Beneath the peaks of Glencoe so high, Where winter stars cut through the sky, The hearth fires burned in trusted cheer, And strangers found their welcome here. For in the glen the law was plain— Give bread and board in wind and rain. No man would turn a guest away, On such a bitter February day. Chorus Oh, weep for the sons of Alasdair MacIain, Slain where the drifting snowflakes lay. The oath was sworn, the bread was shared, Yet death walked in while none were spared. From mountain dark to frozen sea, Still echoes that betrayal’s plea— And the snow falls white on history, In the silent glen of Glencoe. Verse 2 Twelve nights they sat by peat fire glow, Spoke gentle words, kept watch from snow. They drank the ale, they shared the meat, With weary boots at kindred feet. But orders sealed with distant hand, Came riding through the silent land, And steel was drawn ere dawn could break, For king and coin and vengeance’ sake. Chorus Oh, weep for the sons of Alasdair MacIain, Slain where the drifting snowflakes lay. The oath was sworn, the bread was shared, Yet death walked in while none were spared. From mountain dark to frozen sea, Still echoes that betrayal’s plea— And the snow falls white on history, In the silent glen of Glencoe. Verse 3 Through drifting pass and icy stream, The widows fled through terror’s scream. The old men fell, the young were slain, And blood ran dark on snow and plain. The peaks stood mute, the sky turned grey, As clansmen breathed their last that day. And honour, broken like the blade, Lay buried where the dead were laid. Bridge O Highland wind, blow soft and low, Through haunted vale and buried woe. Tell every child of hearth and stone, What trust can cost when seeds are sown. Final Chorus So weep for the sons of Alasdair MacIain, And the clan brought low by hidden foe. Though years may pass and kings may reign, The scar remains in winter’s stain. For while the mountains guard the sky, And eagles over Rannoch fly, The snow will fall eternally, On the sorrowed glen of Glencoe.
