This songbook is to be used freely and shared widely. It was born out of the Comfort Of Voices 2022 gathering of choir and song leaders who provide choir and singing leadership for the benefit of Scottish communities. This free resource forms part of an ongoing practical response to the challenges we face as individual song leaders, and we hope it helps meet some of our collective development needs.
Thank you to the songbook’s generous contributors who are song leading practitioners, songwriters or composers living and working in Scotland, all of whom have generously gifted their work, knowledge and skills.
The songs are gathered into four groups:
1. Canons & rounds
2. Cyclical songs
3. Songs not in English
4. Longer-form songs
It has been curated and edited by some of Scotland’s most highly regarded singing and choir practitioners: Ali Burns, Katy Lavinia Cooper and Stephen Deazley.
The songs and songbook are shareable under Creative Commons license: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International. This license requires that users give credit to the creator. It allows users to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, for non-commercial purposes only. If others modify or adapt the material, they must license the modified material under identical terms.
Please let us know if you use or adapt the songs with your choirs via the feedback form at the bottom of the page.
Canons & rounds
I Believe That One Fine Day submitted by Ali Burns
I riffed off the Jimi Hendrix quote, ‘When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace’ to write this funky 5 part round. It also makes a great base for improvisation.
Download I Believe That One Fine DayThis Room And This Singing submitted by Ali Burns
I wrote the words for this 5-part round during a particularly wonderful residential singing week and then added the tune later. It has a big spread of notes and while itʼs lovely as a round it also sings well with just the ostinato backing and the tune in unison.
Download This Room And This SingingWhistle O’ The Wren submitted by Adelaide Carlow
This chirpy little round has a sombre ending because although these sweet, powerful song-makers give us so much joy they also struggle to survive our cold Scottish winters. In the Big Freeze of 2009, wren numbers fell by 40%.
Download Whistle O' The WrenFebruary, September, May Rounds submitted by Katy Lavinia Cooper
February and September rounds were written for Glasgow Madrigirls ongoing ‘A Round a Month’ project. Both rounds are great for use in warm-ups, particularly on weather-appropriate days, and September is easily adapted for use in other months with similar names (and weather patterns!). In May 2021, when we were still emerging from the restrictions of Covid, the white flowers on the hawthorn trees had a particularly good year. It seemed like they were welcoming us back to the world. The round has quite a large range but is very satisfying to sing.
Download February, September, May RoundsBat, Fox, Beavers submitted by Emily Doolittle
These three rounds come from a set of five that were initially written for use in Canadian composer R Murray Schafer’s collaborative project ‘And Wolf Shall Inherit The Moon’, which takes place every year in the wilderness in Ontario. The complete set of five is available from Canasg Music.
Download Bat, Fox, BeaversTwa Pennies submitted by Mandy Ketchin
This simple round for 2, 3, or 4 voices was inspired by a page in my Scots dictionary about our old currency. The relative values of coins were set out in a table, and as I read it, the words naturally fell into a springy rhythm that just called out loud for a song.
Download Twa PenniesCyclical Songs
In Dangerous Times submitted by Ali Burns
I was moved to write this at a time I felt the world was in a dangerously unstable place and knew that having a strong community to sing with would help to pull me, and presumably others, through. Sadly, it continues to feel relevant. You can make a simplified 2 part version with the soprano part (tune) along with the call part ʻIn times of dangerʼ.
Download In Dangerous TimesCattle Call submitted by Katy Lavinia Cooper
Cattle Call was arranged for Glasgow Madrigirls. I came across this call (which is in a major key in its original version) when developing a project with Madrigirls exploring work songs. Cattle Call is a great concert opener and we’ve also used it in workshops to explore singing out of time/improvisation.
Download Cattle CallPeace Of The Running Wave submitted by Mary McCann
This setting of a well-known text is simple and calming to sing. The tune part of part A can also be sung against the B part.
Download Peace Of The Running WaveSing All My Troubles Away submitted by Irene Watt
This song really sums up my philosophy on life. No matter how bad Iʼm feeling, I find a song helps. I wrote this on a day when I felt like punching the wall. I started humming this melody, then words came and then the harmonies. Sing it with a bit of a swing and enjoy the syncopation!
Download Sing All My Troubles AwaySongs not in English
Pique La Baleine submitted by Harry Campbell
Although ʻpique la baleineʼ means ʻharpoon the whaleʼ, this is not a whaling song! Itʼs about searching the seven seas for your love, drowning, and finding her at the bottom of the sea. No cetaceans are harmed in this song!
Download Pique La BaleineTiri Pamwe submitted by Penny Stone
Tiri Pamwe was written by members of the Maryhill Integration Network’s Joyous Choir over Zoom during the 2020 lockdown. The lyrics ‘we are one’ and ‘we are together’ show how connected we felt, despite being apart. Words were shared by singers who came to Scotland from Spain, Ghana, Pakistan, Poland and Zimbabwe, showing the beautiful diversity of Glasgow.
Download Tiri PamweBai ù oh hò submitted by Nicola Black
I arranged this for Na Seinneadairean, a small Gaelic singing group who enjoy singing in unison but wanted to try some simple harmonies with a few of their songs.
Download Bai ù oh hòFaca Sibh Màiri Nigh’n Alasdair submitted by Mary Ann Kennedy
A 9/8 tune you can sing as a jig or slightly slower as a march.
Download Faca Sibh Màiri Nigh’n AlasdairGille Beag Ò submitted by Robyn Stapleton
I first heard this beautiful Gaelic lullaby on the Scottish Book Trustʼs Bookbug CD that was sent to me when my oldest daughter was born. Iʼve enjoyed singing it with my children in the years since and teaching it to community singing groups. The beautiful melody and repeating phrases are soothing. It’s suitable for all ages and singing abilities and its simplicity and repetition is good for those learning a Gaelic song for the first time.
Download Gille Beag ÒLonger-form songs
We Are Here submitted by Stephen Deazley
This was a little gift that bubbled up on the day I returned to the Usher Hall where my choir rehearses. It had been more than 18 months after the first lockdown began. I wrote this that evening as a simple gospel-style anthem to the Usher Hall in celebration of the return of singing within its walls. It has only one verse, repeated with a fuller, richer harmony.
Download We Are HereColours We Bring To You submitted by Corrina Hewat
I think of this song as a gentle dance – a waltz with nature. It was written while sitting in the garden on a very quiet day and the lyrics are full of colour and the changing seasons. The lines can be sung alone or together in any combination.
Download Colours We Bring To YouWhy We Sing submitted by Chris Hutchings
This was written to explain why I think singing can change the world. The words of the third verse can be adapted or re-written to suit your cause, ask your own questions or tell your own story. You can find two versions adapted for climate campaigning at www.choirsforclimate.com/why-we-sing.
Download Why We SingI Thought I Had No Voice submitted by Scott Murray
In 2010-11, I worked on ‘Inspire’, a Scots Music Group project funded by Creative Scotland. As tutors we worked with groups of vulnerable folk, collected their thoughts about what the project meant to them, and put those words to music.
Download I Thought I Had No VoiceCome Away In submitted by Karine Polwart
Come Away In was written originally for Hands Up For Tradʼs community project, Scotland Sings. Itʼs a rousing, big-hearted song of welcome, which speaks to the issues of migration and asylum. Thereʼs scope to augment this arrangement with simple echoing lines if you have lots of voices.
Download Come Away InTravel These Ways submitted by Karine Polwart
An uplifting song of connection and community, Travel These Ways was commissioned by Luminate for its Dementia Inclusive Singing Network resource pack. The lockdown era brief was to create a positive and accessible song, rooted in landscape and rich visual imagery. Audio and video resources are available and can be found here: singing.luminatescotland.org/songs-to-sing-at-home/travel-these-ways.
Download Travel These Ways