National anthem of Scotland

Proposed national anthems of Scotland
Auld Lang Syne
Flower of Scotland
Scotland the Brave
along with others

National anthem of  Scotland

There is no official national anthem of Scotland.^[1] However, a number of songs are used as de facto Scottish anthems, most notably Flower of Scotland and Scotland the Brave. God Save the Queen is the national anthem for the United Kingdom as a whole and is used in Scotland in that context.

In 2004, lawyers for the devolved Scottish Parliament advised that it was within the legal competence of the Scottish Parliament to choose a national anthem for Scotland, countering the suggestion that it would be a matter reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.^[2] This ruling prompted some interest in the idea, and a petition to the Scottish Parliament's petitions committee supported by the Scottish Green Party was referred without recommendation to the Scottish Executive who chose to take no action, considering the issue not to be a political priority.^[3][4] There have been subsequent attempts to re-open the debate on a national anthem for Scotland.^[5]

Current use

For most international sporting events Scotland uses "Flower of Scotland" as its national anthem. These events include matches of the Scottish national football team and the Scottish rugby union team.^[6] The song will also be used as the victory anthem of Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in 2010, replacing Scotland the Brave.^[7]

Possible candidates

In June 2006 the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted an online opinion poll on their website, asking visitors to choose a favourite to be Scotland's national anthem. With over 10,000 votes cast, "Flower of Scotland" came first with 41% of the votes, followed by "Scotland the Brave" with 29%.^[8]

Tune	Votes (%)
"Flower of Scotland"	41%
"Scotland the Brave"	29%
"Highland Cathedral"	16%
"A Man's A Man for A' That"	7%
"Scots Wha Hae"	6%

Other songs which have been suggested include Robert Burns' "Auld Lang Syne",^[9] and Hamish Henderson's "Freedom Come-All-Ye".^[10] Both of these songs, from the 18th and 20th centuries respectively, are written in Lowland Scots.

Future discussion

Despite coverage by The Scotsman newspaper, the Scottish Parliament has yet to convene any parliamentary debate on the issue, with Holyrood's Enterprise Committee denying a motion from Scottish National Party MSP Michael Matheson on the subject.^[11]

References

1. ^ BBC News – Action call over national anthem
2. ^ Macdonell, Hamish (10 November 2004). "Scots win right to choose own national anthem". The Scotsman (Edinburgh). http://news.scotsman.com/scotlandsnationalanthem/Scots-win-right-to-choose.2578828.jp. 
3. ^ "Anthem demand falls on deaf ears". BBC News. 24 November 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4036123.stm. Retrieved 19 May 2010. 
4. ^ http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/committees/petitions/or-04/pu04-1802.htm
5. ^ "Anthem debate call hits flat note". BBC News. 9 May 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4755295.stm. Retrieved 19 May 2010. 
6. ^ BBC News - McConnell calls for anthem debate
7. ^ "Games team picks new Scots anthem". BBC News. 9 January 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8449939.stm. Retrieved 19 May 2010. 
8. ^ RSNO poll reveals Flower of Scotland as nation’s favourite ‘anthem’,
9. ^ Dalgarno, Paul (2 July 2006). "Nation picks Flower Of Scotland as top anthem SONG CONTEST: OLD". The Sunday Herald. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_20060702/ai_n16513028/. 
10. ^ English, Shirley (30 October 2003). "It may be a dirge but its still our anthem say Scottish MPs". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1004359.ece. Retrieved 19 May 2010. 
11. ^ "RSNO sounds out a song for Scotland", The Scotsman, 24 May 2006

External links

• Page with eight candidate songs, with lyrics and comments