Song writer. Born in Haddington, Skirving became a farmer at Garleton. He is principally remembered for the ballad Hey, Johnnie Cope, Are Ye Waking Yet? about the performance of General Sir John Cope (d.1760) at the Battle of Prestonpans (1745), an event which Skirving may well have witnessed. Played on the bagpipes by the Black Watch regiment as there reveille, there are also noted arrangements of 'Hey Johnnie Cope' by Cedric Thorpe Davie (1913-83) and Peter Maxwell Davies (1934 - 2016).
