In 1411 Lord Donald of the Isles and his army marched across the north east of Scotland. Two miles north west of Inverurie the Highlanders met a Lowland army to resolve competing claims to the Earldom of Ross. The battle was inconclusive, but the Highlanders withdrew.

As I cam by the Garioch land
And doon by Netherha'
There were fifty thoosan Hielanmen
A-marchin tae Harlaw.

Chorus

Singin didee-i-o,
Sing fal la do,
Sing didee-i-o-i-ay.

'It's did ye come fae the Hielans, man,
An did ye come a' the wey,
An did ye see MacDonald an his men
As they marched frae Skye?'

'It's I come fae the Hielans, man,
An I come a' the wey -
An I saw MacDonald an his men
As they marched frae Skye.'

'It's wis ye near and near enough,
Did ye their number see?
Come tell to me, John Hielanman,
What might their number be?'

'For I was near and near enough
An I their number saw:
There were fifty thoosan Hielanmen
A-marchin tae Harlaw.'

For they went on an furder on
An doon an by Balquhain:
It's there I met Sir James the Rose
Wi him Sir John the Graham.

'If that be's true', said Sir James the Rose,
'We'll no come muckle speed.
We will call upon wer merry men
And we'll turn wer horses' heids.'

'Oh nay, oh nay', said Sir John the Graham,
'Sic things we maunna dee:
For the gallant Grahams were never beaten
An' we'll try fit they can dee.'

For they went on an furder on
An doon an by Harlaw:
They fell full close on ilkae side,
Sic strikes ye never saw.

They fell full close on ilkae side,
Sic strikes ye never saw -
For ilkae sword gied clash for clash
At the battle o Harlaw.

The Highlandmen wi their lang swords
They laid on us fu sair;
They drove back wer merry men
Three acres breadth an mair.

Lord Forbes to his brother did say
'O brither, dinna ye see?
They beat us back on every side,
And we'll be forced to flee.'

'O nay, O nay, my brother dear,
O nay, that maunna be.
or ye'll tak your guid sword in your hand
And ye'll gang in wi me.'

For the two brothers brave
Gaed in amangst the thrang;
They swope doon the Hielanmen
Wi swords both sharp an lang.

The first strike Lord Forbes gied
The brave MacDonald reeled,
The second strike Lord Forbes gied
The brave MacDonald fell.

What a cry among the Hielanmen
When they seed their leader fa,
They lifted him an buried him
A lang mile frae Harlaw.

Here is an additional final verse that Jeannie Robertson usually sang:

If anybody ask o ye
For them that’s gaed awa,
Ye can tell them plain and very plain,
They’re sleepin at Harlaw

The detail given in this ballad does not accord with historical accounts, since it suggests that the Lowland army won. The result of the fighting was a draw, though the invading Highlanders then withdrew.

But the build-up of tension to the ferocious fight, then the sad outcome, are carried well forward by the jaunty tune.

This ballad is much more modern, but we do not know when it was made. There was an older ballad about the battle; it was one of the songs listed in the 'Complaynt of Scotland' in 1549.

Sir Walter Scott wrote 11 verses of a ballad about Harlaw, saying it was sung by Old Elspeth, a character in his book 'The Antiquary'. His song begins well:

Now haud your tongue, baith wife and carle
And listen, great and sma
And I will sing of Glenallan's Earl
That fought on the red Harlaw.

'The Battle of Harlaw', performed by Jeannie Robertson.
From Portraits: The Queen Among the Heather CD 1720, Rounder Records
From the Alan Lomax Collection at the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress. Used courtesy of the Association for Cultural Equity.