Five-minute digest

Scots Wha Hae (Robert Bruce’s March to Bannockburn)

Robert Burns

Summary

Scots Wha Hae, titled in Burns's editions Robert Bruce's March to Bannockburn, is a war song that Burns wrote in 1793 and sent to George Thomson for his Select Scottish Airs. Burns imagined it as the address of King Robert the Bruce to his army before the battle of Bannockburn in June 1314, when the Scots defeated the much larger English army of Edward II and secured Scotland's independence. He set it to an old tune, Hey Tuttie Tatie, which tradition said had been Bruce's march. The song has six short stanzas. The first calls to the Scots who have bled with Wallace and been led by Bruce: welcome to your gory bed, or to victory. The second announces that now is the day and now is the hour; see proud Edward's power approaching, bringing chains and slavery. The third asks who would be a traitor knave or fill a coward's grave, and tells such a man to turn and flee. The fourth calls on those who will draw freedom's sword for Scotland's king and law. The fifth swears by the woes of oppression and by sons in servile chains to drain their dearest veins so that their children may be free. The last calls down the proud usurpers and ends: let us do or die. The song is short, fierce and memorable. It is often read as Burns's comment on liberty in his own revolutionary decade as well as on medieval Scotland. For students it is a vivid entry into the Scottish wars of independence and a text for discussing just war, courage and the meaning of freedom. Read it aloud: its short lines and single rhymes were made for a crowd to sing.

Top Lessons

Courage under threat
Bruce asks every man to choose between flight and the risk of death. Courage is a decision.
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Liberty and law
The song fights for Scotland's king and law, not for lawlessness. Freedom here means a people's right to its own lawful rule.
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History and song
Burns wrote this nearly five centuries after the battle. Songs shape how nations remember their past.
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Verified Quotes

Frequently cited

“Scots, wha hae wi’ Wallace bled, Scots, wham Bruce has aften led, Welcome to your gory bed, Or to Victorie!”

— Robert Burns, Scots Wha Hae (Robert Bruce’s March to Bannockburn), Stanza 1 (Gutenberg #1279: Poems and Songs of Robert Burns (chronological arrangement)).Quote card

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“Now’s the day, and now’s the hour;”

— Robert Burns, Scots Wha Hae (Robert Bruce’s March to Bannockburn), Stanza 2 (Gutenberg #1279: Poems and Songs of Robert Burns (chronological arrangement)).Quote card

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Frequently cited

“Liberty’s in every blow!— Let us Do or Die!”

— Robert Burns, Scots Wha Hae (Robert Bruce’s March to Bannockburn), Stanza 6 (Gutenberg #1279: Poems and Songs of Robert Burns (chronological arrangement)).Quote card

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Scots Wha Hae (Robert Bruce’s March to Bannockburn)

Summary

Top Lessons

Courage under threat

Liberty and law

History and song

Verified Quotes