Monday 4 April 2011
Tune of the Day: The White Cockade
Traditional Scottish tune
This traditional Scottish tune celebrates the attempt by Bonnie Prince Charlie to reclaim the throne of Britain for the House of Stuart. During the 1745 Jacobite uprising, he plucked a white rose and placed it on his bonnet as a symbol of rebellion. Jacobite troops had no formal uniform, and the white cockade on a blue bonnet became their emblem.
The famous Scottish poet Robert Burns recalled the scene with a line of lyrics he set to the tune in 1790: “He takes the field wi' his White Cockade”. “The White Cockade” was already well-known in the colonies at the time of the American Revolution, as a country dance tune and a fife and drum piece.