From the Ballad of Glencoe:

Oh, cruel was the snow that sweeps Glencoe 
And covers the grave o’ Donald. 
Oh, cruel was the foe that raped Glencoe 
And murdered the house of MacDonald

I’ll just say it, I love melancholy songs.   I love to sit in the evening light of a spring day and think of my dear departed father and mouth the songs he sang on his accordion or guitar.   I love to hear Tennessee mountain music with its Scottish and Irish roots. So today in Scotland, we visited Glencoe and Loch Lomand which spawned two of the most melancholy songs I know – The “Ballad of Glencoe” and “The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond”.

As we entered the “Glen (valley) Coe”, the first line of the song you hear below ran over and over through my mind, but I could not remember all the lyrics.  Our tour director told us the story of the Massacre of the MacDonald clan, where in 1692, thirty-eight members, including the chieftain, were killed by forces acting on behalf of the government of King  William III following the Glorious Revolution.

Here is the Ballad sung by The Corries: