Haughs o' Cromdale (Audio)

Traditional Scottish Songs
- Haughs o' Cromdale




A battle took place on 30 April, 1690, in which a Jacobite force was routed on the low ground (haughs) at Cromdale in Morayshire by government forces. James Hogg, the Ettrick shepherd, later wrote a song about the defeat which became very popular. But then an unknown bard, unhappy with the story of a lost battle, added an exaggerated description of Montrose's victory over the Covenanters at Auldearn in 1645. Despite the muddled history and the fact that Montrose had been dead for 40 years before the conflict at Cromdale, the ballad remained popular. Many a Highland regiment has marched to the tune of this song.


Haughs o' Cromdale
As I came in by Auchindoun,
A little wee bit frae the toun,
When to the Highlands I was bound,
To view the haughs of Cromdale,
I met a man in tartan trews,
I speir'd 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 Engligh host upon us came,
A bloody battle then began,
Upon the haughs of Cromdale.
The English horse they were so rude,
They bath'd their hooves 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 hills 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 plain,
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 great Montrose upon them came,
A second battle then began,
Upon the haughs of Cromdale.
The Grant, Mackenzie and MacKay,
Soon as Montrose they did espy,
O then, they fought most valiantly!
Upon the haughs of Cromdale.

The Macdonalds they returned again,
The Camerons did their standard join,
MacIntosh play'd a bloody game,
Upon the haughs of Cromdale.
The MacGregors fought like lions bold,
MacPhersons, none could them control,
MacLaughlins fought, like loyal souls,
Upon the haughs of Cromdale.

MacLeans, MacDougals, and MacNeils,
So boldly as they took the field,
And make 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.

Meaning of unusual words:
speir'd at him=asked him
haughs=low lying ground

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Haughs
• o'
• Cromdale
• celtic
• folk
• Scottish

[rosswatt1979]

is this silly wizard?

[IsebelBerlin]

I love this song...

[septimusexsalto]

Andi M. Stewart! Legend!

[4everugly]

one of these days....I hope to get to Scotland.. music is haunting ..my dream ,even tho ,I know will never happen ,is a redhead ,green eye'd scott's lass. well...one has to have dreams now ...dont they?

[superraptor65]

Maist braw version ae haughs ae cromdale thits e'er bin sung

AN IT'S NO OAN ITUNES!

(it maun bi oan iTunes!)

[FairytaleIsland]

Because clearly the Scottish soul sings! What I get is just longing to Scotland!!!

[Dayepipes]

Scots Guards Pipes & Drums, 1950, was where I first heard this tune. A minor key tune but it never plays a minor 3rd. Always dances around it singing 4's and 2's but never the minor 3-'s the civilized world would do. 5,4,2,1 against a drone. --Who ARE these people?

[GatesOfHell4]

The louder this song is played, the better it sounds.

[CharlieStanebayers]

Is it weird that this song always makes me want to pick up a sword and charge into a bloody battle?

[habitatnoah11]

suidakra ftw

[gaconnochie]

Montrose was originally a Covenanter before he changed sides so originally had been in the Scottish army which defended Scotland against the English army of the Stuart monarch;but later he tried to raise an English army to invade Scotland on behalf of the Stuart monarch; but he never fought the invading army of Cromwell. He was already dead having been executed by the Scots for treason after leading an Irish and then a scandinavian invasions of Scotland! 

[gaconnochie]

@TheAltaltalt1 The Battle of Cromdale itself was Scots versus Scots though! The cavalry of the Scottish Govt forces made a surprise attack on the Jacobite forces and routed them sending them fleeing. Seemingly the misty conditions meant most could slip away in safety. There were no English involved. The song puts the battle at the end of the 1640s during the English Cromwellian invasion with Montrose fighting the English. Taking liberty is an understatement.