Braes o' Killiecrankie is the name of four distinct folk songs, all originally from Scotland. The version that begins with the line "Whare hae ye been sae braw, lad?" (

Roud The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud (born 1949), a former librarian in the London ...

8187) is the one discussed here. The versions that begin with the line "Clavers and his highland men" are either the Scots version (Roud 8188) or the USA version (Roud 2572). Finally there is another Scots version, that begins with the line "On a thistle I sat doon" (Roud 3363). The

Battle of Killiecrankie The Battle of Killiecrankie ( gd, Blàr Choille Chnagaidh), also referred to as the Battle of Rinrory, took place on 27 July 1689 during the 1689 Scottish Jacobite rising. An outnumbered Jacobite force under John Graham, Viscount Dundee and S ...

was fought in 1689, as part of the

Jacobite rebellion , war = , image = Prince James Francis Edward Stuart by Louis Gabriel Blanchet.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant between 1701 and 1766 , active ...

James Hogg James Hogg (1770 – 21 November 1835) was a Scottish poet, novelist and essayist who wrote in both Scots and English. As a young man he worked as a shepherd and farmhand, and was largely self-educated through reading. He was a friend of many ...

made a collection of songs relating to the battles and campaigns. It was published as ''

Jacobite Reliques ''Jacobite Relics'' is a two volume collection of songs related to the Jacobite risings, compiled by the Scottish poet and novelist James Hogg on commission from the Highland Society of London in 1817. Most of the songs in the collection are Jacob ...

'' in 1819. He lists this song simply as "Killiecrankie" (number 19 on page 32). The first three verses and the chorus were written by Robert Burns and set to an older melody. Hogg may have had a hand in writing the additional verses.

Tune

\relative c'' \addlyrics

Lyrics

James Hogg version Whare hae ye been sae braw, lad? Whare hae ye been sae brankie, O? Whare hae ye been sae braw, lad? Came ye by Killicrankie, O? ''Chorus'' An ye had been whare I hae been, Ye wadna been sae cantie, O; An ye had seen what I hae seen, I' the braes o' Killicrankie, O. I faught at land, I faught at sea, At hame I faught my auntie, O; But I met the devil and

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

On the braes o' Killicrankie, O. ''(Chorus)'' The bauld Pitcur fell in a furr, And Clavers got a clankie, O, Or I had fed an Athol gled On the braes o' Killicrankie, O. ''(Chorus)'' O fie,

Mackay Mackay may refer to: *Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives Mackay may also refer to: Places Australia * Mackay Region, a local government area ** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region *** Mackay Airpor ...

, what gart ye lie I' the bush ayont the brankie, O? Ye'd better kiss'd King Willie's loof, Than come to Killicrankie, O. It's nae shame, it's nae shame, It's nae shame to shank ye, O; There's sour slaes on Athol braes, And deils at Killicrankie, O.

Notable recordings

* Scotland's

Big Country Big Country are a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981. The height of the band's popularity was in the early to mid 1980s, although it has retained a cult following for many years since. The band's music incorporated Scot ...

recorded a version with rousing guitar. * A 1966 recording by

The Corries The Corries were a Scottish folk group that emerged from the Scottish folk revival of the early 1960s. The group was a trio from their formation until 1966 when founder Bill Smith left the band but Roy Williamson and Ronnie Browne continued ...

was a pioneering use of the music video. * Recorded by

Jean Redpath Jean Redpath MBE (28 April 1937 – 21 August 2014) was a Scottish folk singer, educator and musician. Career Jean Redpath was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, to musical parents. Her mother knew many Scots songs and passed them on to Jean and her ...

on ''The Songs of Robert Burns'', volumes 5 and 6 *

Marc Gunn Marc Andrew Gunn (born March 17, 1972) is an American musician and podcaster. Gunn rose to prominence as the autoharp-playing half of the Brobdingnagian Bards. He and partner Andrew McKee developed a following with weekly performances on the ...

recorded it on his first solo album in 2004, ''Soul of a Harper''. * Recorded by Jim Malcolm (formerly of the Old Blind Dogs) on ''Acquaintance''. * Scottish group Broadsword, consisting of Ian Jaconelli and Paul Kelly, included it on their self-titled album. * The McCalmans on ''The Scottish Songs'' album. * Recorded by Scottish folk singer Bob Stewart on the ''Rooted in Folk'' album. * Recorded by The Jacobites by Name on their 2016 self titled debut album. * Recorded by Scottish-American folk singer Alex Beaton on his album "20 Hits of Scotland"(1990). {{DEFAULTSORT:Braes o' Killiecrankie Jacobite songs Scots-language works Scottish folk songs Year of song unknown Songwriter unknown