"Flower of Scotland" is a Scottish patriotic song commonly used as an unofficial national anthem of Scotland. Written sometime in the mid-1960s by folk musician Roy Williamson, its lyrics describe the victory of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, over Edward II, King of England, at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Owing to its historical basis in the Wars of Scottish independence, the song urges contemporary Scots to rise again as an independent nation and remember the day their ancestors deterred Edward's English invaders. Notable for its association with supporters of the Scottish national football team and Scottish national rugby union team, "Flower of Scotland" is one of the most popular sporting anthems in Europe.
The Incredible String Band were a Scottish psychedelic folk band formed by Clive Palmer, Robin Williamson and Mike Heron in Edinburgh in 1966. The band built a considerable following, especially in the British counterculture, notably with their albums The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion (1967), The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter (1968), and Wee Tam and the Big Huge (1968). They became pioneers in psychedelic folk and, through integrating a wide variety of traditional music forms and instruments, in the development of world music.
Roy Murdoch Buchanan Williamson was a Scottish songwriter and folk musician, most notably with The Corries. Williamson is best known for writing "Flower of Scotland", which has become the de facto national anthem of Scotland used at international sporting events.
Ronald Grant Browne, known as The Voice, is a Scottish musician and songwriter, who is a founding member of The Corries.
The bandurria is a plucked chordophone from Spain, similar to the mandolin and bandola, primarily used in Spanish folk music, but also found in former Spanish colonies.
Patricia Margaret Bell professionally known as Paddie Bell, was a Scottish folk singer and musician, born in Northern Ireland.
Peat Fire Flame is an album recorded in 1977 by The Corries, a Scottish folk group. The combolin is heard to advantage on "Come By the Hills". Williamson and Ronnie Browne are heard on the vocals. There is multi-tracking to include both men on guitars, Northumbrian pipes, harmonicas, whistles, flutes, concertina, mandolins, boranns, fiddle and combolins. The last four tracks are designed to be heard as one continuous track. Running time: 38 minutes 13 seconds.
Released in 1980, Stovies is the eighteenth album by The Corries. Recorded at one or more live concerts, most of the songs have spoken introductions. As well as two Jacobite folk songs written by the band, the release includes a tribute to Rob Roy.
James Michael Heron is a Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work in the Incredible String Band in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Bluebells of Scotland is the usual modern name for a Scottish folksong. It was written by Dora Jordan, an English actress and writer. First published in 1801.
The Corrie Folk Trio and Paddie Bell is the eponymous 1964 album by The Corrie Folk Trio and Paddie Bell.
The Promise of the Day is a music album by the band The Corrie Folk Trio and Paddie Bell. The album was produced in 1965 for the Scottish label Waverley Records. It was issued by the American label Elektra Records in 1966.
Malinky is a Scottish folk band specialising in Scots song, formed in autumn 1998.
The Combolin was invented by Roy Williamson of The Corries in the summer of 1969. The combolin combined several instruments into a single instrument. One combined a mandolin and a guitar, the other combined guitar and the Spanish bandurria, the latter being an instrument Williamson had played since the early days of the Corrie Folk Trio.
"Roses of Prince Charlie" is a modern Scottish folk song composed by Ronnie Browne of The Corries. It was written circa 1973 and first appeared in their album released in 1974, Live From Scotland Volume 1. The title of the song refers to the symbol of Charles Edward Stuart, which was a white rose. The words represent Jacobitism and modern Scottish Nationalism.
Aidan O'Rourke is a Scottish contemporary folk music fiddle player and composer. He was named the 2014 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Musician of the Year and the Scots Trad Music Awards 2011 Composer of the Year. In addition to his solo career, O'Rourke also plays in the award-winning folk trio Lau alongside Kris Drever and Martin Green. He was one of 20 musicians commissioned for New Music 20x12 by PRS for Music Foundation to celebrate the 2012 Summer Olympics. O'Rourke has worked with Eddi Reader, Andy Sheppard, Alyth, Roddy Woomble and appears on more than eighty recordings. Previously, he was a member of Blazin' Fiddles, The Unusual Suspects and Tabache.
Live from Scotland Volume 1 was a 1974 album by The Corries recorded at the Glasgow City Halls.
Live from Scotland Volume 2 was a 1975 album by The Corries recorded at the Glasgow City Halls, Motherwell Town Hall, Dunfermline Carnegie Hall and Edinburgh Usher Hall, in 1974 and 1975.
The "Uist Tramping Song", "Null do dh'Uidhist" (Over to Uist) or "Tiugainn Leam" (Come With Me) is a traditional Scottish folk song, Gaelic lyrics by Archibald MacDonald, music by John R. Bannerman, arranged by Hugh S. Roberton. The song is an invitation to the sights and abundance of Uist, the central group of islands in the Outer Hebrides. The English language version tells of hiking there. Artists who have recorded this song include Kenneth McKellar, Robert Wilson and Robert Rees. Other notable recorded versions, include:
Lock the Door, Lariston is a border ballad by the Scottish poet James Hogg, the "Ettrick Shepherd", first published in 1811. It describes a sixteenth-century armed raid by English border reivers across the Anglo-Scottish border, met and defeated by Scottish borderers led by Jock Elliott of Lariston. Written in a traditional form, it was set to music by the 1850s, and is now a commonly performed Scottish folk song.
