“Flower of Scotland” is the national anthem of Scotland. Many think it is about William Wallace, but it is actually about the medieval wars for Scottish independence, particularly those involving Robert the Bruce.
The song specifically tells of the time where Robert the
Bruce, who was King of the Scots at the time, claimed victory over Edward II,
who was then King of England. This took place at the Battle
of Bannockburn in 1314. Although England’s army was twice as large as Bruce’s
army, they were still defeated.
The song emphasizes the theme of rising up to defend Scotland
and not be defeated by the British again. It wants the British to think twice
before invading again.
The tune and the lyrics were written in the 1960s by Roy
Williamson. Williamson was a member of the beloved Scottish folk band, the
Corries. The group first performed “Flower of Scotland in 1967 and has since
become one of the most popular Scottish songs around.
A fun fact about the song is that it cannot be properly
played on the bagpipes, an instrument that is most associated with Scotland.
This is because bagpipes cannot play a flattened seventh, which is part of the
song. However, it is still played on bagpipes and people enjoy it still.
“Flower of
Scotland” is known as "Flùr Na H-Alba" in Gaelic and "Flouer
O Scotland" in Scots.
Billy Steele, who was a winger of Scotland’s rugby team,
heard the song and encouraged his team to sing the song in 1974 during the
British Lions tour of South Africa. In 1990, the song was adopted as the
pre-game anthem during the Five Nations championship. In 1997, the song became
the pre-game national anthem thanks to the Scottish Football Association.
The song has also become popular at other sporting events as
well. Champion boxer Jim Watt used the song as his entrance music in the 1990s.
It is also played at Highland Games, either opening or closing the event. “Flower
of Scotland” has been used for the Scottish national anthem at every
Commonwealth Games since 2010, replacing “Scotland the Brave.”
The title, “Flower of Scotland,” has become a Scottish
history book called “The Flower Of Scotland: A History Of Scottish Monarchy”
by James J. Sharp. It also became the title of the biography about Williamson,
the composer of the song, which was published in 1993 by his daughter, Karen.
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