Songfacts®:

• Although this is a well-known bagpipe tune it actually originated in Italy and traveled to Scotland via the Crimean War. The opera Guglielmo Tell (William Tell) by Rossini, dates from 1829; it includes "La Tua Danza Sì Leggiera." In 1854, Pipe Major John MacLeod heard it played by a Sardinian military band while serving with the 93^rd Sutherland Highlanders.
  
  MacLeod transcribed it for the bagpipes. Although words were added by George Linley, it remained best known as an instrumental until Andy Stewart added a new set, which became his 1960 hit, "A Scottish Soldier." >>>

  Suggestion credit:
  Alexander Baron - London, England
• The name "Tyrol" has no association with Scotland. When John MacLeod adapted the song from Guglielmo Tell, he titled it "The Green Hills Of Tyrol" apparently in reference to the main character, William Tell, who travels there in the opera. An alternate name for the opera is Hofer, or the Tell of the Tyrol.