From old long ago on that far away isle, lest we forget Bannockburn to Culloden.

Our colors and tartans still stream through the mind, now a faint memory of a forgotten time.

Echoes of battle, men clad in tartans carrying shields and broadswords, sound their battle cries.

Generations and continents away, yet forever the blood is strong and the soul is highland.

We who remember from Robert the Bruce to the young Pretender.

From old long ago Scotland forever, forever the clan in that dark island land.

Only "Happy Birthday to you" is sung more often than Scotland’s hymn of conviviality. It is possibly the most-sung song by most people in musical history, a veritable anthem for the world.  Yet, of all these millions who sing it annually, only a few know the original (or even correct) words, and even fewer understand what they mean.  Generations of errors have been incorporated into the original lyric; it may take another millennium to get rid of them.