MacPherson's Lament

Farewell, ye dungeons dark and strong
 Farewell, farewell to thee.
 Macpherson's rant will ne'er be lang
 On yonder gallows tree.
 Sae rantingly, sae wontonly
 Sae dauntingly gaed he
 He played a tune an' he danced aroon
 Beneath the gallows tree.
 Well the laird o' Grant, that highlan' sa'nt
 That first laid hands on me
 He played the cause on Peter Broon
 To let Macpherson dee.
 Sae rantingly, sae wontonly
 Sae dauntingly gaed he
 He played a tune an' he danced aroon
 Beneath the gallows tree.
 By a woman's treacherous hand
 That I was condemned to dee
 High on a ledge at a window she stood
 And a blanket she threw o'er me.
 Sae rantingly, sae wontonly
 Sae dauntingly gaed he
 He played a tune an' he danced aroon
 Beneath the gallows tree.
 There's some come here to see me hanged
 And some to buy my fiddle
 But before that I do part wi' her
 I'll brak her thro' the middle.
 Sae rantingly, sae wontonly
 Sae dauntingly gaed he
 He played a tune an' he danced aroon
 Beneath the gallows tree.
 Untie these bands from off my hands
 And gie to me my sword
 There's nae a man in a' Scotland
 But I'll brave him at a word.
 He took the fiddle into both his hands
 And he broke it o'er a stone
 Says there's nae other hand shall play on thee
 When I am dead and gone.
 O, little did my mother think
 When she first cradled me
 That I would turn a rovin' boy
 And die on the gallows tree.
 The reprive was comin' o'er the brig o' Banff
 To let Macpherson free
 But they pit the clock a quarter afore
 And hanged him to a tree.