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The Haughs o' Cromdale
circa 1690

As I came in by Auchindoun,
A little wee bit frae the town,
When to the Highlands I was bound
To view the Haughs of Cromdale.
I met a man in tartan trews,
I spiered at him what was the news,
Quo' he, "The Highland army rues
That e'er we came to Cromdale.

We were in bed, sir, every man,
When the English host upon us came;
A bloody battle then began
Upon the Haughs of Cromdale.
The English horse they were so rude,
They bathed their hoofs in Highland blood,
But our brave clans, they boldly stood
Upon the Haughs of Cromdale.

But, alas! We could no longer stay,
For o'er the hilfs we came away,
And sore we do lament the day
That e"er we came to 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 of Cromdale."

"Alas, my lord, you're not so strong,
You scarcely have two thousand men,
And there's twenty-thousand on the plane,
Stand rank and file on Cromdale."
Thus the great Montrose did say,
"I say, direct the nearest way,
For I will o'er the hills this day,
And see the Haughs of Cromdale."

They were at dinner, every man,
When the great Montrose upon them came;
A second battle then began
Upon the Haughs of Cromdale.
The Grant, Mackenzie and M'Ky,
Soon as Montrose they did espy,
O then they fought most valiantly
Upon the Haughs of Cromdale.

The M'Donalds they returned again,
The Camerons did their standard join,
M'Intosh played a bloody game
Upon the Haughs of Cromdale.
The M'Gregors fought like lions bold,
M'Phersons, none could them control,
M'Lauchlins fought, like loyal souls
Upon the Haughs of Cromdale.

M'Leans, M'Dougals, and M'Neils,
So boldly as they took the field,
And made their enemies to yield
Upon the Haughs of Cromdale.
The Gordons boldly did advance,
The Frasers fought with sword and lance,
The Grahams they made the heads to dance,
Upon the Haughs of Cromdale.

The loyal Stewarts, with Montrose,
So boldly set upon their foes,
And brought them down with Highland blows
Upon the Haughs of Cromdale.
Of twenty-thousand Cromwell's men,
Five-hundred fled to Aberdeen,
The rest of them lie on the plain,
Upon the Haughs of Cromdale.

Editor's Notes:  This "vigorous" song is either an example of extreme poetic license or a misguided attempt at propaganda.  The Battle of Cromdale, which took place in 1690, was anything but a Jacobite victory.  Regardless of what this song's author has put forth, those troops loyal to King James VII were soundly defeated.  Anywhere from 1200 to 1600 Highlanders were fought for the Jacobites at Cromdale, with a reported 400 killed during the action by Sir Thomas Livingstone's Hanoverians.  An indeterminate number of Camerons took part in this battle, with some reported as being killed in action.

It is preposterous that Montrose had been designated the hero of this song, since he was not present.  In actuality, he had been dead for nearly half a century at that time.

Despite its being described as a "horribly muddled ballad," this song was immensely popular.  According to one author, "to the strains of the pipes playing this tune the Highlanders have charged and won battles all round the world."