Here’s a little song by the legendary Scottish Folk Duo The Corries. In this video, they perform ‘The Bloody Sarks’ on live TV. This was the opening track from their 1981 album Stovies.
The Bloody Sarks by The Corries
The Bloody Sarks Lyrics;
The young McGregor o Glen Strae wi eighty o his men
Upon the Argyll sleekit word pit Finla’s glen a flame
The burning theiving hieland rant drove a the beast awa
And left ahint twa dirkit men to perish in the snaw
By Fallisdall the letter come frae black Dumbarton toon
To show the way they were tae bring McGregor doon
The bloody sarks o butchered men tae Jamie’s court maun gae
The widow women for to show and tell of the afray
Colquhoun o Luss could thole nae mair wi trampeled savaged pride
Buchanan levies mounted up to tan McGregor hide
From Leven’s vale, Dumbarton toon and all these lowland parts
The burgesses and fairmers came wi vengeance in their hearts
The Campbell and the Cameron, MacDonald o Glencoe
Ranked alang wi Gregorach and marched o’er the snaw
Far o’er the loch frae Arklet glen and doon the past Parlan
By Loch Long whose shores are held by the thieves o MacFarlane
Colquhoun wi his lowland mob lined o’er the Fruin glen
Five hundred foot, arrayed aboot three hundred moutned men
Yon godless hoard o Gregorach and others o their kind
Will creep nae mair frae their lair wi murdering in their minds
Aye whether be it for some stirks or just a ween o blacks
They’re ay’ways quick thier dirks to stick in ain anither backs
For honest men and guid Scots law we’ll tramp the vermin oot
Just steady bide God’s on our side o that there is nae doubt
Then like a torrent frae the glen McGregor’s scarlet charge
The sassenach could ne’er withstand the claymore and the targe
And all around the hellish screams o torn and dying men
Their precious blood seeped in the mud and drained in Fruin Glen
And every beast was lead awa a full twa thoosand heid
And the sairest price the victors paid was twa McGregors dead
But bide ye yet the victor’s feast the worst still to show
For the king proclaimed the Gregorach henceforth to be outlaw
Aye the bold McGregor and his clan were a declared outlaw
Who were The Corries?
The Corries were a folk duo made up of sinnger-songwriters Roy Williamson and Ronnie Browne. Originally formed as The Corrie Folk Trio with Bill Graham, the group eventually whittled down to just the pair of them by 1966. The duo released many successful studio albums and played many live shows in the 24 years they were together. The groups demise sadly came in 1990 with the passing of Roy Williamson who lost his battle with Cancer.
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