The Battle of Harlaw

As I came in by Dunnideer And down by Nether Haw There were fifty thousand Highland men Marching to Harlaw With a diddie aye-o and a fal and a doe And a diddie aye-o aye-ey

As I went on and further on And down by Balquhain Oh it's there I saw Sir James Ross And with him John Graeme With a diddie aye-o ...

"Did you come from the Highlands, man, Did you come all the way? Did you see Macdonald and his men As they came in from Skye?" With a diddie aye-o ...

"Oh I was near, and near enough, That I their number saw. There were fifty thousand Highland men All marching to Harlaw." With a diddie aye-o ...

"If that's true," says James Ross "They'll not be moving fast We'll call to our companions And turn our horse's head." With a diddie aye-o ...

"Oh no, oh no," says John Graeme "This thing will never be For the gallant Graemes were never beaten We'll try what we can do." With a diddie aye-o ...

Well, as I went on and further on And down by Harlaw They fell full close on every side Such blows you never saw. With a diddie aye-o ...

They fell full close on every side Such blows you never saw And every sword gave clash for clash At the battle of Harlaw With a diddie aye-o ...

The Highland men with their long swords They laid on us full sore And they drove back our companions The width of three acres or more With a diddie aye-o ...

And Forbes said to his brother "Oh, brother, can't you see They've beaten us back on every side And we'll be forced to flee." With a diddie aye-o ...

"Oh no, oh no, my brother bold This thing will never be You'll take your good sword in your hand And you'll come in with me." With a diddie aye-o ...

Well, it's back-to-back the brothers bold Went in amongst the throng And they drove back the Highland men With their swords both sharp and long. With a diddie aye-o ...

And the first blow that Forbes struck He made Macdonald reel And the next blow that Forbes struck The brave Macdonald fell With a diddie aye-o ...

And such a panic The like you never saw As there was among the Highland men When they saw Macdonald fall With a diddie aye-o ...

Some rode, some ran, and some fled They were of no account But Forbes and his companions They slew them on the road With a diddie aye-o ...

Of fifty thousand Highland men Only fifty-three went home And out of all the Lowland men Fifty marched with Graeme With a diddie aye-o ...

If anybody asks you Of those who marched away You can tell them plain and very plain They're sleeping at Harlaw With a diddie aye-o ...

Wi a diddie aye-o and a fal and a doe And a diddie aye-o aye-ey

This song, in vernacular Scots, tells the story of the Battle of Harlaw, fought in 1411. An army from the west coast of Scotland, under the command of Donald (or Domhnall), the Lord of the Isles, invaded the Earldom of Ross and advanced toward Aberdeen on the east coast. Donald's forces were met near Inverurie in Aberdeenshire by a smaller force assembled by Alexander Stewart, the Earl of Mar, who was loyal to the king of Scotland.

The battle was a smaller affair than described in the song, but ended in a tactical victory for the Earl of Mar, and the retreat of Donald's army. Donald (Macdonald in the song) was not killed, and the leaders named on the 'Lowland' side -- Sir James Ross, Sir John Graeme, Forbes -- were probably not present at the battle and may not even have existed.

Dunideer -- Dunnideer Castle in Aberdeenshire

"fifty thoosan Hieland men" -- Donald's forces probably actually numbered only around 10,000 men; the Earl of Mar may have had just a third or half that number, but the core of the Lowland army was much better equipped, with knights wearing full plate armor against the lightly-armed and -armored Highlanders.

Sir James the Rose -- Sir James Ross

John the Graeme -- John Graeme or Graham

Macdonald -- Donald (Domhnall) the Lord of the Isles, a baron whose power base lay mainly in the islands off the west coast of Scotland. Donald claimed to be the rightful ruler of the Earldom of Ross in north-western Scotland, and his incursion into mainland Scotland was intended to secure his claim.

Skye -- a large island off the coast of Scotland

heilan men -- the 'Highland men' were from the Western Isles off the west coast of Scotland. The 'Lowland men' who opposed them were the Earl of Mar's soldiers, mostly from the east and south of Scotland.

merry men -- the phrase 'merry men' (most familiar from the phrase "Robin Hood and his merry men") doesn't mean that those described were particularly cheerful. 'Merry men' were the closest companions and most trusted soldiers of a lord or leader, often blood relatives or their best-equipped and most loyal knights. Depending on the context, 'companions', 'supporters', 'retinue' or 'followers' might all be good translations. 'Merry men' would normally refer to the core of a lord's army, but it could possibly be extended to describe all the soldiers fighting under his banner.

"turn wir horse's heid" -- a poetic way of saying to turn around, i.e. to retreat

"the brave Macdonald fell" -- Donald was not killed or, so far as is known, even injured in the battle

"pitlarichie" -- panic, confusion, chaos; possibly an invented word

"but fifty-three gaed hame" -- Donald's forces probably numbered about 10,000, of whom around 900 died in the battle. Around 600 of the Earl of Mar's smaller force were killed, but neither side was nearly wiped out, as the song suggests. Losses do seem to have been particularly heavy among the elites, however: Donald's seconds-in-command were both killed, and many knights on the Lowland side died. If you were to count only the nobility and the elite knights, then perhaps the numbers given in the ballad are more accurate.