Auld songs for a new Scotland

Chan e seo deireadh rathaid ach toiseach linn - This is not the end of the road but the start of a new age. Runrig, 'Àrd', 1993

Labour's dinosaurs hit the ground with a thump as the meteor hit. Their food source gone. The Lib Dems thought that having two faces would give them double the chance of success but it just gave the people twice the target to kick. The Tories' talk of 'common sense' by grabbing others' pubic hair saw them scrape a new low and left poor matron Annabel inspecting the skid-marks in her Union Jack bloomers.

Meanwhile, the public voted in unprecedented numbers for the SNP to gain what they can from the greedy ConDem government in London before pursuing full independence. A mood of optimism exists despite Scotland having to face up to the consequences of a bankrupt British economy that incredibly can still find enough dough for war while throwing teachers and nurses on the dole and freezing wages.

What songs are fitting for this moment? Here's a starter: Runrig's 1993 anthem for home rule, Ard. The song mourned the dark days of Scotland suffering under a Tory government in London while expressing hope that a new generation would struggle and achieve self-determination. We did take that first step. Here's to a new generation taking the next step towards a progressive, prosperous and independent Scotland, leaving those Labour dinosaurs to fossilise.

Àrd

Madainn Di-haoine 's duthaich fo sgoth

'S mi sgith le cuid smalan, mi-mhisneachd is bron

Seo an deicheamh la dhan a'Ghiblean 'sinn fo ghruaim a rithist

An co-dhunadh a cheannaich na daoine aig pris

Tha spiorad nan daoine nas soilleir na ghealach

Nas doimhne na'n cuan

Gheibh sinn ar n-aite 'san t-saoghal

'S an ginealach ur

Ard: blar nan daoine

Ard: guth is saorsa

Ard: tha sinn gluasad

Gu h-ard theid sinn suas

'S iomadh trioblaid tha romhainn 'nis Gaidheal agus Gall

'S mi le aon suil air eachdraidh, aon suil mo chlann

Ach cum creideamh nad bheatha, sonas nad chridhe

Chan e seo deireadh rathaid ach toiseach linn

Tha spiorad nan daoine nas soilleir na ghealach

Nas doimhne na'n cuan

Gheibh sinn ar n-aite 'san t-shaoghal

'S an ginealach ur.

Translations available via Google. Gaelic education links on the left bar at the top.

Free music - Ard (High)