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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