Stenhousemuir songwriter hopes her song follows Scotland to the World Cup
As thousands of Scotland fans fly to America this week full of anticipation of what could be, one Stenhousemuir singer-songwriter is hoping her new single will make the journey with them.
Having just released her new single ‘Home’, Carly Toland (23) will undoubtedly be listening out for the heartfelt chorus when she watches Scotland take to the pitch in the early hours of Sunday, 14 June 2026.
Encouraged to finish the song by her dad, musician Mark Toland, in time for the World Cup, ‘Home’ captures what it means to be Scottish in a similar way to ‘Caledonia’ and ‘Loch Lomond’.
Carly said:
I wanted to capture that feeling and emotion you have when you’re at the end of a week’s holiday abroad, when you start to long for home comforts and the fresh Scottish air. When you have a drink abroad and you miss the crispness of Scottish tap water. When you ask for a roll on sausage down south and they give you a links instead of a square!
“It’s about how, while the world is full of beautiful and interesting places to see and visit, there is something so magnetic about Scotland that will always draw us Scots back. Nothing quite feels like home.”
For Carly, who is a Committee Officer at Falkirk Council by day and a singer-songwriter in her spare time, songwriting is a process that can take several years, writing short hooks and choruses in books she says “gather dust” before she returns to them.
She said:
It all started off as a song about Scotland that I never finished. I wrote the catchy chorus ‘take me to the Western shores …’ while I was in 3rd year at uni. I’m in the middle of recording my first EP which I hope to release later this year, but with everyone feeling passionate and excited, it just felt right to finish the song and release it now.
Carly has her fingers crossed that Scottish fans the world over will play her song and feel proud of their roots - and of the national team.
She said:
Music has brought people together for thousands of years. It’s so rare that our wee country gets a chance to shine, I think we need to celebrate it as much as possible when we get the opportunity. My hope is that everyone can sit in the pub, at home or on the terraces with their arms around each other singing this song as we cheer on Scotland together.
Cllr Cecil Meiklejohn, Leader of Falkirk Council said:
What Carly had done is capture something that’s genuinely hard to put into words - the pull towards home, that particular pride in being Scottish. The fact that she’s written it herself, finished it in time for this historic moment, and is sharing it with the world from Stenhousemuir makes it all the more special. I hope it travels far. Come on Scotland!
You can listen to the song on YouTube and most streaming platforms like iTunes, Spotify and Apple Music.