My roommates and I just wrapped shooting on a little video project that we're entering in a competition, and it's a parody of one of my all-time favorite movies:
It's a Wonderful Life. At the end we're playing the song, "Auld Lang Syne", like they do, and I was wondering what they lyrics mean~
According to Sally:
So anyway. It's Scottish, and according to Merriam-Webster it means "old long ago" and was first used in 1720. The version most people attribute it to is by Scottish poet Robert Burns, but he really just spruced it up like he did with a bunch of old tunes and poems, basically dusting them off, re-introducing them, and sometimes adding or even creating as he went.
Then I found The Morgan Library & Museum. Crazy. It answered all my questions in detail and is really easy to navigate~ if you're lazy, here's a precis: The earliest known ballad containing "Should old acquaintance be forgot" was in 1667 and
told a very different story~ that of a lover whose beloved cheated on him. Then another poet, Allan Ramsay, published a more similar piece in 1724; it tells a similar tale but
isn't quite as catchy or graceful. It was set later to a traditional Scottish air, but it isn't the melody we know now. The music may have evolved from a Caledonian country dance in the 1760s, was definitely referenced in Shield's comic opera in 1783,
Rosina, but was so popular that tons of songs became associated with it, especially some antislavery music in the United States. Basically, Burns "wrote down the song as an old man sang it" (
which people appear to think is utter b.s.), then editor George Thomson chose and set it to the song we know today. Boom. Sure, other people as famous as Rudyard Kipling have written new versions, but whatever. We got to the heart of it!
Scotland.org (offical, eh?) offers these lyrics and translation:
Auld Lang Syne
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne.
Chorus
For auld lang syne, my jo,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne,
And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp!
And surely I'll be mine!
And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
Chorus
We twa hae run about the braes
And pu'd the gowans fine;
But we've wander'd mony a weary foot
Sin auld lang syne.
Chorus
We twa hae paidl'd i' the burn,
Frae mornin' sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin auld lang syne.
Chorus
And there's a hand, my trusty fiere!
And gie's a hand o' thine!
And we'll tak a right guid willy waught,
For auld lang syne.
Chorus
Long, Long Ago
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
And long, long ago.
Chorus
And for long, long ago, my dear
For long, long ago,
We'll take a cup of kindness yet,
For long, long ago
And surely youll buy your pint-jug!
And surely I'll buy mine!
And we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
For long, long ago.
Chorus
We two have run about the hills
And pulled the daisies fine;
But we've wandered manys the weary foot
Since long, long ago.
Chorus
We two have paddled in the stream,
From morning sun till dine;
But seas between us broad have roared
Since long, long ago.
Chorus
And there's a hand, my trusty friend!
And give us a hand of yours!
And we'll take a deep draught of good-will
For long, long ago.
Chorus
