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The recent thread on folk music lead me to The Corries song Killiecrankie, can someone give meaning to the lyrics for me?
Whaur hae ye been sae braw, lad?
Whaur hae ye been sae brankie-o?
Whaur hae ye been sae braw, lad?
Cam' ye by Killiecrankie-o?
An' ye had been whaur I hae been
Ye wadna been sae cantie-o
An' ye had seen what I hae seen
On the braes o' Killiecrankie-o
I fought at land, I fought at sea
At hame I fought my auntie-o
But I met the Devil and Dundee
On the braes o' Killiecrankie-o
The bauld pitcur fell in a furr
And Clavers gat a crankie-o
Or I had fed an Athol gled
On the braes o' Killiecrankie-o
Oh fie, MacKay, What gart ye lie
I' the brush ayont the brankie-o?
Ye'd better kiss'd King Willie's loff
Than come tae Killiecrankie-o
It's nae shame, it's nae shame
It's nae shame to shank ye-o
There's sour slaes on Athol braes
And the de'ils at Killiecrankie-o
Nicked from mudcat.org
Whaur hae ye been sae braw, lad? (Where have you been so fine, lad?
Whaur hae ye been sae brankie-o? (Where have you been so gay?
Whaur hae ye been sae braw, lad? (Where have you been so fine, lad?
Cam' ye by Killiecrankie-o? (Did you come by Killiecrankie?
An' ye had been whaur I hae been (If you had been where I have been
Ye wadna been sae cantie-o   (You would not be so cheerful/happy
An' ye had seen what I hae seen (If you had seen what I have seen
On the braes o' Killiecrankie-o (On the slopes/hills of Killiecrankie
I fought at land, I fought at sea
At hame I fought my auntie-o   (At home I fought my aunt
But I met the Devil and Dundee
On the braes o' Killiecrankie-o
The bauld pitcur fell in a furr
And Clavers gat a crankie-o (And Clavers got a insecure/unsteady
Or I had fed an Athol gled
On the braes o' Killiecrankie-o
Oh fie, MacKay, What gart ye lie (Oh fie, McKay, What made you lie
I' the brush ayont the brankie-o? (In the brush among the gay?
Ye'd better kiss'd King Willie's loff (loof=palm of the hand
Than come tae Killiecrankie-o
[url= http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=28904 ]See here for debate on what it could be interpreted as....[/url]
Not relevant to the OP but after the battle of killiecrankie, one of the government (losing side) soldiers was being chased by a bunch of highlanders and trapped by the river garry, leaped across the river. he made it to the other side and escaped, the spot now being referred to as the soldiers leap
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Thanks Al.
BBSB there is a similar story in the town I grew up in called Limavady. In Irish this is Leim an Mhadaidh which means leap of the dog. An Irish wolfhound was meant to have jumped the river and took a message to a neighbouring clan to advise the local clan the O'Cahans were under attack.