What is "Auld Lang Syne"?
I heard the song for the first time at the end of the 1946 Christmas movie, "It's a wonderful life". To me it always sounded like they were singing "Old Ange's Sign". I couldn't figure out who "Old Ange" was anyway and why they would write a song about her and what her sign was. Every New Year I heard the song so I thought it had something to do with the sign of the Chinese Zodiac that changes every year on New Year's Eve.
For example this year changed from the Ox to the Tiger so I figured that the old sign of the Ox was gone and the tiger comes. Then why would Scottish people write a song about the Chinese Zodiac? This was very puzzling to me as I was a kid and I heard the same song at my older brother's graduation. I knew better not to ask anybody and get embarrassed. I just put it aside and every time I heard the song I just tried to feel what it means.
I was getting closer.
The words times "Auld Lang Syne" actually mean "Times Long Past".
Lines like "Should old acquaintance be forgot" seemed to indicate to me old friends that passed away. It was my hypothesis in high school that Old Ange was an old friend that passed away. Maybe it was it was "old ange dies". I really couldn't figure out the meaning of this song for a long time and I didn't have the guts to ask anybody for the song sounded so sentimental.
Can it be a hymn?
When I moved to Korea I found that the missionaries during the Choson period took a 1741 Charles Wesley Hymn and sang the lyrics to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne"? I guess that was like putting Christian lyrics to a pop song back then. Instead of beginning the song with "Should old acquaintance be forgot" it began with, "Father I stretch my hands to thee...". Hearing this got me thinking more. The original version of this tune was made in the early 19th century as a Scottish drinking song but now it was an honored hymn in Korea. This was a pretty wild discovery.
The hymn book says the song was written by W Shield, but it is better known as a work of Robert Burns. It turns out there is a controversy about who actually write the melody to this song. The controversy is that W Shield had used the melody in a comic opera called "Rosina" in 1783. You can listen here ... It's not exactly the same as the melody we sing now.
According to the Burns Encyclopedia, Robert Burns had entered the words to this song to the Scots Musical Museum in 1788 saying, "It's an old song." Like all folk musicians he added his own words and kept singing it.
Here is the original text from Robert Burns
| Burn's Scottish | Pronunciation | Today's English |
|---|---|---|
| Should auld acquaintance be forgot, | Shid ald akwentans bee firgot, | Should old acquaintance be forgot, |
| and never brought to mind? | an nivir brocht ti mynd? | and never brought to mind? |
| Should auld acquaintance be forgot, | Shid ald akwentans bee firgot, | Should old acquaintance be forgot, |
| and auld lang syne? | an ald lang syn? | and auld lang syne? |
| Chorus: | Chorus: | Chorus: |
| For auld lang syne, my jo, | Fir ald lang syn, ma jo, | For auld lang syne, my dear, |
| for auld lang syne, | fir ald lang syn, | for auld lang syne, |
| we'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet, | wil tak a cup o kyndnes yet, | we'll take a cup of kindness yet, |
| for auld lang syne. | fir ald lang syn. | for auld lang syne. |
| And surely ye'll be your pint-stoup! | An sheerly yil bee yur pynt-staup! | And surely you'll buy your pint cup! |
| and surely I'll be mine! | an sheerly al bee myn! | and surely I'll buy mine! |
| And we'll tak' a cup o’ kindness yet, | An will tak a cup o kyndnes yet, | And we'll take a cup o' kindness yet, |
| for auld lang syne. | fir ald lang syn. | for auld lang syne. |
| Chorus | Chorus | Chorus |
| We twa hae run about the braes, | We twa hay rin aboot the braes, | We two have run about the hills, |
| and pou'd the gowans fine; | an pood the gowans fyn; | and picked the daisies fine; |
| But we've wander'd mony a weary fit, | Bit weev wandert monae a weery fet, | But we've wandered many a weary foot, |
| sin' auld lang syne. | sin ald lang syn. | since auld lang syne. |
| Chorus | Chorus | Chorus |
| We twa hae paidl'd in the burn, | We twa hay pedilt in the burn, | We two have paddled in the stream, |
| frae morning sun till dine; | fray mornin sun til dyn; | from morning sun till dine; |
| But seas between us braid hae roar'd | But seas between us bred hay roard | But seas between us broad have roared |
| sin' auld lang syne. | sin ald lang syn. | since auld lang syne. |
| Chorus | Chorus | Chorus |
| And there's a hand, my trusty fiere! | An thers a han, my trustee feer! | And there's a hand my trusty friend! |
| and gie's a hand o' thine! | an gees a han o thyn! | And give me a hand o' thine! |
| And we'll tak' a right gude-willie waught, | And we'll tak a richt gude-willie-waucht, | And we'll take a right good-will draught, |
| for auld lang syne. | fir ald lang syn. | for auld lang syne. |
| Chorus | Chorus | Chorus |
Lyrics are credited to Robert Burns Archive
It sounds best in a Scottish accent.
And here's a true Scotsman singing it fer you, Kev Thompson. He has a great repertoire of Robert Burns and other Scottish folk songs. I like his finger picking in this video and chord progression. He has other recordings of the song with professional backing but this recording best fits the mood of the song and the folk feeling.
