'Twas bold MacCodrum of the Seals,
Whose heart would never fail,
Would hear yon fairy ban-dog fierce
Come howling down the gale;
The patt'ring of the paws would sound
Like horse's hoofs on frozen ground,
While o'er its back and curling round
Uprose its fearsome tail.

'Twas bold MacCodrum of the Seals—
Yon man that hath no fears—
Beheld the dog with dark-green back
That bends not when it rears;
Its sides were blacker than the night,
But underneath the hair was white;
Its paws were yellow, its eyes were bright,
And blood-red were its ears.

'Twas bold MacCodrum of the Seals—
The man who naught will dread—
Would wait it, stooping with his spear,
As nigh to him it sped;
The big black head it turn'd and toss'd,
"I'll strike," cried he, "ere I'll be lost,"
For every living thing that cross'd
Its path would tumble dead.

'Twas bold MacCodrum of the Seals—
The man who ne'er took fright—
Would watch it bounding from the hills
And o'er the moors in flight.
When it would leave the Uist shore,
Across the Minch he heard it roar—
Like yon black cloud it bounded o'er
The Coolin Hills that night.