 Scottish songs come in several forms, eg ballads, bothy songs, puirts. At least three languages: Lowland Scots, Doric and Scottish Gaelic. Scottish songs in their purest form are unaccompanied although many singers accompany themselves on guitar. Our traditional bands (typically fiddle, bagpipes, guitar) also include accompanied songs in their repertoire but mainly in an arranged format.
Check out our Scottish songs section for a great selection of Scottish song CDs and books.
Nowhere else in the western world possesses such a fine tradition of balladry and folk song as does the north east of Scotland. In particular a small tract of countryside in Aberdeenshire called Buchan formed the "cornkister" or "bothy ballad". These were nurtured from the experiences of the men and women working in and around the farms or fairmtouns of the 19th and 20th centuries. The bothy ballads were composed, (not necessarily written down initially), and set largely to existing pipe and fiddle tunes. This was done by the men and less frequently the women who were hired to work on the land. The songs were sung in the broad North East dialect known as Doric. Many of the bothy songs were humorous but a fair number reflected the harsh conditions endured by workers at the time. There were also the 'Muckle Sangs' which comprised historical ballads relating to actual events and the romantic ballads often telling of the path of true love or even treachery. Scotland has many fine tradition bearers such as Jock Duncan, Lizzie Higgins, Gordeanna McCulloch, Stanley Robertson, Jeannie Robertson.
The Scottish Borders during the 16th Century is known as a place where life was brutal and often tragically short. Constant cross-border battles created a desolate wasteland but from this emerged the tradition of Border ballads. Many survive today and 'The Dowie Dens of Yarrow' and 'The Twa Corbies' are two fine examples of Scottish songs. More recently, Borders shepherd Willie Scott who was from the same stock and musical traditions as James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd recorded the Borders way of life. He recorded The Shepherd's Song - Border Ballads
and a book Herd Laddie o the Glen.
We shouldn’t forget of course Robert Burns (Ayreshire/Dumfries) and Robert Tannahill (Paisley) who were both excellent composers. Robert Burns is of course known for his beautiful poems but his song collection The Scots Musical Museum is really worth investigating. There are lots of amazing Scottish songs in the collection with beautiful folk melodies to accompany them. It is a masterpiece.
The Gaelic language is full of beautiful songs many attributed to certain areas and islands. Gaelic songs are sheer poetry - literally. Until the mid-twentieth century, nearly all Gaelic Scottish poetry was essentially created to be sung. Music and words were bound together, each dependent on the other. Love songs, work songs, bardic songs, mouth music (Puirt a Beul), Songs of the land and the sea. 'Waulking' songs are a musical form unknown elsewhere in Western Europe and often sound African. They are very rhythmic and were composed to keep the beat when the cloth was being waulked. I.e. when tweed is made, it needs to be 'fulled' to increase its ability to keep out the wind. This task was only done by women in Scotland and involved soaking the tweed in a solution of urine and water. In Puirt a Beul the rhythm and sound of the song often have more importance than the depth or even sense of the lyrics. These often highlight the vocal dexterity of the singer and are great fun to listen to. There are many wonderful Gaelic singers in Scotland today including Mary Smith, Arthur Cormack, Margaret Stewart, James Graham, Julie Fowlis, Flora MacNeil, Margaret Bennett and Kenna Campbell.
Gaelic psalm singing is another unique music form: This is a type of music that those brought up in Scotland's Western Isles, within the Presbyterian religious tradition, know well from childhood and beyond. The format of psalm singing revolves around the precentor. He is the person that puts out the line and then waits for the response from the congregation. The practise of precenting is not exclusive to Gaelic or the Gaelic Presbyterian tradition. On hearing Gaelic psalm-singing for the first time, some who are outside the culture find it an intensely moving experience.
You can hear Scottish songs at all of our music festivals around the country and abroad. Why not learn some and join in a session!
 
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