Ailein Duinn

The song is a lament written following the death of Campbell's fiancée in 1788. Alan Morrison () was a sea captain from Crossbost on the Isle of Lewis. He was due to marry Campbell on the island of Scalpay in the spring of 1788, and sailed from Stornoway for the marriage. A storm wrecked the ship on rocks off the Shiant Islands and Morrison's body was washed up on the coast of the islands. Campbell wrote the lament after hearing of the loss of Morrison. Campbell is thought to have wasted away through grief and died a few months later. Due to the lack of soil on Scalpay, her father took her body by boat to a cemetery on the Isle of Harris. A second storm caused the coffin to be washed off of the boat and her body washed up close to the spot where Morrison's body had been found. Some versions of the story have the ship's crew throwing Campbell's coffin overboard as the storm threatens their lives, with the sea immediately becoming calm afterwards. ==Usage==

A version produced by Scottish band Capercaillie was the theme for the 1995 film Rob Roy. Karen Matheson of the band appeared in the film singing "Ailein Duinn" at a cèilidh. The song, which features guest musician Davy Spillane playing uillean pipes, was included on Capercaillie's 1995 album To The Moon and was released as a single under the title "Dark Alan (Ailein Duinn)". As well as being included on To The Moon, the 1995 Capercaillie recording of "Ailein Duinn" appeared on the soundtrack album to the film Rob Roy and has featured on compilation albums produced by the band. It has also been recorded by artists such as Australian harpist Siobhán Owen, Austrian early music ensemble Quadriga Consort, and Spanish dark pagan folk band . A version by BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician 2007 winner Catriona Watt was included on the 2010 compilation album Celtic Woman 4. ==Lyrics==

There are many versions of the lyrics and of the melody, with recordings in the Tobar an Dualchais – Kist o Riches archive with five, eight, and twelve verses. In common with many Gaelic songs, the chorus includes vocables. These are the untranslated words in the lyrics below. ==Notes==