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Sherramuir

from Jam by The Elderberries

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about

The lyrics come from poet Robert Burns. The Battle of Sheriffmuir was a relatively pointless skirmish during the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion, which sought to restore James ‘the Old Pretender’ Stuart to the crown. This battle ended with both sides retreating and claiming victory, and the song is an argument between two shepherd bystanders about the outcome.

lyrics

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

The red-coat lads, wi' black cockades,
To meet them werena' slaw, man;
They rushed and pushed, and blood outgushed
And mony a bouk did fa', man:
The great Argyle led on his files,
A wat they glanced for twenty miles;
They houghed the clans like nine-pin kyles,
They hacked and hashed, while broad swords clashed,
And thro' they dashed, and hewed and smashed,
Till fey men died awa, man.

But had ye seen the philibegs,
And skyrin tartan trews, man;
When in the teeth they dar'd our Whigs,
And covenant True-blues, man:
In lines extended lang and large,
When bayonets overpowered the targe,
And thoosands hastened to the charge;
Wi' Hieland wrath, they frae the sheath
Drew blades o' death, till, out o' breath,
They fled like frichted dows, man!

They've lost some gallant gentlemen,
Amang the Hieland clans, man!
I fear my Lord Panmure is slain,
Or fallen in Whiggish hands, man,
Now will ye sing this double flight,
Some died for wrang, and some for right;
But mony bade the world gude-night ;
Wi' pell and mell, and muskets knell,
The Tories fell, and Whigs tae hell
Flew off in frichted bands, man!

credits

from Jam, released February 22, 2015

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about

The Elderberries Oakland, California

We are "fine lads," or so some say, but that cannot be
because, among other reasons, we are not all lads. We are all friends
who met at the Starry Plough in Berkeley, united by our love of
traditional Irish music and dance. You can expect from us free and roving
sets of several hours or more, comprising jigs, reels, hornpipes, aires,
waltzes, slides, slip jigs, a variety of songs, and dance.
... more

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