There is no official national anthem of Scotland^[1]. However, there is a complex and on-going social and political dispute amongst many contenders for the title of the nation's de jure song, which has polarised much of the public. The Politics of Scotland forms a distinctive part of the wider politics of the United Kingdom, with Scotland one of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom. ...

Scotland does not possess a legally recognised or confirmed anthem of its own. The former Scottish government (a Labour/Liberal Democrat coalition) took the view that "God Save the Queen" (the customary hymn sung as the UK anthem, itself unofficial) should be used for Scotland. However, "God Save the Queen" is not popular in all parts of Scotland, partly because of a verse, current in the mid-eighteenth century, which included the line "Rebellious Scots to crush". Although this verse was only ever used briefly (and the reference was to the Jacobites specifically rather than the Scottish nation as a whole)^[2] it is still widely perceived as being anti-Scottish. This article is about the country. ... The Scottish Government is an unofficial term often used to describe the Scottish Executive. ... This article is about the Scottish Labour Party founded in 1976. ... The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a liberal political party in the United Kingdom. ... A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a cabinet in parliamentary government in which several parties cooperate. ... Publication of an early version in The Gentlemans Magazine, 15 October 1745. ... A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a god or other religiously significant figure. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Charles Edward Stuart, Bonnie Prince Charlie, wearing the Jacobite blue bonnet Jacobitism was (and, to a very limited extent, remains) the political movement dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England and Scotland. ...

A separate anthem is widely supported (not simply by the supporters of independence) because in practice there are many situations (for example, sporting events) where a discrete Scottish anthem is necessary (see sport in Scotland). As a result, Scotland uses a variety of compositions in varying roles and with varying levels of support for recognition. The Old Course at St Andrews. ...

Possible candidates

The two most popular candidates for the role according to an opinion poll are "Flower of Scotland" and "Scotland the Brave" but various other songs including "Scots Wha Hae", "A Man's a Man for a' that", "Freedom Come-All-Ye, Both sides the Tweed", "Caledonia", "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" and "Highland Cathedral" have some level of support. Flower of Scotland (Flùir na h-Alba in Gaelic) is an unofficial national anthem of Scotland, a role for which it competes against the older Scotland the Brave. ... Scotland the Brave (Scottish Gaelic: Alba an Aigh) is, along with Flower of Scotland and Scots Wha Hae, an unofficial national anthem of Scotland. ... Scots Wha Hae (a calque on the English Scots Who Have; the traditional Scots idiom would be Scots That Haes; Scottish Gaelic: Brosnachadh Bhruis) is a patriotic song of Scotland which served for a long time as an unofficial national anthem of the country, but has lately been largely supplanted... Wikisource has original text related to this article: A Mans a Man for A That The Scots song Is There For Honest Poverty, by Robert Burns, is more commonly known as A Mans A Man For A That, and famous for its expression of egalitarian ideas of society... Freedom Come-All-Ye is a song written by Hamish Henderson, the Scottish poet, songwriter, and intellectual. ... Both sides the Tweed is a song made famous by the Scottish group Capercaillie in their album Sidewaulk. ... Caledonia (also known as Jean and Caledonia) is a British/Scottish folk ballad that dates back to 1904. ... Re-recorded cover 2007 Cover for Comic Relief Im Gonna Be (500 Miles) is a song written and performed by Scottish pop band The Proclaimers. ... Highland Cathedral is a popular bagpipe tune from Scotland. ...

A minor complication with "Flower of Scotland" is that, when played on the bagpipes, one note in the last line (on the word "think") cannot be played correctly. It should be a C natural (when played in the key of D) but this note is not available on the bagpipes, so a C sharp is substituted. (The bagpipes are playing nominally in the key of D (actually in A Mixolydian); in fact the intonation is such that the key is E flat, or slightly higher). A piper playing the Great Highland Bagpipe. ... The modern keyboard is based on the intervallic patterns of the diatonic scale. ... For other uses, see key. ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... The Mixolydian mode is a musical mode or diatonic scale. ... Intonation, in music, is a players realization of pitch accuracy. ... E-flat major is a major scale based on E-flat, consisting of the pitches E-flat, F, G, A-flat, B-flat, C, D, and E-flat. ...

Examples of use

The use of each song is wildly different. For example "Scotland the Brave" is used by the Commonwealth team representing The Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland during the medal-receiving ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games, whereas "Flower of Scotland" is played before every game of the Scottish national football team and before every game of the Scottish rugby union team.^[3] The Commonwealth of Nations as of 2006 Headquarters Marlborough House, London, UK Official languages English Membership 53 sovereign states Leaders  -  Queen Elizabeth II  -  Secretary-General Don McKinnon (since 1 April 2000) Establishment  -  Balfour Declaration 18 November 1926   -  Statute of Westminster 11 December 1931   -  London Declaration 28 April 1949  Area  -  Total... The Scotland logo for the Melbourne Commonwealth Games 2006. ... Current flag of the Commonwealth Games Federation Locations of the games, and participating countries Commonwealth Games Federation seal, adopted in 2001 The Commonwealth Games is a multinational, multi-sport event. ... First international Scotland 0–0 England  (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Biggest win Scotland 11–0 Ireland  (Glasgow, Scotland; 23 February 1901) Biggest defeat  Uruguay 7–0 Scotland (Basel, Switzerland; 19 June 1954) World Cup Appearances 8 (First in 1954) Best result Round 1, all European Championship Appearances 2 (First... First international (also the worlds first)  Scotland 4 - 1 England  (27 March 1871) Largest win  Scotland 100 - 8 Japan  (13 November 2004) Worst defeat  Scotland 10 - 68 South Africa  (6 December 1997) World Cup Appearances 5 (First in 1987) Best result 4th 1991 The Scotland national rugby union team...

"A Man's a Man for a' that" was also sung at the opening of the Scottish Parliament by Sheena Wellington, though not for specific national anthem purposes. Wikisource has original text related to this article: A Mans a Man for A That The Scots song Is There For Honest Poverty, by Robert Burns, is more commonly known as A Mans A Man For A That, and famous for its expression of egalitarian ideas of society...

Future discussion

Despite recent 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.^[4] The Scotsmans offices in Edinburgh The Scotsman is a Scottish national newspaper, published in Edinburgh. ... For the national legislative body up to 1707, see Parliament of Scotland. ... The Scottish National Party (SNP) (Scottish Gaelic: is a centre-left political party which campaigns for Scottish independence. ... Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) (Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba (BPA) in Gaelic) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. ... Michael Matheson was born on September 8, 1970 and has been a Central Scotland MSP since 1999. ...

In June 2006 the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted an online poll to choose the favourite song. With over 10,000 votes cast, "Flower of Scotland" came first with 41% of the votes, followed by "Scotland the Brave" with 29%.^[5] The Royal Scottish National Orchestra is Scotlands national symphony orchestra. ...

Flower of Scotland (Flùir na h-Alba in Gaelic) is an unofficial national anthem of Scotland, a role for which it competes against the older Scotland the Brave. ... Scotland the Brave (Scottish Gaelic: Alba an Aigh) is, along with Flower of Scotland and Scots Wha Hae, an unofficial national anthem of Scotland. ... Highland Cathedral is a popular bagpipe tune from Scotland. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: A Mans a Man for A That The Scots song Is There For Honest Poverty, by Robert Burns, is more commonly known as A Mans A Man For A That, and famous for its expression of egalitarian ideas of society... Scots Wha Hae (a calque on the English Scots Who Have; the traditional Scots idiom would be Scots That Haes; Scottish Gaelic: Brosnachadh Bhruis) is a patriotic song of Scotland which served for a long time as an unofficial national anthem of the country, but has lately been largely supplanted...

References