May 8, 2026: Will Ye No Come Back Again is in Book 2.
Okay, so the title probably does not make you want to play this and I still think it should be "nae" and not "no" because even if it's wrong it's funnier that way. But trust me, this is a delightful tune. I ran into it a bazillion years ago in my piano days and fell in love with it right away. When you're looking at the handsome fellah above, you want that medal to mean something. You don't want to learn he's going to be utterly routed at the Battle of Culloden and he'll have to run away, his movement to restore the British crown to something far more Scotland-forward will be completely wiped out, and decades of pro-Bonnie music will pour forth from the folks up north to no avail. Of course, countries all over the globe were dealing with the English walking in and taking over, so we can sympathize and harmonize with them.
Enough really poor history from me and onto the song: Chances of you knowing the tune are pretty remote, so listen to the MP3 a few times. The famous bar chord in Measure 3 isn't going to die, and here it pops up again. The ring and pinky will eventually learn to live with this situation. The TuffUke shape in the middle of Measure 10 will be a regular shape you should commit to memory. It's a very convenient 7th chord shape hanging around on the fifth fret. There are two more mean chords waiting for you in Measures 11 and 12. They're beautiful and they're right, but a bit unpleasant to master. Obviously if you're singing, use the easy chord shapes in the grids above the top line like a sane person would do.
Remember we're getting together on Sunday nights at 7 pm Mountain time on YouTube and you should join us. Info is here.
