A CROFT IN CLOCHAN (THE BALLAD OF ROB MACDUNN)
As sung by Johnny Cash and Glenn Campbell on "Water from the Wells of Home"

With the Campbells and MacDonalds, it was in their blood to fight.
With each passing generation, it became a man's birthright;
But they always had one common enemy.
Never would the English Crown take Scottish independency.

Oh, the battles raged in Glasgow and majestic Edinburgh,
And they came with war machines, and in the Highland shouts were heard;
And the people rose in union, and the forces moved as one;
And the clans all joined together, to see English on the run

And in a tiny croft in Clachan, sat a mother, Peg MacDunn;
And she sewed a coat together, for her sixteen-year-old son;
And she cried as he was leaving: "Don't forget to keep you warm;
And come ye back to Clachan, when the English are all gone."

Now Rob MacDunn was ready, as he left the croft behind;
And he joined the Highland Pipe Brigade, with one thing on his mind;
That to keep his home and freedom, he must face it like a man;
So he marched in common cadence with his musket in his hand.

And he met the Hell of battle, in the Highlands and the Low;
And the reason for the fighting, long was in his blood to know;
In the middle of the rumble, he went forward gaining ground;
And the bagpipes still were piping, as the dead lay all around

Well he fought with no direction till he faced the winds of North;
And he boldly climbed the Highlands, farther from the Firth of Forth;
Then one freezing blowing morning, came the cry of Peg MacDunn;
"Back to my croft in Clachan, God has sent me home my son."

And in another croft in Clachan, 'cross the way from the MacDunns;
With her face against the window, stood a young girl tired and worn;
And she smiled a secret knowing, as she breathed the prayer alone;
"I thank thee, Lord, for bringing Rob MacDunn back safely home."

Back to the croft in Clachan, he returned to peace again;
He had gone a boy of sixteen, but he came back as a man.