An independent Scotland would need a national anthem – but what would it be? | Rory Scothorne

Nicola Sturgeon recently made clear that Flower of Scotland is not a shoo-in, despite its popularity

Of the many things to be worked out were Scotland to become independent, the national anthem is low down on the list. The Corries' 1960s folk song Flower of Scotland, which has been sung at football and rugby matches for decades, has everything a decent anthem needs. From its defiant tale of triumph over the auld enemy at Bannockburn (And sent him homeward / Tae think again") to its eulogy for absent heroism (Autumn leaves lie thick and still / O'er land that is lost now"), it is imbued with what the Australian poet and literary critic Christopher Kelen calls anthem quality". This, Kelen argues, is the ability of a song to raise a special type of goosebump - not only through the feelings that words and tune stir in the individual singer, but also the knowledge that these feelings are shared by one's compatriots".

Yet Flower of Scotland elicits a murmur of embarrassment in some circles, even among nationalists - indeed, this goes all the way to the top. In a recent interview on The Cultural Coven podcast, Nicola Sturgeon was asked about a hypothetical new anthem for an independent Scotland. Nothing beats belting out Flower of Scotland at Hampden or Murrayfield," the first minister said, but she confessed that: The words are not the most uplifting and forward-looking." She offered two alternatives: Highland Cathedral - a popular bagpipe tune that haunts Edinburgh's tourist traps - and Dougie MacLean's 1977 song Caledonia, a homesick lament best known for its starring role in an early-1990s advert for Tennent's lager.

Rory Scothorne is a historian and writer based in Edinburgh