O you take the high road, and I'll take the low road. And I'll be in Scotland afore ye. But me and my true love will never meet again. On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.
Singing about how the English will carry your corpse as a man through the hills and cities of Northern England and Scotland as a reminder why you should never rebel, while your widow takes the low roads through the valleys and woods back home to avoid capture and rape. Yes, there is some inequality there.
I found one source for that but it doesn't make much sense, as then the song is sung by the woman. Doesn't seem likely given the time period.
Wikipedia (ugh) and others I found say the low road is death, which is how I've always heard it. Graves being underground and all. Also "low" isn't an old english word and comes originally from words meaning flat or to lie down - like when you're dead.
Gender inequality:
Singing about how the English will carry your corpse as a man through the hills and cities of Northern England and Scotland as a reminder why you should never rebel, while your widow takes the low roads through the valleys and woods back home to avoid capture and rape. Yes, there is some inequality there.
I found one source for that but it doesn't make much sense, as then the song is sung by the woman. Doesn't seem likely given the time period.
Wikipedia (ugh) and others I found say the low road is death, which is how I've always heard it. Graves being underground and all. Also "low" isn't an old english word and comes originally from words meaning flat or to lie down - like when you're dead.