Marjory Kennedy Fraser worked with collector Kenneth MacLeod who "translated" the songs he collected from the original Gaelic. She arranged them for performance in the drawing rooms of angst ridden Celtic twilight officianados. They are truly ghastly BUT the melodies are traditional.

Although Mist Covered Mountains speaks about just that, it is a homecoming song with a strong chorus

Ho ro, soon shall I see them Oh
Hee Ro See them Oh see them Oh etc

It is much more reminiscent of rowing than hiking, and one can imagine the mountainous islands of the Hebrides emerging from the horizon...

The others mentioned have that same quality.

My understanding from the trad Gaelic singers I know is that rhythmical songs could be used interchangeably and the lyrics were mutable and spontaneous. Thus a song could be used for both waulking or rowing. One example is Fliuch an Oidche (Wet is the night) which sings in praise of Clan Nill and their exploits at sea.

In looking at the Simon Fraser fiddle collection we find
"Rowing from Islay to Uist" the title of which implies that activity and it has the same "swing" as those previously mentioned. Another is simply called a "Rowing time piece"and another is "Sitting in the stern of a boat" -'nuf said. These could esaily have had words at one time.

I think one could safely conclude that these and many other tunes /songs with the appropriate cadence could have been used for rowing and or hauling sail.

cheers- Julia