scottish national hymn ( unofficial )
This article is about the song. For the home flower of Scotland, see thistle

Flower of Scotland
Flag of Scotland.svg
Unofficial anthem of  Scotland
Lyrics Roy Williamson
Music Roy Williamson
Published 1967

Flower of Scotland “ ( Scots : Flouer o Scotland, scottish Gaelic : Flùr na h-Alba ) is a scottish birdcall, frequently performed at extra occasions and sporting events as an unofficial national hymn of Scotland.

The song was composed in the mid-1960s by Roy Williamson of the folk music group the Corries. It was first heard publicly in a 1967 BBC television series. [ 1 ] The words refer to the victory of the Scots, led by Robert the Bruce, over Edward II of England at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Although there is no official national hymn of Scotland, “ Flower of Scotland ” is one of a issue of songs which are used, along with the older “ Scotland the Brave “. [ 2 ] The song was composed and is sung in English, typically with Scots pronunciation of a few words ( e.g. “ Tae ” as opposed to “ To ” ) .

popular use [edit ]

The sung has been used as an anthem by the Scotland rugby union team, always since the winger, Billy Steele, encouraged his team-mates to sing it on the british Lions tour of South Africa in 1974. [ 3 ] The song was adopted as the pre-game anthem for the deciding match of the 1990 Five Nations backing between Scotland and England, which Scotland won 13–7 to win the Grand Slam. [ 4 ] The Scottish Football Association adopted “ Flower of Scotland ” as its pre-game national hymn in 1997 [ 5 ] although it was inaugural used by them in 1993. [ 6 ] Usually only the first and third base verses are sung. The song was used as the victory hymn of Team Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in 2010 replacing “ Scotland the Brave “. This tendency continued to the Commonwealth Games in 2014 where it was again Team Scotland ‘s anthem and was sung following a scots gold decoration. It was sing 4 times when Team Scotland won 4 gold medals in the open day. [ 7 ] In July 2006, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted an on-line poll ( publicised by Reporting Scotland ) in which voters could choose a national anthem from one of five candidates. [ 8 ] 10,000 people took partially in the poll in which Flower of Scotland came out the winner with 41 % of the votes.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics open ceremony, the song was sung at Edinburgh Castle by 53 scottish children selected from schools across Scotland. [ 9 ] Paris Saint-Germain fans sing the chant Ô Ville Lumière ( City of Light ) to the tune of Flower of Scotland. [ 10 ]

References [edit ]