| Lyrics: | McPherson's Lament
My father was a gentleman,
Of fame and honor
high,
Oh mother, would you ne'er had borne
The son so doom'd to
die.
chorus- Sae rantingly, sae wantonly,
Sae dauntingly
gaed he;
He play'd a spring (sprig), and danc'd it round (a jig)
Below the gallows-tree.
I've spent my life in rioting,
Debauch'd my health and strength,
I squander'd fast, as pillage came,
And
fell to shame at length.
& ch
Farewell, yon dungeons
dark and strong,
The wretch's destinie!
M'Pherson's time will not be
long
On yonder gallows-tree.
& ch
O what
is breath but parting breath?
On many a bloody plain
I've dar'd his face,
and in this place
I'll scorn him yet again.
& ch
But vengeance I never did wreak,
When pow'r was in my hand,
And
you, dear friends, no vengeance seek,
It is my last command.
& ch
Forgive the man whose rage betray'd
MacPherson's worthless
life;
When I am gone, be it not said,
My legacy was strife.
& ch
He took his fiddle in both his hands
And he broke
it all a stone,
Saying there's nae a han' shall ply on thee
When I am dead
and gone.
& ch
Now farewell light, thou sunshine
bright,
And all beneath the sky!
May coward shame disdain his name,
The wretch that dares not die!
& ch
O reprieve was
coming o the Brig o' Dans
for tae set MacPherson free,
For they set the
clock a quarter before
And they hanged him from a tree.
&
ch
& ch
@outlaw @death @music
recorded by Jeannie Robertson on
Heather and Glen
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