The James T. Callow Folklore Archive

The Scottish song "You Take the High Road and I'll Take the Low Road" is really a song concerning death. The Scots believed that when they died they would return to their native land by the shortest route.Therefore if a person was killed for instance in the U.S. he would travel through the earth to Scotland. This would be the low road. If his companion was with him and still alive he would return, of course, overland or the high road.
 

Data entry tech comment:

Informant and collector are the same person.

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; ROYAL OAK ; heard on the radio