Eachdraidh-beatha

Born in Andrews Knowes, Canonbie in the Borders, where his father was working as a gamekeeper at the time. Willie, who was also known as 'The Border Shepherd', came from a long line of shepherds and tradition-bearers. He was one of seven children, almost all of whom were talented singers and musicians. Willie learnt many of his songs from his mother and was first recorded by the School of Scottish Studies in the 1950s.

After leaving school when he was eleven, Will got his first job on a farm at Stobbs, near Hawick. At the age of sixteen he got employment on a farm in Northhouse, Teviotdale, along with his father, and worked there until the age of eighteen, before marrying Frances Thomson, the daughter of a Canonbie ploughman, when he was nineteen. Frances had won various prizes for her whistling and was also a very capable accordionist. The couple had six children, all of whom inherited their parents' musical talents to some degree.

Willie worked as a shepherd on various farms until his retirement in November 1968. After Willie's entry to the folk scene via the Dunfermline Howff (folk club) in the early 1960s, he became a regular singer there. He was subsequently invited to appear at the Singers' Club in late 1961. After his appearance there, he began to receive requests to sing at venues all over Britain and as far afield as the USA and Australia. Willie rapidly become one of the best-known figures in the folk music revival of the 1960s and 70s. His song collection, 'Herd Laddie o the Glen: songs of a border shepherd: Willie Scott, Liddesdale shepherd and singer', was compiled and edited by Alison McMorland and first published in 1988.