"Roses of Prince Charlie" is a modern Scottish

Music of Scotland

Scotland is internationally known for its traditional music, which has remained vibrant throughout the 20th century, when many traditional forms worldwide lost popularity to pop music...

 folk song composed by Ronnie Browne

Ronnie Browne

Ronnie Browne , is a Scottish folk musician and founding member of The Corries....

 of The Corries

The Corries

The Corries were a Scottish folk group that emerged from the Scottish folk revival of the early 1960s. Although the group was a trio in the early days, it was as the partnership of Roy Williamson and Ronnie Browne that it is best known.-Early years:...

. It was written circa 1973 and first appeared in their album released in 1974, Live From Scotland Volume 1. The title of the song refers to the symbol of Charles Edward Stuart

Charles Edward Stuart

Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland...

, which was a white rose. The words represent the treason and perfidy of Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, and deal with hope about the bright future

In the first verse, the writer mentions three battles between Scotland and England; Bannockburn

Battle of Bannockburn

The Battle of Bannockburn was a significant Scottish victory in the Wars of Scottish Independence...

, Flodden

Battle of Flodden Field

The Battle of Flodden or Flodden Field or occasionally Battle of Branxton was fought in the county of Northumberland in northern England on 9 September 1513, between an invading Scots army under King James IV and an English army commanded by the Earl of Surrey...

, and Culloden

Battle of Culloden

The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Taking place on 16 April 1746, the battle pitted the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart against an army commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, loyal to the British government...

. In the second verse, he mentions "sweat, blood, and hand" as the power of making the "new world". In the third verse, he mentions many resources and industries that support Scottish economy.

Its timing

Time signature

The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....

 is 2/4. It was played by two guitars. It appeared on Live From Scotland Volume 1, The Lads among heather (Volume 1 and 2), and The Corries 21st anniversary concert. After Roy Williamson

Roy Williamson

Roy Murdoch Buchanan Williamson was a Scottish songwriter and folk musician, most notably with The Corries.-Early life:...

's death, Ronnie Browne sang this song in his solo album released in 1996, Battle Songs and Ballads.