"Charlie Is My Darling" is the title of a number of traditional Scots songs. The first is attributed variously to

James Hogg James Hogg (1770 – 21 November 1835) was a Scottish poet, novelist and essayist who wrote in both Scots and English. As a young man he worked as a shepherd and farmhand, and was largely self-educated through reading. He was a friend of many ...

Carolina Oliphant Carolina Oliphant, Lady Nairne (16 August 1766 – 26 October 1845) – also known as Carolina Baroness Nairn in the peerage of Scotland and Baroness Keith in that of the United Kingdom – was a Scottish songwriter. Many of her s ...

(Lady Nairne). Beginning with the line ''Twas on a Monday morning, right early in the year'', it celebrates the Jacobite movement. A second later song of the same name is attributed to Charles Gray. However, the best-known version is by

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

, whose 1794 version is somewhat more earthy than the more patriotic earlier ones.

Eddi Reader Sadenia "Eddi" Reader MBE (born 29 August 1959) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, known for her work as frontwoman of Fairground Attraction and for an enduring solo career. She is the recipient of three BRIT Awards. In 2003, she showcased the wo ...

has recorded a popular version of this one on her highly regarded CD of Burns' songs. There is an arrangement by

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

, "Charlie is my darling", WoO. 157 (12 songs of various nationalities) no. 3 (1819). The song was adapted in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

as 'Johny is my Darling', a variation on Charlie.

Modern adaptations

Roger Quilter Roger Cuthbert Quilter (1 November 1877 – 21 September 1953) was a British composer, known particularly for his art songs. His songs, which number over a hundred, often set music to text by William Shakespeare and are a mainstay of the En ...

's setting of the Burns version of the song was included in the ''

Arnold Book of Old Songs The ''Arnold Book of Old Songs'' is a collection of English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh and French folk songs and traditional songs, with new piano accompaniments by Roger Quilter. Quilter dedicated it to and named it after his nephew Arnold Guy Viv ...

'', published in 1950. The song was also parodied on BBC Radio Scotland, by comedy group Flying Pig Productions in their show ''Desperate Fishwives''. The title was switched to "Darling is a Charlie", referring to the trials and tribulations of the then current (2008–2010) Chancellor of the Exchequer,

Alistair Darling Alistair Maclean Darling, Baron Darling of Roulanish, (born 28 November 1953) is a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under Prime Minister Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he was a Member ...

. Another parody of the song is heard in the "

Charlie X "Charlie X" is the second episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Dorothy C. Fontana from a story by Gene Roddenberry, and directed by Lawrence Dobkin, it first aired on September ...

" episode of the classic series ''Star Trek'', in which Lt.

Uhura Nyota Uhura () is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. In the Star Trek: The Original Series, original television series, the character was portrayed by Nichelle Nichols, who reprised the role for the first six List of Star Trek ...

sings a special version (with lyrics adapted to the plot) as

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accompanies her on the

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lyre. The title was used by the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

in their 1966 documentary '' Charlie Is My Darling''. The lyrics to this song were changed by composer

Dimitri Tiomkin Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin (, ; May 10, 1894 – November 11, 1979) was a Russian-born American film composer and conductor. Classically trained in St. Petersburg, Russia before the Bolshevik Revolution, he moved to Berlin and then New York City ...

and featured in the 1950 movie called "

Dakota Lil ''Dakota Lil'' is a 1950 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander and written by Maurice Geraghty. The film stars George Montgomery, Rod Cameron, Marie Windsor, John Emery, Wallace Ford and Jack Lambert. The film was released on Fe ...

"; it was given the Jazz treatment and sung by Anita Ellis, who dubbed for actress

Marie Windsor Marie Windsor (born Emily Marie Bertelsen; December 11, 1919 – December 10, 2000) was an American actress known for her femme fatale characters in the classic film noir features ''Force of Evil'', ''The Narrow Margin'' and '' The Killing''. Wi ...

, who played the title lead. The song is also in the educational computer game The Oregon Trail, where it is featured at Soda Springs as the song which plays there, as each location of note has an accompanying song.

References

External links

Burns' version
at Wikisource Scottish songs Jacobite songs Adaptations of works by Robert Burns Scots-language works Year of song unknown {{song-stub