I vote Scotland the Brave.
The lyrics aren't well known, though I could sing a wee bit of it, but the tune stands alone. Used to play it on the bagpipes.
Ah yes, I suspected as much somehow.
FWIW I actually think F.o.S is a cracking anthem - rousing, fun to sing, with the right amount of "scottishness" (granted, I am an outsider...) to it. Not as good as "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau", but then nothing really is... 
To tell the truth I'm really looking for a Scottish Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau. That anthem's so good the
Cornish and
Bretons have hijacked it too. It's a bit of a shame because the Cornish have
Trelawny as an unofficial anthem as well and I think it's pretty good.
A quick googling suggests that all of the "anthems" of the territories in the UK are not official by act of law, with the UK having "God Save the Queen" (ugh, what a dirge) as its anthem, which has been adopted by England as its anthem, with people wanting a specific English anthem chosen in its place (most common suggestion being the hymn Jerusalem). No doubt this adoption is what has led the rest of us to pick our own.
Though its Christianity may make some people uncomfortable, I really like Jerusalem. I think it fits England well enough. It's a nice tune and it would make a very suitable anthem.
My choice is Scots Wha Hae
"By oppression's woes and pains,
by your sons in servile chains,
we will drain our dearest veins
but they shall be free."
Lyrics like that can be quite universal.
I like Scots Wae Hea, it seems appropiate, I'm a fan of the french anthem though which is very bloody and nationalistic.
This is an excellent point. Everyone, even in Scotland, says their favourite anthem is the French one but people forget just how bloody and nationalistic it is. If only they realised that they'd be a bit more likely to accept Scots Wha Hae.
I'd like to claim Scottish ancestry but there's also English in my father and mothers side and Irish too, but I'm rather well assimilated into Australian/British identity so I can't really claim any singular heritage.
My surname is scottish though.
You are more than welcome to claim Scottish ancestry. It's possible to be a Scottish-Australian and English/Irish Australian at the same time - think of it as a gift. You can choose whichever one to identify with as the situation merits. On St. Patrick's day be Irish, for instance.
I propose this as the new Scottish national anthem.
I enjoyed that. The Hill of Sorrow.
Scots Wha Hae here, too.
The choice really depends on how you see your country, and its mythos of origin: Modern France was forged in the blood of the revolution, and that's still a big part of the country's self-image, so they have the Marseillaise. England with its tradition of the stiff upper lip and carrying on through (and, in no small part, their role in WWII, at least in modern times) has God Save The Queen. (Technically the UK, but I shouldn't have to explain to Owl why I said England.) The US still draw on their pioneer and revolutionary days; unlimited possibilities, which had to be seized and defended. And so their whole anthem is a question: Is our flag still there? Because the mythos of the US doesn't include a guarantee for the US's survival, as opposed to that of many 'ethnic' nations in Europe. Japan's anthem is friggin' awesome, but I know too little about the country to say much about it. Germany... Germany is the really interesting case. Our mythos of origin is - naturally - WWII and the Holocaust; we're not the Reich any more, we're the BRD. But we still have seen the destructive potential that sleeps within us; we know what horrors we have to keep in check. And so our anthem doesn't talk about military prowess, or the defeat of a foe, or even how we're very good at producing wine (we're not, and that's what the Nazis did). It's wholly focused on the people living together, and the prosperity brought about by that. Pretty much my favourite anthem, really. We even put the first line on our soldiers' belts apparently, so they'll know what they're fighting for: Unity, and rule of law*, and freedom. And so they'll know what they're not fighting for, I guess.
What's your Scotland, Owlbread?
It's a very difficult question. I think Scotland's "mythos of origin" is still very much our Wars of Independence that date back to the 1300s. Our "George Washington" was certainly King Robert the Bruce, the man giving the speech in Scots Wha Hae.
Burns actually wrote Scots Wha Hae in response to the trial of Thomas Muir of Huntershill (who died in 1799), a Scottish lawyer and supporter of the United Irishmen (early Irish republicans) and also supporter/figurehead of the "United Scotsmen", a then-burgeoning Scottish Republican group. The United Scotsmen were radicals, inspired by the French and American revolutions. They were very much of the "liberty, equality, fraternity" school of thought. He and his colleagues were deported to Australia for treason.
Shortly before Muir died in exile in France he said:
"We have achieved a great duty in these critical times. After the destruction of so many years, we have been the first to revive the spirit of our country and give it a National Existence."
I think Scots Wha Hae nicely ties up my vision of modern Scotland; a Scotland that believes in the concept of liberty, equality, fraternity; a Scotland that is a nation-state "for the people", unlike the United Kingdom which is a state for the wealthiest and most powerful, with old Scotland; that of Bruce and Wallace who fought even then for freedom (specifically that, according to texts at the time) from Imperialist oppressors.
Ooh, free anthem analysis.
What do you have to say about this one?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braban%C3%A7onne
I really like the Belgian anthem. The music, lyrics, everything is great.
My gran has a fridge magnet with the Scots Wha Hae on it.
Your grandmother is a true Scotswoman.
Our national anthem (Finland) is just a lot of praising on how nice our nature is and how we like to praise it. Kinda meta, really.
I prefer the Finlandia Hymn, which is all about a new dawn of independence and has a lot of lovely light and defiance motifs. Makes me all tingly and patriotic inside.
Finlandia is great. I really enjoy it. Do you have a favourite version of the song I could listen to, however? I find it difficult to find one in a national-anthem style format.
I never realized how jingoistic the Canadian anthem is.
"Home and native land," so sayeth the colonial nation. "True patriot love, in all thy sons command."
"Stand on guard for thee."
It's almost... American in it's jingo.
I think those are staples of nearly all anthems. The anthem is usually used to rouse people to the country's defence as much as anything else.
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