||| FROM USA TODAY |||
Each year when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s, people around the world sing one song in unison.
“Auld Lang Syne” has long been a hit at New Year’s parties in the U.S. as people join together to ring in the new year, but experts note the tune has a long history that didn’t originate in America.
Scottish poet Robert Burns first wrote “Auld Lang Syne” in 1788 and sent it to the Scots Musical Museum. But when submitting it, Burns noted that the poem already existed and he was just the first to record it on paper, according to Scotland.org.
In the centuries since, Burns’ poem has grown into a New Year’s staple, says Travis Alexander, a professor in North Carolina A&T State University’s College of Art, Humanities and Social Sciences.
Guy Lombardo, who with his orchestra was heard every Sunday night on the radio.© Evening Standard/Getty Images
Even after Dick Clark’s “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” launched in the 1970s, Lombardo still hosted New Year’s specials on CBS and later its sister station, reported the Associated Press.
Lombardo last performed the song in 1976 before passing away in November 1977, just weeks before the New Year rang in.
‘Auld Lang Syne’ lyrics, meaning
According to Alexander, “Auld Lang Syne” is pronounced “Old Lang Zyne.”
“Auld” is a Scottish way of saying “old,” he said, noting that the song’s English translation is “For Old Time’s Sake.”
In its original form, the poem contains three verses, Alexander said, but the song as we know it contains only one of the verses.
The original letter featuring the lyrics of “Auld Lang Syne” by the hand writing of Scottish poet Robert Burns is on display at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York, December 9, 2011.© EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images
Most people only know the first verse and chorus, according to Scotland.org:
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne.
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.
The song poses a question for those parting ways with the previous year, Alexander said.
“How should we remember our friends and our experiences of the year?” he said. “That’s when the phrase comes in ‘For auld lang syne.’”
The song’s chorus ends with a suggestion.
“You forget all those crazy things,” Alexander said. “It’s done. The year is over. Whatever, whoever you’re mad at … let’s just share a cup of kindness for old times sake. Let’s let it go.”
As for the poem’s verses that aren’t typically belted out on New Year’s, they are likely left out because they’re less applicable to life today and aren’t as easy to understand for those unfamiliar with the Scottish language, Alexander said, calling the included verse “timeless.”
Alexander said perhaps one part in particular should be kept at the forefront of people’s minds this holiday season:
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
“They sing it so quickly, but kindness is a word that is used in the ‘Auld Lang Syne’ in the chorus,” he said. “Really look at the lyrics and just start the new year off with kindness, as the song says.”
FROM THE BROOKLYN DUO (Currently based in Bellingham, WA)
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