"The Battle Of Sherramuir" by Robert Burns (read by Robert Carlyle)
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 Published On Sep 14, 2020

"The Battle Of Sherramuir" by Robert Burns

"O cam ye here the fight to shun,
Or herd the sheep wi' me, man?
Or were ye at the Sherra-moor,
Or did the battle see, man?"
"I saw the battle, sair and teugh
And reekin-red ran monie a sheugh;
My heart, for fear, gae sough for sough,
To hear the thuds, and see the cluds
O clans frae woods in tartan duds
Wha glaum'd at icingdoms three, man.

"The red-coat lads wi' black cockauds,
To meet them were na slaw, man;
They rush'd and push'd, and bluid outgush'd,
And monie a bouk did fa', man!
The great Argyle led on his files,
I wat they glanc'd for twenty miles;
They hough'd the clans like nine-pin kyles,
They hack'd and hash'd, while braid-swords clashed,
And thro they dash'd, and hew'd and smash'd,
Till fey men died awa, man.

"But had ye seen the philibegs,
And skyrin tartan trews, man;
When in the teeth they daur'd our Whigs,
And Covenant trueblues, man!
In lines extended lang and large,
When baig'nets o'erpower'd the targe,
And thousands hasten'd to the charge,
Wi' Highland wrath and frac the sheath
Drew blades o' death, till, out o' breath.
They fled like frightened dows, man!"

"O, how Deil, Tam, can that be true?
The chase gaed frae the north, man!
I saw mysel, they did pursue
The horseman back to Forth, man:
And at Dunblane, in my ain sight,
They took the brig wi a' their might
And straught to Stirling wing'd their flight;
But, cursed lot! the gates were shut,
And monie a huntit poor red-coat,
For fear amaist did swarf, man!"

My sister Kate came up the gate
Wi' crowdie unto me, man:
She swoor she saw some rebels run
To Perth and to Dundee, man!
Their left-hand general had nae skill;
The Angus lads had nae good will
That day their neebors' bluid to spill;
For fear, by foes, that they should lose
Their cogs o brose; they scar'd at blows,
And hameward fast did flee, man.

"They've lost some gallant gentlemen,
Amang the Highland clans, man!
I fear my Lord Panmure is slain,
Or in his en'mies' hands, man.
Now wad ye sing this double flight,
Some fell for wrang, and some for right,
But monie bade the world guid-night;
Say, pell and mell, wi' muskets' knell
How Tories feil, and Whigs to Hell
Flew off in frightened bands, man!"

• ────────────────────────────────── •
The Battle of Sheriffmuir took place in 1715 at the height of the Jacobite rising in England and Scotland.

John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar, a leader in the Jacobite cause in Scotland, declared James Francis Edward Stuart (the “Old Pretender”) as King of Scots. This angered the British Parliament and John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll lead an army against them.

Both armies suffered huge losses and both sides claimed victory, however the Duke of Argyll had managed, even through stalemate, to halt the Jacobite army and this did impact on the Jacobite’s moral, who given their greater number felt they should have been able to secure a decisive victory.

Burns was aware that the battle ended inconclusively, and the words in his poem recount the different perspectives of two shepherds.

One of the shepherds states that “the red-coat lads wi’ black cockades” routed the rebels, painting a fearful picture of how they managed to “hough the Clans like nine-pin kyles”. The other shepherd states the Jacobites “did pursue / The horsemen back to Forth, man” with the eventual result that “…mony a huntit, poor Red-coat / For fear amaist did swarf, man.”

Standard English translation: http://robertburnsfederation.com/poem...

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