As [D] I cam in by [G] Dunidier
And [D] down by Nether [G] ha',
There were [D] fifty thoosand [G] Hieland men
Cam [Bm] mairchin' tae Harlaw.
Wi' a [G] dree dree dradie drumtie dree
A [G] dree dree [A] drumtie [D] dra.

As I cam on and further on
And down and by Harlaw,
They fell full close on every side;
Sich fun ye never saw.
Wi' a dree dree dradie drumtie dree
A dree dree drumtie dra.

They fell full close on every side;
Sich fun ye never saw,
For Hieland swords gave clash for clash
At the battle o' Harlaw.
Wi' a dree dree dradie drumtie dree
A dree dree drumtie dra.

Brave Angus tae his brither said,
"Now brither, do ye see?
They beat us back on every side,
And we'll be forced tae flee."
Wi' a dree dree dradie drumtie dree
A dree dree drumtie dra.

"O no, o no, my brither dear,
That thing will never be;
Tak ye your good sword in your hand
And come your ways wi' me."
Wi' a dree dree dradie drumtie dree
A dree dree drumtie dra.

Then back tae back the brithers twa
Went in amang the thrang,
And they hewed doon the Hieland men
Wi' swords both sharp and lang.
Wi' a dree dree dradie drumtie dree
A dree dree drumtie dra.

MacDonal, he was young and stout,
Had on his coat o' mail,
And he has gone oot through them all
Tae try his hand himself.
Wi' a dree dree dradie drumtie dree
A dree dree drumtie dra.

With the first blow that Angus struck,
He made MacDonal reel;
With the next strike that Angus struck,
The great MacDonal fell.
Wi' a dree dree dradie drumtie dree
A dree dree drumtie dra.

On a Monday, in the mornin',
The battle had begun;
On Saturday, at twilight,
Ye'd scarce know who had won.
Wi' a dree dree dradie drumtie dree
A dree dree drumtie dra.

If anybody asks of ye
For them ye took away,
Ye may tell their wives and little sons
They're sleepin' at Harlaw.
Wi' a dree dree dradie drumtie dree
A dree dree drumtie dra.

Frae Dunideir as I earn through,
Doun by the hill of Banochie,
Alangst the lands of Garioch-
Great pity 'twas to hear and see,
The noise and dulesome harmonie,
That e'er that dreary day did daw.
Crying the coronach sae hie,
"Alas! alas! for the Harlaw!"

I marvelt what the matter meant.
All folks were in a feiry-fary;
I wist not wha was fae or friend,
Yet quietly I did me carry:
But sin' the days of auld King Harry
Sic slauchter was not heard or seen;
And there I had nae time to tarry,
For bissiness in Aberdeen.

Thus as I walkit on the way,
To Inverury as I went,
I met a man, and bade him stay,
Requesting him to mak me 'quaint
Of the beginning and the event,
That happen'd there at the Harlaw;
Then he entreated me, tak tent,
And he the truth sould to me shaw.

"Great Donald of the Isles, did claim
Unto the lands of Ross some richt;
And to the Governor he cam,
Them for to have, if that he micht;
Wha saw his interest was but slicht,
And therefore answer'd with disdain;
He hastit hame baith day and nicht,
And sent nae bodword back again.

But Donald, richt impatient
Of that answer Duke Robert* gave,
He vow'd to God omnipotent,
All the hale lands of Ross to have,
Or else be graithèd in his grave:
He would not quat his richt for nocht,
Nor be abusit like a slave-
That bargain sould be dearly bocht."

*Duke of Albany

from http://www.contemplator.com/child/harlaw.html
In The complaint of Scotland (1549) "The Battel of Hayrlau" is noted as being a popular song. Child notes, however, that the original ballad has been lost and the most widely known poem of the battle was printed by Ramsay in 1724. The tune is in Wm. Mure of Rowallan's Lute Manuscript (c 1612-28).

The Battle of Harlaw took place on July 24, 1411. To establish his claim to the Earldom of Ross, Donald of the Isles invaded the south with ten thousand islanders. At Harlaw, eighteen miles northwest of Aberdeen he was met by an army led by Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar and Alexander Ogilby, sheriff of Angus. Donald lost more than 900 men and the Lowlanders lost five hundred, "including nearly all the gentry of Buchan."*

Dunidier is a hill on the old road to Aberdeen and Netherha is less than two miles from that. Drumminor was more than twenty miles away.