As I come in by Auchindoun
Just a wee bit frae the toun
To the Hi'lands I was bound
To view the Haughs of Cromdale
I met a man in tartan trews
Spiered at him (asked) what was the news
Quo' he, "The Hi'land army rues
That e'er we come to Cromdale

"We were in bed, sir, every man
When the English host upon us cam;
A bloody battle then began
Upon the Haughs of Cromdale
The English horse they were so rude
They bathed their hoofs in Hi'land blood
But our brave clans, they boldly stood
Upon the Haughs of Cromdale

"But, alas! We could no longer stay
And o'er the hills we come away
Sore we do lament the day
That e"er we come to Cromdale."
T
Hus the great Montrose did say:
Hi'land man show me the way
I will over the hills this day
To view the Haughs of Cromdale."
They were at their dinner, every man
When great Montrose upon them cam;
A second battle then began
Upon the Haughs of Cromdale
The Grant, Mackenzie and M'Ky
As Montrose they did espy
Then they fought most valiantly
Upon the Haughs of Cromdale

The McDonalds they returned again
The Camerons did our standard join
McIntosh played a bloody game
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

And the loyal Stewarts, wi' Montrose
So boldly set upon their foes
Laid them low wi' Hi'land blows
Laid them low on Cromdale
Of twenty-thousand Cromwell's men
A thousand fled to Aberdeen
The rest of them lie on the plain
There on the Haughs of Cromdale
Of twenty-thousand Cromwell's men
A thousand fled to Aberdeen
The rest of them lie on the plain
There on the Haughs of Cromdale

The song is about a battle which took place on 30
April, 1690
In which a Jacobite force was routed
On the low ground or meadow (haughs) at Cromdale
By government forces
The first verses imply the defeat as alas we could no
Longer stay
And o'er the hills we come away. But then a second
Battle
With a great victory by Montrose is described, which is
Actually based
On Montrose's victory at Auldearn in 1645
Montrose had been dead for 40 years
Before the conflict at Cromdale
The victory verses may be a "wishfull"
Patriotic fancy, wherein previous heros join together
To win a "second" non-existant battle at Cromdale