How do you sing and sign a song?
‘From Scotland to Japan’
Isabella’s Footsteps: From Scotland to Japan was written by our Artistic Director, Frances M Lynch who based it on songs written by pupils from Keith & Newmill Primary Schools who took part in our Isabella’s Footsteps Project from September 2025 – May 2026. You can hear her singing it if you press the arrow on the picture above.
We really hope you like it and will want to sing it yourself. You’ll find everything you need to sing & sign the song below!
Isabella’s Song
Celebrating marine biologist
Isabella Gordon (1901-1988)
Inspired by the children of Keith & Newmill Primary Schools
Created as a companion to the book of the same name by Catherine Booth
First performed at a community event in Keith
May 18th, 2026
Isabella Gordon’s Birthday
by Keith Primary School Choir & EVT
for the unveiling ceremony of plaques dedicated to Gordon as part of the Sakura Cherry Tree project
and presentations of the book
Now you can learn the song with your class group or choir using all the materials we’ve prepared for you – and there’s lots of different ways, including your own! The tracks will come in handy if you’re not confident to teach the song yourself and will provide ideas of different ways to approach it for those who are!
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO SING & SIGN
Isabella’s Song
From Scotland to Japan
We highly recommend that you learn the words before you work on the singing, then follow the track sequence – or pick and choose as suits your class. You can download the score, and word sheets before you start!
Listen & Learn
‘From Scotland to Japan’
Audio
LESSON 1 – CHORUS with WARM UP (9 mins)
Lesson 1a – Sing the CHORUS with Frances (1.5 mins)
Lesson 1b – Sing the CHORUS with instruments (1.5 mins)
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LESSON 2 – VERSE 1 (7 mins)
Lesson 2a – Sing VERSE 1 with Frances (1 min)
Lesson 2b – Sing VERSE 1 with instruments (1 min)
LESSON 3 – VERSE 2 (5 mins)
Lesson 3a -Sing VERSE 2 with Frances (1 min)
Lesson 3b – Sing VERSE 2 with instruments (1 min)
……………………………………………….
LESSON 4 – VERSE 3 (2 mins)
Lesson 4a – Sing VERSE 3 with Frances
Lesson 4b – Sing VERSE 3 with instruments
……………………………………………….
LESSON 5 – BRIDGE (4.5 mins) NB. You don’t have to use the rhythm of the words in this track – you can try doing your own just using Track 5b
Lesson 5a- Join Frances on the BRIDGE!! (30secs)
Lesson 5b – Try the BRIDGE with instruments (40secs)
……………………………………………….
LESSON 6 – Sing the whole song with Frances (4 mins)
Lesson 6a – Sing the whole song with instruments (4 mins)
Words & Scores
‘From Scotland to Japan’
Words
CHORUS
From Scotland to Japan seems a long, long way
But just a few footsteps every day
Just a few footsteps every day
Took Isabella Gordon all the way
Verse 1
She stertit oot* in kindly Keith
She learnt tae* draw, build self-belief
She turnt* her steps tae Aberdeen
Whaur* oceans clamoured tae be seen
CHORUS
Verse 2
Around the world crustaceans waited
For Isabella to find where they’re located
She took them to London, to catalogue and name them
Her knowledge grew until it was the size of Big Ben
CHORUS
Verse 3
Until her footsteps led to where Crabs,
Shrimp and the Emperor welcomed her
To a palace in Japan, an honoured guest
The quine* fae Keith, hailed a top scientist*
BRIDGE
If you, like her, work hard, stay strong,
Believe in yourself, keep going on,
Your footsteps will take you a long, long way.
CHORUS
scientist* pronounce it to rhyme with guest in the line above
There are a few Scots words in Doric, which is the dialect spoken in the Keith area, do try to stick to the Scots, you can hear Frances singing it here.
Scots/Doric English
stertit oot* started out
tae* to
turnt* turned
Whaur* Where
quine* fae girl from
Scores
TUNE & CHORDS
Download the TUNES & CHORDS SCORE 
FULL SCORE
Isabella’s Footsteps
From Scotland to Japan
for voices in unison or 3 parts
and piano/guitar
BSL & Performance
‘From Scotland to Japan’
British Sign Language video
Please watch Isla van der Heiden, British Sign Language Interpreter, as she signs the whole song. If you watch the chorus carefully you’ll see that the signs are simple enough for you to copy them. Do perform the song with the signs for the chorus.
Performance
You can use these fully orchestrated versions to practice and perform the whole of Isabella’s Song once you know it. You can choose to sing backing vocals yourselves (as in the FULL SCORE) or use the track with the backing vocals recorded. Make sure you contact us to let us know about your performance.
From Scotland to Japan Performance Track (no backing vocals) DOWNLOAD HERE or Playback below
From Scotland to Japan Performance Track with Backing Vocals DOWNLOAD HERE or Playback below
The Composer
Frances M Lynch is the Artistic Director of Electric Voice Theatre – so she is usually behind organising all our projects with lots of help from Herbie Clarke.
Frances played recorders and violin when she was at school and only later learned viola and piano, but most of all she loved singing. So she found some great singers and made the Electric Voice Theatre who now promote women in science and music from the past – like Isabella Gordon – and the present – like Miranda Lowe who is Isabella’s successor at the Natural History Museum – and the future – like the children of Keith, Newmill and St. Thomas schools who joined this project.
Like Isabella, she went to London to study and ended up living and working there, and travelling the world, just like her!
Composing music arrived by accident. She was working as music director to a theatre company when they decided they didn’t like the music they’d been given ….so…….. they asked her to quickly write some and she became their resident composer for 10 years!
She has loved writing music for Isabella Gordon, particularly with the children of her home town. You can hear more on this page.