ABSTRACT
The air o f this song appears originally to have been called ‘The Hessian M arch’ . It was first noted down in 18 15 by W illiam Christie o f Monquhitter, from a Buchan farm er who said that he had heard it played in the Duke o f Cum berland’s arm y en route from Aberdeen to Culloden. Gavin G reig discusses the history o f the song and quotes four sets o f verses built around a com m on refrain and sharing an identical melody. In all other respects, they must be considered as four distinctly different songs, different from each other and from the one presented here.
