And if I should luck to come gloriously hame,
I’ll bring thee a heart with love running o’er,
And then I’ll leave thee and Lochaber no more.”
It is only fair to add that the tune, under another name, is said to have been a favourite Irish air in London in the time of Queen Elizabeth. If this was so, the explanation probably is that the Irish who came to Scotland, and the Scots who went to Ireland, each carried their music with them, and that there are many tunes common to both peoples.
“I HAVE HAD A KISS OF THE KING’S HAND.”
Pipers of old times always had “a guid conceit o’ themsel’s,” and Patrick Mòr Mac Crimmon, who flourished in 1660, was no exception to the rule. His master, Roderick Mac Leod of Mac Leod, went to London after the Restoration to pay his homage to Charles II., and was very warmly received. He had taken his piper with him, and the King was so pleased with his fine appearance and his music that he allowed Mac Crimmon to kiss his hand. Patrick was highly elated over this, and commemorated the honour that had been paid him by composing the tune Fhŭair mi pòg o laimh an Righ, which, to those acquainted with the language and music, seems to speak forth the pride and gratitude of the performer, the words expressed by the opening measure being:—
“I have had a kiss, a kiss, a kiss,
I have had a kiss of the King’s hand;
No one who blew in a sheep’s skin
Has received such honour as I have.”