Outlander Main Title Theme (Skye Boat Song) Lyrics
We all think we are singing the lyrics to our fave song correctly, and sometimes we will even argue that the artist is wrong 😉 . But there has been a great debate on the correct lyrics to the Outlander main title theme lyrics, Skye Boat Song. Below are the correct lyrics to the theme song, and some history is below to explain how Bear McCreary came upon this song and these lyrics.
Sing me a song of a lass that is gone,
Say, could that lass be I?
Merry of soul she sailed on a day
Over the sea to Skye.
Billow and breeze, islands and seas,
Mountains of rain and sun,
All that was good, all that was fair,
All that was me is gone.Repeat chorus
Give me again all that was there,
Give me the sun that shone,
Give me the eyes, give me the soul
Give me the lass that’s gone.
Repeat chorus
Below is the full length song, performed at Spreckels Theater in San Diego (at San Diego Comic Con), before the world premiere of the first episode of Outlander. Raya Yarbrough is the singer, Bear McCreary is playing the accordion and Paul Cartwright, the violin.
McCreary’s decision to adapt the Scottish folk tune, The Skye Boat Song, to make it the theme song for The Outander series is a genius move. Originally written to tell the story of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s escape to the Isle of Skye after his defeat at Culloden, the song connects with the historical events that we are familiar with us as readers of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander‘s series.
For the theme song, Bear has taken this well known melody, slowed the tempo, and changed the lyrics to make it a song about Claire Randall, “the lass that is gone.” It is haunting and beautiful and unmistakably Scottish.
So that you can hear and compare the two versions of the song, scroll down and have a listen.
This is the original Skye Boat Song, complete with lyrics, performed by The Corries.
The original lyrics were rewritten by Robert Louis Stevenson, the Scottish novelist and poet, which was adapted further by Bear McCreary to fit the Outlander story. Watch the opening credits for Outlander, to hear this version of the lyrics.
