"The Campbells Are Coming" is a Scottish song associated with

Clan Campbell Clan Campbell ( gd, Na Caimbeulaich ) is a Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans. The Clan Campbell lands are in Argyll and within their lands lies Ben Cruachan. The chief of the clan be ...

. The tune, a traditional Scottish air, is similar to "The Town of Inveraray" ( gd, "Baile Ionaraora") ("I was at a wedding in the town of

Inveraray Inveraray ( or ; gd, Inbhir Aora meaning "mouth of the Aray") is a town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, and on the A83 road. It is a former royal burgh, the traditional county town of Arg ...

/ Most wretched of weddings, with nothing but shellfish..."; ( gd, "Bha mi air banias am Baile IIonaraora / Banais na bochdainn 's gun oirr' ach am maorach...")) and other Scottish songs, but with these martial lyrics: Chorus:
:The Campbells are coming Ho-Ro, Ho-Ro! :The Campbells are coming Ho-Ro, Ho-Ro! :The Campbells are coming to bonnie Lochleven :The Campbells are coming Ho-Ro, Ho-Ro! Verses: :Upon the Lomonds I lay, I lay, :Upon the Lomonds I lay, I lay, :I lookit down to bonnie Lochleven :And saw three

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...

es play-hay-hay! :The Great Argyll he goes before, :He makes the cannons and guns to roar, :With sound o'trumpet, pipe and drum, :The Campbells are coming, Ho-Ro, Ho-Ro! :The Campbells they are a' in arms, :Their loyal faith and truth to show, :With banners rattling in the wind, :The Campbells are coming Ho-Ro, Ho-Ro! The song was definitely extant by 1745 and perhaps much earlier. It may have been inspired by the war of the

Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts The House of Stuart, ori ...

(

John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll Field Marshal John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, 1st Duke of Greenwich, (10 October 1680 – 4 October 1743), styled Lord Lorne from 1680 to 1703, was a Scottish nobleman and senior commander in the British Army. He served on the contine ...

was the loyalist war leader and many Scottish loyalists were Campbells); According to Lewis Winstock the tune accompanied the Scottish loyalist vanguard in the Jacobite war, and

Robert Wodrow Robert Wodrow (167921 March 1734) was a Scottish minister and historian, known as a chronicler and defender of the Covenanters. Robert Wodrow was born at Glasgow, where his father, James Wodrow, was a professor of divinity. Robert was educate ...

ascribes that name to one of the bagpipe tunes that accompanied Argyle's Highlanders entrance into Perth and Dundee. Or it may have been concerned with earlier events around the deposing of

Mary Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

. If so, "Lochleven" would presumably refer to

Lochleven Castle Lochleven Castle is a ruined castle on an island in Loch Leven, in the Perth and Kinross local authority area of Scotland. Possibly built around 1300, the castle was the site of military action during the Wars of Scottish Independence (1296–1 ...

where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned in 1567, and "Great Argyll" may refer to

Archibald Campbell, 5th Earl of Argyll Archibald Campbell, 5th Earl of Argyll (1532/1537 – 12 September 1573) was a Scottish nobleman, peer, and politician. He was one of the leading figures in the politics of Scotland during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the early par ...

who attempted to rescue her. The song is commonly attributed to

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

, like many Scottish songs which are actually traditional or of unknown origin. Burns did write a version with some different verses, which he published in the ''

Scots Musical Museum The ''Scots Musical Museum'' was an influential collection of traditional folk music of Scotland published from 1787 to 1803. While it was not the first collection of Scottish folk songs and music, the six volumes with 100 songs in each collected ...

'', a collection of Scottish folk songs (and some new songs) published between 1787 and 1803.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbells Are Coming Scottish folk songs