Born the illegitimate son of a Highland laird, Macpherson became a renowned fiddler before becomming a freebooter He was the last person executed at Banff. Legend has it that before the notorious outlaw musician was hanged for sheep and cattle stealing he treated the crowd to one of his own compositions, “Macpherson’s Rant,” and then broke the fiddle over his knee. When Burns heard of the tale he wrote the song “Macpherson’s Farewell”.