Auld Lang Syne
by Robert Burns
Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot and days of auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne,
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne.
__________
"Auld Lang Syne" is a Scottish poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song (Roud # 6294). It is well-known in many English-speaking countries, and it is often sung to celebrate the start of the new year at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day.
The song's (Scots) title may be translated into English literally as "old long since", or more idiomatically, "long long ago"[1] or "days gone by". The phrase "Auld Lang Syne" is also used in similar poems by Robert Ayton (1570–1638), Allan Ramsay (1686-1757) and James Watson (1711) as well as older folk songs predating Burns.[2] In his retelling of fairy tales in the Scots language, Matthew Fitt uses the phrase “In the days of auld lang syne” as the equivalent of “Once upon a time.” In Scots syne is pronounced like the English word sign — IPA: [sain] — not [zain] as many people pronounce it. The last line of the chorus is frequently mis-sung by crowds and untrained groups as "for the sake of Auld Lang Syne". This is partly because the words themselves are not understood, but also because it has become common practice. It is rarely, if ever, incorrectly performed by trained choirs." (Wikipedia: )
Comments
A guid New Year and mony may ye see.
Cameron
Warm blessing for 2009
K
x
This is very interesting and I love learning stuff like this.
Brenda
Happy New Year my dearest garden friend. Looking forward to sharing photos and thoughts from my garden with you in 2009.
Thanks dear Bren ... not as much partying as had hoped (lucky to have pre-posted since the champagne is still on ice) since I've been 'out of commission' the past 2 days ... 'not great' but much better.
And the same warm wishes sent to you, dear Karen. Looking forward to visiting your lovely site throughout the coming year.
Thanks Cindy ~ I learned much myself ;) Happy New Year!
Thanks Brenda and wishing you a very Happy New Year, enjoying your lovely new rooms!
Thank you, dear Rose. The pleasure of getting to know you is mine. New Year's Eve was not as expected ... had plans to attend a close friend's son black-tie wedding but something hit like a ton of bricks and I'm just staggering up from 2 days in bed!