"Hector the Hero" is a classic lament penned by Scottish composer and fiddler James Scott Skinner

James Scott Skinner

James Scott Skinner was a Scottish dancing master, violinist, fiddler, and composer.Skinner was born in Banchory, near Aberdeen. His father was a dancing master on Deeside. James was only eighteen months old when his father died. When James was seven, his elder brother, Sandy, gave him lessons in...

 in 1903. It was written as a tribute to Major-General Hector MacDonald

Hector MacDonald

Major-General Sir Hector Archibald MacDonald, also known as Fighting Mac , was a distinguished Victorian soldier....

, a distinguished Scottish general around the turn of the century. MacDonald, a friend of Skinner's, had not long before committed suicide following accusations of homosexuality.

As it is a lament, it is played slowly and sadly, often using instruments such as the violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

, piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

, guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

 or bagpipes

Bagpipes

Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...

. It has been covered by many artists since its release, and is still reasonably well known today.

As it was written in 1903, the lyrics, by Thomas McWilliam, and music to "Hector the Hero" have passed into the public domain.

Lyrics

Lament him, ye mountains of Ross-shire;

Your tears be the dew and the rain;

Ye forests and straths, let the sobbing winds

Unburden your grief and pain.

Lament him, ye warm-hearted clansmen,

And mourn for a kinsman so true

The pride of the Highlands, the valiant MacDonald

Will never come back to you.

O, wail for the mighty in battle,

Loud lift ye the Coronach strain;

For Hector, the Hero, of deathless fame,

Will never come back again.

Lament him, ye sons of old Scotia,

Ye kinsmen on many a shore;

A patriot-warrior, fearless of foe,

Has fallen to rise no more.

O cherish his triumph and glory

On Omdurman's death-stricken plain,

His glance like the eagle's, his heart like the lion's

His laurels a nation's gain.

O, wail for the mighty in battle,

Loud lift ye the Coronach strain;

For Hector, the Hero, of deathless fame,

Will never come back again.

O rest thee, brave heart, in thy slumber,

Forgotten shall ne'er be thy name;

The love and the mercy of Heaven be thine;

Our love thou must ever claim.

To us thou art Hector the Hero,

The chivalrous, dauntless, and true;

The hills and the glens, and the hearts of a nation,

Re-echo the wail for you.

O, wail for the mighty in battle,

Loud lift ye the Coronach strain;

For Hector, the Hero, of deathless fame,

Will never come back again.

External links

• Skinner's original score, at University of Aberdeen