Ah Scotland, the land of the brave. And, like all good Celtic nations, the land of the song. Like many folk tunes, lots of Scottish songs have made their way beyond the nation\u2019s borders to be enjoyed the world over. <\/strong><\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t know the lyrics, you\u2019re guaranteed to have heard the tunes to most of these played by pipers around the world at New Year\u2019s Eve celebrations, birthday parties or international rugby matches. Grab a glass of whisky and join us for a song.<\/p>\n

\n
Best Irish folk songsyou can\u2019t help singing along to<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>
<\/p><\/div> <\/section>
Best Scottish songs of all time<\/h2>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
Flower of Scotland <\/strong><\/h3>\n
You can\u2019t do a round-up of Scottish songs without including Scotland\u2019s unofficial national anthem. \u2018Flower of Scotland\u2019 was adopted by Scots in 1974 when the nation\u2019s rugby winger Billy Steele persuaded his teammates to sing it while they were on tour in South Africa. The 1990 Five Nations game between Scotland and England helped cement its reputation, thanks to the fact that its lyrics celebrate the Scottish victory over England at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Perfect for a little Scottish-English rivalry.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
We included \u2018Flower of Scotland\u2019 in our round-up of the best rugby songs to sing during the Six Nations<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
Auld Lang Syne<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\u2018Auld Lang Syne\u2019 is probably the most famous Scottish song of all time, its reach now extended far beyond Scottish shores. It\u2019s become a firm part of New Year\u2019s Eve around the world, with revellers crossing arms and singing it in unison to herald in a new year. This tradition is believed to have begun in 1929 when the house band at New York City\u2019s Roosevelt Hotel led a rendition of \u2018Auld Lang Syne\u2019 in a performance that was broadcast live over the airwaves around the world. Its lyrics been tied to Scotland\u2019s national poet Robert Burns, even though he admitted that most of the text was passed to him by an old man.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
Loch Lomond<\/strong><\/h3>\n
This song brings to life a narrator longing to be reunited with a departed love on the \u2018bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond\u2019, Scotland\u2019s largest loch located just outside Glasgow. The text is written in colloquial Scottish, referring to \u2018bonnie braes\u2019 (beautiful banks [of the loch]) and \u2018wee birdies\u2019 (small birds). The song is believed to date back to the Jacobite Uprising of 1745, with the text created from a poem written by Scottish poet Andrew Lang in the 19th century.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
Scotland the Brave<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Scots tend to disagree about what constitutes an \u2018unofficial national anthem\u2019, but \u2018Scotland the Brave\u2019 is often up there with \u2018Flower of Scotland\u2019 as a major contender. Often played by pipe bands, \u2018Scotland the Brave\u2019 is heard at parades, football matches, and was previously used as the Scottish anthem at the Commonwealth Games \u2013 until it was replaced by \u2018Flower of Scotland\u2019 in 2010. Its stirring tune was set to lyrics written by Glasgow journalist Cliff Hanley in the 1950s, painting a picture of a glorious Scottish landscape, complete with \u2018misty highlands\u2019, \u2018shining rivers\u2019 and \u2018tropic skies\u2019. As is traditional with many nationalistic folk tunes, the final verse sees the narrator \u2018longing and dreaming for the heartland again\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
The Skye Boat Song<\/strong><\/h3>\n
This late 19th-century Scottish song tells the story of Prince Charles Edward Stuart \u2013 referred to in the song as \u2018Bonnie Prince Charlie\u2019 \u2013 making the journey from Benbecula (a small island in the Outer Hebrides) to the Isle of Skye as he escapes from the 1745 Jacobite uprising. This song has brought much publicity and attention to the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides, with the chorus line \u2018Over the Sea to Skye\u2019 featuring in much of the promotional language in the island\u2019s tourism industry. It\u2019s usually sung in a slow, lilting 6\/8 time signature, representing the gentle to and fro of the boat on the water.<\/p>\n
Check out the lyrics to the<\/strong> Skye Boat\u00a0Song<\/strong><\/a><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Freya Parr Published: Thursday, 30 June 2022 at 12:00 am Ah Scotland, the land of the brave. And, like all good Celtic nations, the land of the song. Like many folk tunes, lots of Scottish songs have made their way beyond the nation\u2019s borders to be enjoyed the world over. If you don\u2019t know […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":16755,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/06\/5-classic-scottish-songs-you-cant-help-singing-along-to.jpg",1634,1089,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/06\/5-classic-scottish-songs-you-cant-help-singing-along-to-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/06\/5-classic-scottish-songs-you-cant-help-singing-along-to-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/06\/5-classic-scottish-songs-you-cant-help-singing-along-to-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/06\/5-classic-scottish-songs-you-cant-help-singing-along-to-1024x682.jpg",800,533,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/06\/5-classic-scottish-songs-you-cant-help-singing-along-to-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/06\/5-classic-scottish-songs-you-cant-help-singing-along-to.jpg",1634,1089,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Freya Parr Published: Thursday, 30 June 2022 at 12:00 am Ah Scotland, the land of the brave. And, like all good Celtic nations, the land of the song. Like many folk tunes, lots of Scottish songs have made their way beyond the nation\u2019s borders to be enjoyed the world over. If you don\u2019t know…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/16754"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Best Scottish songs of all time<\/h2>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Best Scottish songs of all time<\/h2>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n