This song was definitely NOT written by Dougie Mclean.

The massacre of Glencoe took place on 13th Feb 1692. For two weeks, Captain Robert Campbell and his men stayed with the MacDonald Clan at Glencoe, where they played cards, drank and generally fraternised with the MacDonalds.Captain Campbell was related through marriage,to Ian MacDonald, the Clan Chieftain. On Feb 12, Major Duncanson, Campbell's superior, sent a communication stating that:'You are hereby ordered to fall upon the McDonalds of Glencoe and put all to the sword under seventy...' The words of this song were printed on broadsheets and in chapbooks, but are probably not older than the 19th century. They may have been the effort of a local teacher or literary hack for the benefit of a broadsheet printer.

The above info comes from a book called "Traditional Folksongs & Ballads of Scotland" edited by John Loesberg and published by Ossian Publications Ltd.

Anne