I have always wondered about the inherent inconsistencies in the versions of the 'rant' I'm familiar with. In the chorus he's playing the fiddle, then we have him taking the fiddle in "baith o' his hands" to smash it, and we also have a verse with... " Loose these bonds frae aff ma hands / and gie tae me ma sword....."...

But then again, it's all part of folk life's rich pattern. It doesn't really need to make sense if it sounds good and gets everyone going.... Almost as bad as opera.... Or politics...