A Croft In Clachan [The Ballad Of Rob Macdunn]

With the Campbells and McDonalds
It was in their blood to fight
With each passing generation it
Became a mans birthright
But they always had a common enemy
Never would the English crown
Take Scottish independency

Oh the battles rage in
Glasgow and majestic Edinburgh
And they came with war machines and
In the highlands shots were heard
Then the people rose in union and
The forces moved as one
And the Clans all joined together to
See English on the run
And in a tiny croft in Clachan sat a mother
Peg Macdunn
And she sewed the cords together for
Her 16 year old son
And she cried as he was leaving, donâ
And come you back to Clachan when
The English are all done
Now Rob Macdunn was ready as
The left the croft behind
And he joined the highland pipe brigade
With one thing on his mind
That to keep his home and freedom he
Must face it like a man
So he marched in common union with
His musket in his hand
And he met the hill of battle
In the highlands and the low
And the reason for the fighting long
Within his blood to know
In the middle of the rumble
He was forward gaining ground
And the bagpipes still were piping as
The dead lay all around
Then he moved in no direction till
He faced the winds of North
And he boldly climbed the highlands
Further from the Firth of Forth
Then one freezing, blowing morning
Came the cry of Peg Macdunn
Back to my croft in Clachan God
Has sent me home my son
And in another croft in Clachan cross
The way from the Macdunnâ
With her face against the window
Sat a young girl, tired and worn
And she smiled a secret knowing as
She breathed a prayer alone:
"I thank thee, Lord
For bringing Rob Macdunn back safely home"

Back to the croft in Clachan
He returned to peace again
He had gone a boy of 16
But he came back as a man