Oh, what a parish, a terrible parish;
Oh, what a parish is that o' Dunkeld.
They hangit their minister, droon'd their precentor,
Dang doun the steeple and fuddled the bell.
The steeple was doun but the kirk was still staunin',
They biggit a lum whaur the bell used to hang.
A stell-pat they gat and they brewed Hielan' whisky;
On Sundays they drank it and ranted and sang.
O, had you but seen how graceful it lookit,
To see the crammed pews sae socially joined.
MacDonald the piper stood up in the poopit,
He made the pipes skirl out the music divine.
Wi' whiskey and beer they'd curse and they'd swear;
They'd argue and fecht what ye daurna weel tell.
Bout Geordie and Charlie they bothered fu' rarely
Wi' whisky they're worse than the devil himsel'.
When the hairt-cheerin' spirit had mounted their garret,
Tae a ball on the green they a' did adjourn.
The maids wi' coats kilted, they skippit and liltit,
When tired they shook hands and then hame did return.
If the kirks a' owre Scotland held like social meetin's
Nae warnin' ye'd need from a far-tinklin' bell,
For true love and friends wad draw ye thegither
Far better than roarin' the horrors o' hell.
This is a song about the Kirk (church of Scotland) in a small village being taken over by rambunctious folks, who hung the Presenter (who was a church official) and then who took down bell, created a chimney where the bell used to hang, got a still-pot (and implied is a fire) to brew Highland whisky, and then they drank it and ranted and sang. When they were tired, the ladies headed home and everyone returned to their garrets (small bachelor apartments).
The singer then goes on to suggest that if everywhere had meetings like this, with true love and friendship and good spirits (Scotch!), this would draw together the people from the surroundings far more effectively than (a man of the cloth in the employ of the Kirk) could by roaring out the horrors of hell from the pulpit.
The Kirk (Church of Scotland, a Protestant Church with very sober view) was a strong force in Scottish history and Kirkists had little tolerance for Papists (Church of Rome). There was a lot of blood spilled across Britain and the continent over differences between Protestants and Catholics.
It is said that Prebyterians (modern day Church of Scotland) fear fornication as it might lead to dancing! (That gives you an idea of how straight laced they are reputed to be.