Jacobism was the name of the political movement in Great Britain and Ireland, composed of mostly Scottish and Irish people, that, similar to Carlism in Spain, aimed to restore the Catholic House of Stuart to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. In contrast with the German Protestant houses that were (and still are) ruling Britain at the time.
This song is from the Jacobite Rising of 1745, AKA The "Year of Charles", which was the most prominent Jacobite rising. The 1745 rising was an attempt by prince Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. The song is here talking about Charles Edward Stuart, called the "Bonnie Prince". Bonnie is Scots for handsome.
There is some stuff in the song (apart from the Scots) that make it difficult to understand:
The great Lochiel is the chief of clan Camron, an avid Jacobite.
Brewing a peck of malt, means: we dare not make whisky, as it was outlawed.
Geordie refers to the men of the Duke of Cumberland, his troops were keen on subduing the highlanders.
He maun ca't fault, is: he must call it wrong (the distilling of whisky), as they believed the highlanders became berserkers after drinking it.
Kale, a type of cabbage, was pretty much all they had to eat besides oats when on the run, and they complain that the diet is so poor that they do not even have salt to flavor it.
Lyrics:
The man that should our king hae been
He wore the Royal red and green
A bonnier lad ye never seen
Than our young Royal Charlie
When Charlie in the heilan' sheil
Forgethered wi' the Great Lochiel
Oh sic' a kindness did prevail
'Tween the Chief and Charlie
Charlie's been too long awa'
And the eagle waits for the bugle's call
But the spirit shines above us all
For the right belongs to Charlie
At Falkirk and Prestonpans
Supported by the heilan' clans
He brak the Hanoverian bands
Did our young royal Charlie
But we darenae brew a peck o' malt
But Geordie he maun ca't a fault
And for our kale we scarce get salt
For want of Royal Charlie
Charlie's been too long awa'
And the eagle waits for the bugle's call
But the spirit shines above us all
For the right belongs to Charlie
Noo our Charlie's gone awa'
A doited German rules us all
And we are forced against the law
For want of Royal Charlie
So Charlie come and lead the way
For others here now hold the sway
But every dog maun hae it's day
So welcome Royal Charlie
Charlie's been too long awa'
And the eagle waits for the bugle's call
But the spirit shines above us all
For the right belongs to Charlie
