THE HAUGHS O'
CROMDALE
Traditional
As
I cam' in by Auchendoun
Just a wee bit frae the toon,
Tae the Hielan's I was bound,
Tae view the Haughs o' Cromdale.
I
met a man in tartan trews,
Speired at him what was the news,
Quo' he "The Hielan' army rues
That e'er we cam tae Cromdale."
"We were in bed, sir, every man,
When the English host upon us cam'.
A
bloody battle then began,
Upon the Haughs o' Cromdale.
The English horse they were sae rude,
Bathed their hooves in Hielan' blood,
But oor brave clans they boldly stood,
Upon the Haughs o' Cromdale.
"But, alas, we could no longer stay,
For o'er the hills we cam' away.
Sair we did lament the day,
That e'er we cam' tae Cromdale."
Thus the great Montrose did say,
"Can you direct the nearest way ?
For I will o'er the hills this
day
And view the Haughs o'
Cromdale."
"Alas, my lord, you're not so strong,
You scarcely have two thousand men,
And there's twenty thousand on the plain,
Stand rank and file on Cromdale."
Thus the great Montrose did say,
"John Hielan' man, show me the way
For I will o'er the hills this day
And view the haughs o' Cromdale."
They were at dinner every man,
When great Montrose upon them cam'.
A
second battle then began,
Upon the Haughs o' Cromdale.
The Grant, Mackenzie and Mackay,
Soon as Montrose they did espy.
Oh, then they fought most valiently,
Upon the Haughs o' Cromdale.
The MacDonalds they returned again,
The Camerons did their standards join,
Macintosh played a bloody game,
Upon the Haughs o' Cromdale.
The Gordons boldly did advance,
The Frasers fought with sword and lance,
The Grahams they made the heids tae dance,
Upon the Haughs o' Cromdale.
Then the loyal Stewarts wi' Montrose,
Sae boldly set upon their foes,
Laid them low wi' hielan' blows,
Upon the Haughs o' Cromdale.
Of
twenty thousand Cromwell's men,
Five hundred fled to Aberdeen,
The rest o' them lie on the plain,
Upon the Haughs o' Cromdale.
Footnote : A popular song on the folk circuit
it is a splendid example of Jacobite spin - the ballad writer took two
battles and with little regard for truth produced this partisan song. The
first was the Battle of Auldearn in May 1645, a victory for Montrose, and
the second the ignominious defeat of the Jacobites under Colonels Cannon
and Buchan at Cromdale in 1690. Not only did the songwriter run together
incidents forty-five years apart but neatly reversed the events so that
the song ends with a Jacobite victory. Another version of the song is to
be found in the 'The Rebel Ceilidh Song
Book', published by Angus McGillveray, under the title 'Haughs o'
Cromdale'.
