A Scottish song, sung communally with arms crossed and hands linked at moments of leave-taking or at the end of the year. The words were adapted by Robert Burns in 1791 from an earlier lyric, and later fitted to the pentatonic tune (of uncertain origin) to which they are sung today. The title (literally old long since) refers to past times.
"Auld Lang Syne" is a poem by Robert Burns, and one of the best known songs in English-speaking countries - although, like many other frequently sung songs, the melody is better remembered than the words, which are often sung incorrectly, and seldom in full.
The song is commonly accompanied by a traditional dance.
The song's name is in Scots, and may be translated literally as 'old long since', or more idiomatically 'long ago', or 'days gone by'.
Usage
"Auld Lang Syne" is usually sung each year on New Year's Eve (Hogmanay in Scotland) in the United Kingdom, The Republic of Ireland, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and English speaking Canada at midnight and signifies the start of a new year.
It is used as a graduation song and a funeral song in Taiwan, symbolizing an end or a goodbye.
In the Philippines, it is well known and sung at celebrations like graduations, New Year and Christmas Day.
In Portugal, France, Spain and Germany this song is used to mark a farewell.
The song is also the official corps song for the Kilties drum and bugle corps.
Melody
The tune to which Auld Lang Syne is universally sung is a pentatonic Scots (or possibly Northumbrian) folk melody - probably originally a sprightly dance in a much quicker tempo.
The English composer William Shield, seems to quote the Auld Lang Syne melody briefly at the end of the overture to his opera Rosina - this may be its first recorded use.
Whatever its source, the Auld Lang Syne tune has been used all over the world in various contexts, for example:
The University of Virginia's alma mater (The Good Old Song), and the anthem of Alpha Kappa Psi, the largest professional business fraternity in the US, are both sung to the tune of Auld Lang Syne.
In Japan, the Japanese students' song Hotaru no hikari (Glow of a Firefly) uses the Auld Lang Syne tune.
The tune is used for the Dutch football song, Wij houden van Oranje (We love Orange).
In France, the melody is used with French words and the parting song is entitled Ce n’est qu’un au revoir ("This is only goodbye (not farewell)").
In Denmark, the song is known by the Danish 1927 translation of the song entitled Skuld gammel venskab rejn forgo.
In South Korea, the melody was sung as a national anthem, Aegukga until the composer Ahn Ik Tae composed a new melody to the existing lyrics.
Lyrics
The complete lyrics, as Burns wrote them, are as follows:
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Burns’ verse:
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp !
We twa hae run about the braes,
We twa hae paidl’d in the burn,
And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere ! |
Anglicized translation:
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
And surely you’ll pay for your pint cup !
We two have paddled in the stream, Most traditional use of the song involves only the first verse and the chorus - with the last line changed to "and days of auld lang syne". The first two lines of the lyrics seem to be an allusion (although perhaps not consciously intended) to Isaiah 65:17, which reads: Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.Also, Burns might have been inspired by a similar poem by Robert Ayton (1570-1638), Auld lang syne. HistoryRobert Burns forwarded a copy of the original song to the Scots Musical Museum with the remark, “The following song, an old song, of the olden times, and which has never been in print, nor even in manuscript until I took it down from an old man's singing, is enough to recommend any air.” At the time it was very fashionable to claim that one's own work was "traditional" and one should probably take Burns' statement with a pinch of salt, and even if some lines of the lyrics were indeed "collected" rather than composed by the poet, it is a fair supposition to attribute the poem as a whole to Burns himself. There is some doubt if the tune used today is the same one Burns originally intended - but no doubt the melody itself is traditional in the purest sense of the word. Singing the song on Hogmanay or New Year’s Day very quickly became a Scots custom, which soon spread to other parts of the British Isles. Bandleader Guy Lombardo is often credited with popularizing the use of the song at New Year’s celebrations in America, through his annual broadcasts on radio and TV, beginning in 1929. |
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