The dragon-ships cam sailin doon
Wi' the stars above tae steer;
The seas were calm in the midnight breeze,
And the moon was shinin clear, clear,
And the moon was shinin clear.
The clansmen gathered on the ridge
As the rovers neared the shore;
The Scots had near a thousand men,
But the Northmen had still more, more,
But the Northmen had still more.
The longships beached in the morning swell
As the tide cam sweepin in,
And the rovers stormed upon the shore
Wi' their steel bright and grim, grim,
Wi' their steel bright and grim.
The clansmen met them on the beach
Wi' claymore, axe, and targe,
And they drove the Northmen frae the shore
As the pipes they skirled the charge, charge,
As the pipes they skirled the charge.
The Danish axe and the claymore met
In that deadly clash of steel;
The berserks carved a bloody path,
But still the Scots were leal, leal,
But still the Scots were leal.
The fight was long upon the beach
As the sun crossed o'er the sky,
And Odin laughed in his golden hall
As he watched the warriors die, die,
As he watched the warriors die.
Now ravens circle in the sky
And the beach is heaped wi' dead
.
The sun now hides behind the hills,
And the tide is bloody red, red,
And the tide is bloody red.
The dragon-ships are sailin hame
Wi' the booty they bought dear,
And raiding they will gang no more
When the moon is shining clear, clear,
When the moon is shining clear.