American Rhetoric: Movie Speech

"Chariots of Fire" (1981)

Eric Liddell Host Speech at the Scottish Folk Festival

Audio mp3 delivered by Ian Charleson

 

Liddell: You know, ladies and gentlemen, one of the real compensations of achieving a certain notoriety, if only as a rugby player, is that occasionally you're asked to come along and give things away.

It's often said that giving beats receiving. Well, let me tell you, the look of delight on those little boys' faces is worth ten of any of the tin pots I've got gathering dust in my Edinburgh sideboard.

When we were in China, my father, here, was always waxing lyrical about his "wee home in the glen," but being oriental born myself, like my brothers and my sister, here, I suffered from a natural incredulity. But lookin' about me now, the heather on the hills, I can see he was right. It's very special.

Thank you for welcoming us home.

And thank you for reminding me that I am, and will be whilst I breathe, a Scot.