As a not independent country, there is no official national anthem. Blame the 55% of people who voted for us to stay in the UK so we could remain a part of the EU. But there we are, that’s the democratic process for you. At any rate, the Scottish national anthem is not really a proper debate anymore. We have a song we do before sporting events and that is as formal a recognition as a national anthem needs.
So today, what is our national anthem? What are the lyrics? And what is this history of how it became our anthem.
Let’s explore together.
What is the Scottish national anthem
The Flower of Scotland. It’s a somewhat mournful tune. The Flower of Scotland on its surface sounds like it’s about our national flower, the thistle, but in reality it seems more like it’s about the innocent lives of the young who had to suffer and die for our freedom. Yeah, we invented that.
Why I think it’s mournful is that the timing is not especially fast. It actually makes it hard to sing if you’re trying to get pumped up. I find stadiums before sports matches, football and rugby at least where it is standard, tend to wind up with may fans singing at different speeds. Attempts have been made to bring in proper singers to eliminate this discrepancy but we are definitely a country that marches to the beat of its own drum.
The lyrics
O flowers of Scotland
When will we see your like again?
That fought and died for
Your wee bit hill and glen
And stood against him
Proud Edward’s army
And sent him homeward
To think again
The hills are bare now
And Autumn leaves lie thick and still
O’er land that is lost now
Which those so dearly held
That stood against him
Proud Edward’s army
And sent him homeward
To think again
Those days are past now
And in the past, they must remain
But we can still rise now
And be the nation again
That stood against him
Proud Edward’s army
And sent him homeward
To think again
O flower of Scotland
When will we see your like again?
That fought and died for
Your wee bit hill and glen
And stood against him
Proud Edward’s army
And sent him homeward
To think again
The hills are bare now (O flower of Scotland)
And Autumn leaves lie thick and still (when will we see your like again?)
O’er land that is lost now (that fought and died for)
That, though so dearly held (your wee bit hill and glen)
O flower of Scotland
When will we see your like again?
That fought and died for
Your wee bit hill and glen
And stood against him
Proud Edward’s army
And sent him homeward
To think again
Written by Roy Williamson of the Corries.
The history of it
Amazingly, for a song about a war that took place 700 years ago, this song was written in 1967. It became a folk hit. It’s sort of wild that you can find folk songs being written so recently.
But this moment in our history, the Battle of Bannockburn of 1314, was such an important moment for us. The Scottish, having fought the English for decades at that point, often losing, had finally turned a corner. We had started winning battles. Bannockburn was a seminal moment where the war turned decisively in the Scots favour.
The English were outmatched tactically because they chose a bad field of battle for their cavalry and archer advantages. The Scots charged with pikes. It revolutionised warfare in Europe. Before this the horse was the most important soldier on the battlefield. After the battle, infantry came to be much more prominent.
An English army that was said to be 3 times the size of the Scottish army was beaten that day. That’s the sort of victory you write songs about.
The Corries did so and it chimed in such a way in the hearts of so many Scots. It became a sort of unofficial national anthem, and was in the mix with many other songs discussed by Scottish nationalists. Eventually, it bested the alternatives and was chosen to represent us.
Sports as the origin of the Scottish national anthem
A winger called Billy Steele encouraged his teammates to sign the song before they played. Eventually by 1990 it was decided it would be used before games. The first time they played it it electrified the crowd, and Scotland won every game.
Once again the memory of past victories brought us success. It has carried on since and there isn’t much of a popular cry for anything to replace it.
As a result, the Flower of Scotland will likely remain the Scottish national anthem as long as our hearts beat to the bagpipes blasting out a tune of us beating the Auld Enemy.
The writer of this piece only barely fits in his kilt anymore from all the irn bru he drinks.
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