The Haughs O' Cromdale

Album: various (1695)
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Songfacts®:

  • This is a traditional Scottish song that probably dates from the 1690s. According to London Borough of Ealing archivist and accredited historian Jonathan Oates, it "rewrites a defeat as a victory."

    A Scottish archivist was even more forthright, describing it as "either an example of extreme poetic license or a misguided attempt at propaganda."

    The Battle of Cromdale took place in a low lying meadow (a haugh) from April 30 to May 1, 1690 and saw the Jacobites firmly routed.

    The hero of the song, James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, was actually executed in 1650!

    Nevertheless, "The Haughs O' Cromdale" remains popular with Scottish traditionalists to this day and has been widely recorded, including by The Corries. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England

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