This is what Dick Gaughan, who adapted an old text to a new tune of his own, had to say about this song:

"This was written in 1979 shortly after the Scots returned a majority in favour of a separate Scottish Parliament but the vote was vetoed in the UK Parliament due to the actions of some Members from the North of England.

The verses call for the recognition of Scotland's right to sovereignty and the choruses argue against prejudice between our peoples.

The Tweed is the river which forms part of the Scots-English border and is used here as a symbol of both the need for independence and the need for friendship and co-existance.

The original text was an attack upon the Treaty of Union of 1707 which abolished the independent Scots and English Parliaments and set up the United Kingdom. I made some minor amendments to give it contemporary relevance."

Malcolm