ABSTRACT
In this chapter I offer my own conceptualisation of the key elements of a nation, which comprises its people, their inter-relationships (with each other, with other peoples, and with both time and place) and their creativity. Traditional music and song often speak to each of these, and in doing so have plenty to say on some of the important and timeless concerns of humankind: place, landscape, family, community, conflict and love. Introducing a case study of a scripted stage show entitled Far Far From Ypres, I explore the relationship between the local, the national and the global through creative responses to the Scottish experience of the Great War. The works of such creative voices as Violet Jacob, Jim Malcolm, Dick Gaughan and Harry Lauder are discussed and contextualised through reference to wider Scottish cultural criticism, past and present.
