What tho on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hodden grey, an' a' that;
Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine,
A Man's a Man for a' that!
For a' that an' a' that,
Their tinsel show and a' that;
The honest man, though e'er sae poor,
Is king o' men for a' that!

Ye see yon birkie ca'd a lord,
Wha struts, and stares, an' a' that;
Tho' hundreds worship at his word,
He's but a coof for a' that:
For a' that an' a' that,
His riband, star, and a' that;
The man of independent mind,
He looks an' laughs at a' that!

A prince can mak a belted knight,
A marquis, duke, an' a' that;
But an honest Man's aboon his might,
Guid faith he maunna fa' that!
For a' that an' a' that,
Their dignities an' a' that,
The pith o' sense, an' pride o' worth,
Are higher ranks than a' that.

Then let us pray that come it may,
As come it will for a' that,
That sense and worth, o'er a' the earth,
Shall bear the gree, and a' that;
For a' that, an' a' that,
It's comin' yet for a' that
That Man to Man the warld o'er,
Shall brothers be for a' that!

Singability; Moves along quite nicely, and quite an easy song to follow and to sing, except for the end of the penultimate line which goes high quite suddenly.

Playability; Quite suitable for most styles, I think. 

Positive; It would be good to have a decent piece of writing for an anthem ! Already known by many people. 

Negative; Some people have a problem with the "man" bit - is it sexist ?  I don't think so. You just have to remember that "men" is often correctly used to mean "people". (Big philological argument. Let's not go there.) 
There is a danger of the song slowing down too much, or being sung without feeling. 
 

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp,
And surely I'll be mine,
And we'll tak a cup o kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pou'd the gowans fine,
But we've wander'd monie a weary fit,
Sin auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidl'd in the burn
Frae morning sun till dine,
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin auld lang syne.

And there's a hand my trusty fiere,
And gie's a hand o thine,
And we'll tak a right guid-willie waught,
For auld lang syne

Singability; Yes. As is well proven over many years and in many situations. All styles of singer - solo to large group. It seems to work fine.

Playability; Well suited to most styles and groupings.

Positive; Known worldwide, and respected.

Negative; Maybe it is too well known already in an international sense. And maybe it is too tied up with Hogmanay/New Year. 

The hills are bare now
And autumn leaves lie thick and still
O'er land that is lost now
Which those so dearly held
That stood against him
Proud Edward's army
And sent him homeward
Tae think again

Those days are past now
And in the past they must remain
But we can still rise now
And be the nation again
That stood against him
Proud Edward's army
And sent him homeward
Tae think again

(Reprise first verse)

Singability; The timing is actually trickier than most people think. This can be mastered easily by a solo singer, and a small group can easily hold the tune together. However, many of us will have been embarrassed by the attempts of a Scottish crowd to sing this at a football or rugby match. It can easily fall to pieces. Is this because of the rest between most lines ?  There will always be somebody willing to jump straight into the next line. Maybe also the fact that many of the lines are short, and that two lines can often be managed on one breath, lends it to rushing. So a band keeps to the proper timing, and the crowd rushes away.
The "died" in "and died for" (and similarly in the other verses of course) is too high for most people to sing comfortably if they start the song at a middle pitch.

Playability; Not the best, actually. I believe that there is a note that can't be played on the bagpipes. 

Positive; Popular. Well-kent. Very popular, even. The choice of the majority. Sung well (and without the "who" - see below), it really can sound good.

Negative; Carries an attitude which is insular and negative, and can be seen as anti-English. Much of the section of the population who like it so much think of it as being anti-English. Casual, tongue-in-cheek anti-Englishness might be ok in informal situations, but might be inappropriate in a formal context. 
Neds annoyingly think that they can make up for their ignorance of most of the words by shouting "Who ?" after "against him". 

Words by Hamish Henderson
Tune "The Bloody Fields of Flanders"

Nae mair will the bonnie callants
March tae war when oor braggarts crousely craw
Nor wee weans frae pit-heid and clachan
Mourn the ships sailing doon the Broomielaw,
Broken faimlies in lands we've herriet
Will curse Scotland the Brave nae mair, nae mair;
Black and white, ane ti ither mairriet,
Mak the vile barracks o' their maisters bare.

So come all ye at hame wi' Freedom,
Never heed whit the hoodies croak for doom.
In your hoose a' the bairns o' Adam
Can find breid, barley-bree and painted room.
When Maclean meets wi's friens in Springburn,
A' the roses and geans will turn tae bloom,
And a black boy frae yont Nyanga
Dings the fell gallows o' the burghers doon.

Singability; Good, both for professionals and amateurs. Not just the easiest of tunes, but can be learned fairly readily, even with its odd time signature. The words, being such concentrated Scots, really take some learning. The tune lies all within one octave, and makes it good for singing by a group of people with mixed singing ranges.

Playability; Quite easy for most instruments, and can be played as anything from a lament to a march ! If adopted as the anthem, a decision would have to be made to standardise the timing, as the song and the instrumental tune have slightly different time signatures.

Positive; Totally politically correct words. No insult given to anybody in any country. Strong. High quality of words and music. The lyrics are anything but shallow.

Negative; Not generally known. Difficult words to understand even for most Scots, being written in a language which is not most people's first language. 

O Lord our God arise,
Scatter her enemies
And make them fall;
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On Thee our hopes we fix,
Oh, save us all!

Thy choicest gifts in store
On her be pleased to pour;
Long may she reign;
May she defend our laws,
And ever give us cause
To sing with heart and voice,
God save the Queen!

Not in this land alone,
But be God's mercies known,
From shore to shore!
Lord make the nations see,
That men should brothers be,
And form one family,
The wide world over

From every latent foe,
From the assassins blow,
God save the Queen!
O'er her thine arm extend,
For Britain's sake defend,
Our mother, prince, and friend,
God save the Queen!

Singability; Quite easily sung, but difficult to do much with it that is original.

Playability; Has been proven over the years to be quite playable by most instrumental mixes. 

Positive; People already know it and recognise it, both here and abroad.

Negative; This goes against the politics of a large number of Scots, is seen by many as an "establishment" song, and is certainly non-inclusive. It does not give Scotland an identity.
It already carries such popularity that at times it is booed when played in Scotland. There are others who will not sing it, or who will not stand for it.
 

Words and Music by Michael Marra

Wi' ma hand on ma hert and ma hert in ma mooth
Wi’ erms that could reach ower the sea
Ma feet micht be big but the insects are safe
They'll never get stood on by me

Hermless, hermless, There's never nae bother fae me
I ging to the libry, I tak' oot a book
And then I go hame for ma tea

I save a' the coupons that come wi' the soup
And when I have saved fifty-three
I send awa fifty, pit three in the drar
And something gets posted tae me

Hermless, hermless, There's never nae bother fae me
I dae whit I’m telt and I tidy my room,
And then I come doon for my tea

There's ane or twa lads wha I could cry my chums
They're canny and meek as can be
There's Tam wi' his pigeons, And Wull wi his mice,
And Robert McLennan and me

Hermless, hermless, There's never nae bother fae me
I ging to the libry, I tak' oot a book
And then I go hame for ma tea

Hermless, hermless, there's never nae bother fae me
Naebody’d notice that I wasnae there
If I didnae come hame for ma tea
[REPEAT] 

Singability; Surprisingly difficult, just like much of Marra's work. Great though with a small bunch of folk who all know it, and who can take on the chorus, and maybe even sing the mandolin (?) part !

Playability; Moderate. I've never heard it done as a piece by a large band. Could be interesting.

Positive; Just so totally different from any other country's anthem, it would probably become the world's favourite. Fun to sing. And who could complain about any of it ? Also, assuming this as the anthem would give Michael Marra the recognition he deserves for all the imaginative work he gave us.

Negative; Well, are we really serious ?
 

High in the misty highlands, out by the purple islands,
Brave are the hearts that beat beneath Scottish skies!
Wild are the winds to meet you, staunch are the friends that greet you
Kind as the light that shines from fair maidens eyes!
Towering in gallant fame,
Scotland, my mountain hame!
High may your proud standards gloriously wave!
Land of the high endeavour, land of the shining river,
Land of my heart, forever, Scotland the brave!

Far off in sunlit places, sad are the Scottish faces,
Yearnin' to feel the kiss of sweet Scottish rain!
Where tropic skies are beamin, love sets the heart adreamin',
Longin' and dreamin' for the homeland again!
Towering in gallant fame,
Scotland, my mountain hame!
High may your proud standards gloriously wave!
Land of the high endeavour, land of the shinin' river,
Land of my heart, forever, Scotland the brave!

Singability; It is very crowded with words, and is very difficult to master at any speed. It sounds best when arranged, with backing band/orchestra.

Playability; Great for a pipe band. 

Positive; See "playability". If somebody can sing it well, it can carry great boldness. The tune is already recognised in many parts of the world, and stirs images of pipe bands. 

Negative; See all other notes. 
 

Wha will be a traitor knave?
Wha can fill a coward's grave?
Wha sae base as be a slave?
Let him turn and flee!
Wha for Scotland's King and law
Freedom's sword will strongly draw?
Freeman stand, or freeman fa'?
Let him follow me!

By oppression's woes and pains!
By your sons in servile chains!
We will drain our dearest veins,
But they shall be free!
Lay the proud usurper low!
Tyrants fall in ev'ry foe!
Liberty's in ev'ry blow!
Let us do or die!

Singability; Fairly challenging. People would need to learn how to sing this properly. There is a natural tendency to start singing a tune at about the lower-middle of one's vocal range. Scots Wha Hae often catches people out because they have either started too high or too low, but most singers can manage it fine if they start correctly. However, singing in a key to suit a group usually leaves some folk floundering at some point.. 

Playability; Suits most media well, and can sound very bold and stirring when played well by a pipe or military band. 

Positive; Ancient. Respected. Well-known. Stirring, and simply brimming over with national pride. Politically, this song also has a secondary layer, more powerful than the first.

Negative; Again a song that depends on martial strength rather than humanity. It recalls past battles (and fighting the English) rather than looking to ourselves and the wider world. Is it possible to find a National Anthem that doesn't mention England's King Edward ?  (see also Flower of Scotland !)
This can easily turn into a dirge.