The Barren Rocks of Aden.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣 𝙍𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝘼𝙙𝙚𝙣: This march is associated with the Gordon Highlanders Regiment, because it is played for the dance called The Gay Gordons.

The tune is said to have been composed by piper James Mauchline, who was delighted that his regiment was leaving the hot, dry port of Aden, in what is now South Yemen, in Arabia. It rains less than once a year in Aden and the Old Town is inside the shell of an extinct volcano.

Fun Fact: In Scotland the tune is played as a 2/4 pipe march, but in Ireland it is played as a fiddle polka.

There is some disagreement about when the tune was composed and named. It may date from the mid-19th century.

One website concerned with regimental tradition says James Mauchline gave it no title. While a detachment of the 78th Seaforth Highlanders Regiment was stationed in Aden, Pipe Major Alexander Mackellar rearranged and named the tune...

The tune has four parts. People would sing a verse mading fun of the way native Gaels used to speak English, as they danced to the first part of the tune:

𝒮𝑒𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝒶𝒹𝒹𝒾𝑒 𝑜𝓌𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒,

𝓌𝒾 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒶𝓃 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝓌𝒶 𝓁𝑒𝑔𝓈 𝒷𝒶𝓇𝑒

𝒜𝓃 𝒶𝒶 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝒶𝒹𝒾𝑒𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓎 𝒹𝑒𝒸𝓁𝒶𝓇𝑒,

'𝒮𝒽𝑒'𝓈 𝒶 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝑒 𝒷𝓇𝒶𝓌 𝒸𝒽𝒾𝑒𝓁 𝒾𝓈 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓃𝒶𝒾𝓃𝓈𝑒𝓁'

(Music of the Scottish Regiments, Murray, 1994)

More recently, the Singing Kettle show recorded a song using a simpler version of the first part of the tune. Their song begins:

𝑀𝒶, 𝑀𝒶, 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒷𝓊𝓎 𝓂𝑒 𝒶

𝐵𝓊𝓎 𝓂𝑒 𝒶, 𝒷𝓊𝓎 𝓂𝑒 𝒶

𝑀𝒶, 𝑀𝒶, 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒷𝓊𝓎 𝓂𝑒 𝒶

𝐵𝓊𝓎 𝓂𝑒 𝒶 𝒷𝒶𝓃𝒶𝓃𝒶.

The mother buys her child one, then eats it all herself 🤣

Thank you to 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 for this incredible background.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣 𝙍𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝘼𝙙𝙚𝙣, arrangement by P/M Dave McKee, Sr. of the SyKb is one of many #TunesWePlay