Although many Scots have adopted The Flower of Scotland as the unofficial National Anthem of Scotland, the official National Anthem of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is God Save the Queen.
The Flower of Scotland commemorates the Battle of Bannockburn (1314) when the Scottish Army under Robert the Bruce (Robert I, King of Scots) defeated Edward II of England. This ended English rule of Scotland for a time. In 1603 Elizabeth I, Queen of England, Wales, Ireland and France died childless, and her second cousin James VI, King of Scots, ascended to the English throne. Thus marriage achieved what force of arms could not. Included here is an authorized Gaelic translation.
Flower of Scotland by Roy Williamson (translation by John Angus Macleod)
O Flower of Scotland
When will we see
Your like again,
That fought and died for
Your wee bit Hill and Glen
And stood against him
Proud Edward’s Army,
And sent him homeward
Tae think again.
The Hills are bare now
And Autumn leaves lie thick and still
O’er land that is lost now
Which those so dearly held
That stood against him
Proud Edward’s Army
And sent him homeward
Tae think again.
Those days are past now
And in the past they must remain
But we can still rise now
And be the nation again
That stood against him
Proud Edward’s Army
And sent him homeward,
Tae think again.
0 Flower of Scotland
When will we see
Your like again,
That fought and died for
Your wee bit Hill and Glen
And stood against him
Proud Edward’s Army,
And sent him homeward
Tae think again.
O Fhlu\ir na h-Albann,
cuin a chi\ sinn
an seo\rsa laoich
a sheas gu ba\s ‘son
am bileag feo\ir is fraoich,
a sheas an aghaidh
feachd uailleil Iomhair
‘s a ruaig e dhachaidh
air chaochladh smaoin?
Na cnuic tha lomnochd
‘s tha duilleach Foghair
mar bhrat air la\r,
am fearann caillte
dan tug na seo\id ud gra\dh,
a sheas an aghaidh
feachd uailleil Iomhair
‘s a ruaig e dhachaigh
air chaochladh smaoin.
Tha ‘n eachdraidh du\inte
ach air di\ochuimhne
chan fheum i bhith,
is faodaidh sinn e\irigh
gu bhith nar Ri\oghachd a-ri\s
a sheas an aghaidh
feachd uailleil Iomhair
‘s a ruaig e dhachaidh
air chaochladh smaoin.