Vintage Vignette - January 2017

Auld Lang Syne - What Does It Even Mean???

One columnist's quest to see why we all sing a ballad at New Year's that no one understands.
- by Martha Whitney Butler

More Shoofly Stories

Front of cigarette advertising trading card.

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
is sponsored by

---

Click here and scroll down for archived Vintage Vignette columns!

New York City : the old Post-office : the clerks and city carriers singing "Auld Lang Syne" previous to the delivery of the last local mail.

The words in the title roughly translate to “old times’ sake” with a message at the heart of the song telling us to cherish our old friendships and the events of the past year.

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.

Every year, this song gets a little quieter because it hasn't thoroughly been instilled in our new generations. I'd put it right up there with cheetahs at these point. It's almost on the endangered species list of songs.

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.

New Year's greeting from the early 1900s

Don't worry, the words didn't make a lot of sense to me either, but I'm really digging the "cup o' kindess" part. I'll have three of those, please!

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.

Getting ready to ring in the New Year.

New Year's greetings circa 1912 and 1913