Clan Alpin’s Vow

Clan Alpin’s Vow

The moon creeps forth in cloudy light,
And whispers through the sleeping night,
The ancient Scottish hills afar,
Beneath the gleam of evening star.
But hark! a sound, a solemn tread,
A gathering of the Highland dead.
They rise, they move, a spectral host,
From glen and moor, from sea and coast.
The piper’s wail, a mournful cry,
Echoes beneath the starless sky.
MacGregor’s sons, with eyes of fire,
Fulfil their fathers’ dark desire.
They swore an oath, in blood and tears,
To banish ev’ry hateful fear.
For Drummond’s blood, for kindred slain,
Their vengeance shall they now obtain.
The headsman’s axe, the warrior’s blade,
Shall justice for their wrongs be made.
No mercy shown, no quarter given,
To those who stand ‘twixt them and heaven.
The Highland charge, a thund’ring sound,
Shall shake the Covenanters’ ground.
The ancient vow, the solemn oath,
Shall bind them to their bloody troth.
So sleep, ye spirits, rest in peace,
Your earthly vengeance now shall cease.
But heed the Vow, ye sons of Clan,
And keep it to the very span.
Of future years, in blood and strife,
And guard your own ancestral life.