There is no other living Scotsman who can claim more right (or privilege, as he would say himself) to reveal the living culture of the Scottish nation. He understands its sorrows and its glories and admits its shame. He provides an insight into the past and also a vision of the future if we dare to accept its challenge and cast of the debris of historical failures and outworn friendships. From the wartorn beaches of Italy to the machars of the Hebrides he has sung songs of freedom with long echoing times.