For the opening match of Euro 2024, when Scotland faced Germany in Munich, at the time of the anthems, a bagpipe accompanied the emotional singing of eleven players on the field and thousands of fans in the stands. However, the tunes were not of “God Save the King,” the official anthem of the United Kingdom, but of a song with nationalist sentiment.
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It was “Flower of Scotland”, the unofficial anthem of Scotland, which has been sung at pre-match ceremonies for soccer and rugby union games for the past 20 years.
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Why doesn't Scotland sing the official anthem?
Although nominally it is a country, Scotland is not an independent nation and is part of the United Kingdom, along with England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
However, due to tradition, since football was invented in Great Britain, they have always played as independent teams (in fact, the first international match in history was Scotland vs England in 1872), FIFA accepts this particularity of having four members from the same country. This is not the case, for example, with the Basque Country or Catalonia in Spain.
For the same reason, in order to not repeat the “God Save the King” that the English sing as their anthem in soccer matches, the Scots tried at some point with “Scotland the Brave” and in 1997 the Scottish Football Association adopted “Flower of Scotland.”
The lyrics of “Flower of Scotland”
The song was composed in the 60s and evokes the independence obtained by Scotland in the early 14th century.
Although many people believe that the song was written in honor of William Wallace, in reality, it refers to the Battle of Bannockburn, when Robert the Bruce led an army to drive the English out of their territory. In fact, in the famous movie “Braveheart,” that battle against the army of Edward II appears in the final scenes, with the Scottish king inspired by Wallace.
Well, precisely the chorus of “Flower of Scotland” says: “And stood against him / Proud Edward’s Army / And sent him homeward / To think again”.
More than one person could also see an independentist nod in the lines that appear in the second chorus: “But we can still rise now / And be the nation again /That stood against him”.
Here is the complete lyrics of "Flower of Scotland":
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,
To 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,
To think again.