The Barren Rocks of Aden

The Barren Rocks of Aden is one of the best-known military marches in the Scottish repertoire. The melody is attributed to piper James Mauchline (1817–1896), a member of the 78th Seaforth Highlanders, who is said to have composed it while a detachment of the regiment was stationed at Aden on the Red Sea. Tradition has it that he wrote it with relief upon leaving that arid port, where rain falls less than once a year and whose old centre is nestled in the crater of an extinct volcano — a particularly inhospitable place for soldiers in woollen kilts.

The original melody, considered to be in need of improvement, was subsequently rearranged by Pipe Major Alexander MacKellar, also a member of the 78th Highlanders, who gave it its name. The march was already appearing in violin collections in the 1870s, but had been in circulation in the bagpipe repertoire for even longer.

It has a strong association with the Gordon Highlanders, as its melody lends itself perfectly to the Gay Gordons dance, and it is frequently paired with The Brown Haired Maiden and Mhairi's Wedding in pipe band sets. Andy Stewart added words to it in 1963, as a tribute to his uncle for whom it was a favourite tune. The melody travels well beyond Scotland: musicians from Munster in Ireland have transformed it into a polka, carrying it all the way to the Blasket Islands off the Kerry coast.