Nuair a ghlaodhas paisdean tigh Chulchallaidh, ‘Tha slige ar mortairean dol thairis!’ Thig bho Chròidh madadh ruadh Bhi’s ’measg an t-sluaigh mar mhadadh-alluidh, Rè da-fhichead bliadhna a’s corr, ’S gum bi na chòta iomadh mallachd; ’N sin tilgear e gu falamh brònach Mar shean sguab air cùl an doruis; A’s bithidh an tuath mhor mar eunlaith sporsail, ’S an tighearnan cho bochd ris na sporais— Tha beannachd ’san onair bhoidhich, A’s mallachd an dortadh na fola. Nuair bhitheas caisteal ciar Chulchallaidh Na sheasaidh fuar, agus falamh, ’S na cathagan ’s na rocuis Gu seolta sgiathail thairis, Gabhaidh duine graineal comhnuidh, Ri thaobh, mi-bheusal a’s salach, Nach gleidh guidhe stal-phosaidh, ’S nach eisd ri cleireach no caraid, Ach bho Chreag-a-chodh gu Sgire na Toiseachd Gum bi muisean air toir gach caileag— A’s ochan! ochan! s’ ma leon, Sluigidh am balgaire suas moran talamh! Literally translated:— When the girls of Kilcoy house cry out, ‘The shell (cup) of our murderers is flowing over.’ A fox from Croy will come Who shall be like a wolf among the people During forty years and more, And in his coat shall be many curses; He shall then be thrown empty and sorrowful, Like an old besom behind the door; The large farmers will be like sportful birds, And the lairds as poor as the sparrows— There’s a blessing in handsome honesty And curses in the shedding of blood. When the stern Castle of Kilcoy Shall stand cold and empty, And the jackdaws and the rooks Are artfully flying past it, A loathsome man shall then dwell Beside it, indecent and filthy, Who will not keep the vow of the marriage coif, Listen neither to cleric nor friend; But from Creag-a-Chow to Ferrintosh The dirty fellow will be after every girl— Ochan! Ochan!! woe’s me, The cunning dog will swallow up much land. The history of the Kilcoy family has been an unfortunate one in late years, and the second and last lines of the first stanza clearly refer to a well-known tragic incident in the recent history of this once highly-favoured and popular Highland family.