Burns Night: Scotland the Brave
January 22, 2008 · Print This Article
UPDATE: Scotland the Brave (Tab - Full Version) (midi)
It’s Burns Night on Friday and Andy (who you might know as zym if you’ve been following the comments) requested a tab of Scotland the Brave for his Burns night turn.
When I was researching the song (believe it or not, I do research), I found out the song is a lot more modern than I had thought. The melody first appeared around the start of the 20th Century and the lyrics were written in 1951. Speaking of which, these have to be some of most unlikely lyrics ever written:
Far off in sunlit places,
Sad are the Scottish faces,
Yearning to feel the kiss
Of sweet Scottish rain.
I’ve kept the arrangement very simple to give Andy a chance of getting down by Friday (and being able to play if after a drop or two). It’s simply the melody accompanied by occasional chord strums (C, F and G). Let the chords and notes ring for as long as possible to give it a bit more body.
If you’d like to recreate the sound of the bagpipes for this tune, get yourself a wheezing cow with a kazoo stuck down its throat to accompany you.
Excellent, cheers Al
In the lead up to Burn’s Night, my perception of my own musical ability tends to be vastly different to my actual ability, and this tends get proven (in a spectacular fashion) year after year.
In the (sober) comfort of my kitchen I reckon I could pull off passable version ‘Tom Cruise Crazy’ – but after several hours drinking quality red wines & single malts, and a room full of people in don’t know that well, I know in my heart of hearts that it would be a very bad idea.
I think your policy of ‘Keeping it simple’ this year could indeed be a winner
- Mrs Zym definitely thinks so – but then she is (as a fantastic musician) often more embarrassed (and sober) than me 
(Maybe that’s why she’s already vetoed my original (and completely inappropriate) idea for a turn )
Gosh is n’t the music accompanying the Haggis game addictive. Oh, if only I had lived approx 60 odd miles North, things woulda/coulda been so different. “There was a Soldier a Scottish Soldier, who wandered far away …..,”
Hi Al,
Great to have you back for the new year. Your links and snipets are a delight and a therapy for the cold Michigan winter.
Your “Scotland the Brave” is terrific and really nice on the uke. Hate to ask, can you tab the second verse or chorus to the song, seems like it goes a bit higher for a while. I am trying to work this all into a Fingerstyle And Strumed arrangement. I think words for that part might be”Towering in gallant fame
Scotland my mountain hame
High may your proud standards gloriously wave
Land of my high endeavor
Land of the shining river
Land of my heart forever, Scotland the Brave”
Anyway, Thanks again for UkeHunt
Art Crocker
Andy: Save that tune for her Valentines Day surprise serenade.
Ritchie: Do you know what that song is called? I’m tempted to tab it.
Art: Hope you like the added bit.
From further down the page:
“The Scottish bagpipe music playing during Whack The Haggis game is by Scotland Bagpipes Composer Gayle Ellett. The set of 3 music loops is called The Sons of Eilean Donan.”
Cheers for the tab. Uking in the haggis should serve as a suitable alternative to piping in the haggis at my burns night on Saturday (given that I can’t actually play the pipes)
Thanks for that, West.
I’ve put together a rough tab of the melody for the Whack-A-Haggis game:
The Sons of Eilean Donan (Tab)
[…] I tabbed out Scotland the Brave for Burns Night (I’ve updated that post with a longer tab), I thought I’d also do an […]
An ‘It’ll be alright on the night’ style video of me
playingmurdering said song at the top of Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh last week can be found here:http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=XGyiEuWRI4s