Auld Lang Syne - What Does It Even Mean???
- by Martha Whitney Butler
Should old acquaintance be forgot and blah, blah, blah, blaah, blaaah. Something, something, something, something a-and tails of old lamb's eyyye...
I always find myself ad-libbing most of the traditional New Year's ballad as I'm usually more focused on the flowing bubbly. A little embarrassed, I check to see if I'm the only one that has no idea what people are singing as the ball drops. Catching some bewildered side-eyes and off-track lips always reassures me that I'm not alone. Since I can't stand not knowing something, I decided to do some investigating. The song was written by famed poet Robert Burns in 1788. It was a collection of renditions of a popular folk song sang in Scotland. He sent it to the Scots Musical Museum stating that it was a very old song and had never been documented. |
Vintage Vignette
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The song is brimming with nostalgia, and even though I didn't know the words, the tune and the fellowship that it evoked around me was moving. Some years you can see it have a jubilant effect on a crowd and others you see it wash over everyone like that scene in Forest Gump where Lieutenant Dan is just sitting there staring off into space with confetti streaming all over him.
I'm hopeful that Beyoncé will cover it and we'll see its revival, but until now, all we have is you, Shoofly readers. Check over the lyrics and see how you feel.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And days of auld lang syne? And days of auld lang syne, my dear, And days of auld lang syne. Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And days of auld lang syne? We twa hae run aboot the braes And pu'd the gowans fine. We've wandered mony a weary foot, Sin' auld lang syne. Sin' auld lang syne, my dear, Sin' auld lang syne, We've wandered mony a weary foot, Sin' auld ang syne. We twa hae sported i' the burn, From morning sun till dine, But seas between us braid hae roared Sin' auld lang syne. Sin' auld lang syne, my dear, Sin' auld lang syne. But seas between us braid hae roared Sin' auld lang syne. And ther's a hand, my trusty friend, And gie's a hand o' thine; We'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet, For auld lang syne. For auld lang syne, my dear, For auld lang syne, We'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet, For auld lang syne. |
I would think most of you don't recognize the full version because the first part is what we traditionally hear when the ball drops in Times Square (thanks, Dick Clark). So let's learn it for this year, sing it at the top of our lungs, and then put on David Bowie's “Changes” as we turn and face the strangeness of 2017.