Traditional Scottish Songs
- MacPherson's Lament
MacPherson's Lament
Chorus
Fare thee weel, you dungeons dark and strong,
Fareweel, fareweel to thee.
Macpherson's rant will ne'er be lang,
On yonder gallers tree.Sae wontonly, sae dauntonly,
O rantinly gaed he,
He played a tune an' he danced aroon,
Below the gallers tree.Chorus
Well the laird o' Grant, you highlan' Saint
That first laid hands on me,
He plead the cause o' Peter Broon,
He watched Macpherson dee.Chorus
By a woman's treacherous hand
That I was condemned to dee,
High on a ledge of her window she stood,
And a blanket she threw over me.Chorus
Some come here noo tae see me hang
And some to buy my fiddle,
Before I'll pairt wi' thee,
I'll brak' her through the middle.Chorus
Come ye loose the bands from off my hands
Bring tae me noo my sword,
There's nae a man in a' Scotland
That'll brave him at his word.Chorus
Little did my mother think
When first she cradled me,
That I would turn a rovin' boy
And die upon the gallers tree.Chorus
The reprieve was comin' o'er the brig o' Banff,
To set Macpherson free,
They pu' the clock a quarter fast,
And they hanged him to the tree.Chorus
Meaning of unusual words:
rant=play a lively tune
dauntonly=overcome
rantinly=merrily
Where else would you like to go in Scotland?
