. [Repeat chorus]

Another version popular among Scout groups is called "My Father's a Lavatory Cleaner," "Shine Your Buttons with Brasso," and "Sweet Violets." The exact history is unknown, but mentions of the cleaning product Brasso, its cost of three ha'pence, and its sale at Woolworths suggest it may have originated in English music halls or among British or ANZAC soldiers in the early 1900s. It is listed as Roud folk song index number 10232.

Tony Sheridan and the Beatles

A rock and roll version of the song "My Bonnie" was recorded by Tony Sheridan and the Beatles. The German version of the song had the subtitle "Mein Herz ist bei dir nur," which means "My Heart is with You Only." When the song was first released, the band was called the Beat Brothers instead of the Beatles. This change was made because the German producer wanted to avoid confusion with the German slang word "pidels," which sounds similar to the band's name. The name "Beat Brothers" was easier for German listeners to understand.

Tony Sheridan and the Beatles, including Pete Best on drums, were signed by Bert Kaempfert to record for Polydor. They recorded "My Bonnie" during their first session on June 22, 1961, at the Friedrich-Ebert-Halle in Hamburg, West Germany. These recordings were the Beatles' first commercial songs. Bert Kaempfert produced the song with help from sound engineer Karl Hinze. The song "My Bonnie" was chosen because it was already familiar to German listeners.

Tony Sheridan sang lead on the song, beginning with a slow introduction inspired by Elvis Presley's style. The Beatles provided background music: Paul McCartney added vocal harmony and shouts, Pete Best played a steady beat on drums, and George Harrison played guitar, especially during the song's bridge. Sheridan described the arrangement as starting in a slow section (A), then moving to a faster, rock and roll style (C).

The roles of the band members during the recording were as follows:
– Tony Sheridan: lead vocals, guitar solo
– John Lennon: rhythm guitar, backing vocals
– Paul McCartney: bass, backing vocals
– George Harrison: lead guitar, backing vocals
– Pete Best: drums

"My Bonnie" was first released as a single in October 1961 in West Germany, with "The Saints (When the Saints Go Marching In)" as its B-side. According to Paul McCartney, the song reached the top 5 on the German music chart in 1962.

The single helped bring the Beatles to the attention of Brian Epstein, who later became their manager. Epstein ordered many copies of the single for his music store, NEMS, in Liverpool. This led the German label to release the single in the UK on January 5, 1962, credited to Tony Sheridan and the Beatles. However, the single did not chart in the UK in 1962. It later reached No. 48 in 1963 after the Beatles became popular. In July 1963, Polydor released "My Bonnie" as an EP in the UK to take advantage of the Beatles' growing fame. The single was also released in the United States and reissued during Beatlemania, this time credited to the Beatles as the lead artist. It reached No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100.

John Lennon later said he disliked the Beatles' version of the song with Sheridan, calling it "terrible" and saying "it could be anybody." George Harrison, however, enjoyed the recording and said he "didn't stop playing it for days." The Beatles sometimes performed the song live, with Lennon singing the lead vocal.

Both "My Bonnie" and "The Saints" were included on Sheridan's album My Bonnie. A version of "Sweet Georgia Brown" recorded with the Beatles was also released on an EP in 1962. This was the third and final song credited to the Beat Brothers. When the Beatles became famous, all eight songs they recorded in Hamburg in 1961 and 1962 were collected on the German album The Beatles' First! in 1964. The song "My Bonnie," along with "Ain't She Sweet" and "Cry for a Shadow," appears on the 1995 compilation album Anthology 1. On Anthology 1, the beginning of the song is partially covered by an audio clip of Paul McCartney talking about the recording.

Other versions

• Duane Eddy and the Rebels recorded a version without lyrics called "Bonnie Come Back." This song reached number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 15 in Canada, and number 12 in the UK in 1960.
• Ray Charles released a R&B version called "My Bonnie" in 1958. This song was included in his 1959 album What’d I Say.
• Pete Seeger sang a song titled "My Children Are Seven in Number," which used the melody of "My Bonnie." He performed it to support the labor movement and workers who were on strike. The song appeared on his 1956 album American Industrial Ballads and other collections.
• The song "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" was recorded by the American group Bounding Main. It was released on their 2011 album Kraken Up.
• The song "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" was recorded by Minnie Birch on an EP called You're Not Singing Anymore, which features folk songs about football.
• The song "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" was recorded by the Argentinian singer Horacio Fontova in a style called Chacarera. This version was often played during the opening of sketches titled "English Lessons" on the comedy show Peor Es Nada.

In modern culture

• The Fleischer brothers recorded the song using DeForest Phonofilm, part of their Song Car-Tunes series. This film was released on September 15, 1925, and is notable for being the first film to use a technique where a ball bounces on screen to help people sing along.
• "My Bunny Lies Over the Sea," a short cartoon featuring Bugs Bunny, was released by Warner Brothers in 1948. The title of this film copies the song's title in a humorous way.
• On December 20, 2011, JibJab released a video that reviewed the year 2011. The video included a song titled "2011, Buh-Bye," which was set to the tune of the original song.
• In 2012, Hollie Steel performed and sang "My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean" in a 55-minute musical docudrama titled Children on the Titanic. This film is available on Amazon Video and YouTube.
• In 1940, refugees on the Dunera ship learned the song's tune from their British warders. After experiencing mistreatment, including damage to their belongings, they created and sang a new song on board: "My luggage went into the ocean, My luggage went into the sea, My luggage was thrown in the ocean, Oh, bring back my luggage to me!"