Burns the super-star poet and 'that' song which belts us into the New Year
Auld Lang Syne - a short story
Slade: Album: Crackers: The Christmas Party Album. Released: 1985
Scotland’s Gift - an international anthem - Auld Lang Syne
There is only one song sung far and wide, noted as “the most famous song that nobody knows the words to”. Mumbled on highlands, hummed in lowlands, belted out in Scottish hamlets and small bars in the US, played on fiddles in China, on guitars in the heat of a Mexican night, by Florian the DJ of Tuchan in France, whistled by Louis Eugene on his boat in Australia, played by an old man in Tehran market place on a broken harmonica, sung by nuns, taught to parrots, stuck into musical boxes, and - like a domino effect - sung in the small Pacific island nations of Tonga, Samoa and Kiribati, which are the first places to welcome in the New Year, and in American Samoa, which is among the last - Auld Lang Syne is the ballad knitting the whole world together.
Why?
How?
What?
Where and
When?
The original creator
or let’s say compiler was George Bannatyne (1545–1608) a Scottish merchant who collected rare and important Scottish poetry from the 15th and 16th centuries. And as poems slide down the years, they change and transform in the hands and souls of others.
One of them happened to be Robert Burns, the Scottish poet who sealed the deal two hundred years later by revising the lyrics and the tune. He wrote to his colleague, James Johnson, a music-seller and collector of songs: "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.”
Auld Lang Syne, which means ‘old long ago’ or ‘old long since’, is a lament and an ode to friendships of long ago, goodbyes and returns, and looking back at those friendships.
It became popular for the Scottish to sing this on Hogmanay - New Year - as Christmas was banned by the Protestant Reformation. It was their song.
It is also sung at weddings, funerals, reunions and the like.
Robert Burns
was born into a Scottish farming family in 1759. He spent most of his early years toiling on the family farm, and this heavy work would bring about an early death.
He became interested in poetry around the age of 16, writing to Dr John Moore in London on the 2nd August 1787.
This kind of life, the cheerless gloom of a hermit with the unceasing moil of a galley-slave, brought me to my sixteenth year; a little before which period I first committed the sin of RHYME.
It is interesting to see that he calls his first flutterings of poetry ‘a sin,’ perhaps because it conflicted with the church, which was the mainstay of Scottish life at the time and which he delighted in fighting and teasing.
'When Scotland forgets Burns, then history will forget Scotland.' J.S. Blackie
The years 1784 to 1785 were one of Burns' most prolific periods. Arriving in Edinburgh after a swift decision not to emigrate to Jamaica, where Henry McKenzie, the Scottish lawyer, novelist and writer gave him the title 'Heaven-taught ploughman', Burns wrote again to Dr John Moore.
I had taken the last farewell of my few friends; my chest was on the road to Greenock; I had composed my last song I should ever measure in Caledonia … when a letter overthrew all my schemes by rousing my poetic ambition.
Here in Edinburgh, 1787, Burns worked with James Johnson. They set out to compile and publish the music and words to all Scottish songs. Auld Lang Syne was reworked by Burns into Scottish diction and a musical score was added.
It got published along with the music five months after Burns’ early death from heart failure in December 1796.
Little did he know that it would ricochet and bounce across oceans and two centuries later become synonymous with New Year Celebrations the world over.
More about Robert Burns can be read here @ROBERT BURNS
Iona Fyfe sings in Scottish
Burns’ original Scots verse
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-stoup!
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 pou’d the gowans fine;
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit,
sin' auld lang syne.
CHORUS
We twa hae paidl’d in the burn,
frae morning 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 gude-willie waught,
for auld lang syne.
So how did Auld Lang Syne become a song loved the world over?
Through the Canadians!
The Scottish Diaspora (between 1821 and 1945) was responsible for Auld Lang Syne being taken to almost every corner of the world. However, it was Scottish folk in Canada, the country’s third-largest ethnic group, who gave the song a second breath of life. By 1929 it had become the New Year Eve’s international anthem.
Being Canadian, this touches me, and it has even been proposed that Scotland could quit the UK and join Canada instead. It feels right then, that Auld Lang Syne should have found a new home-from-home in Canada.
I am sure that Robert Burns would be proud, happy and satisfied.
Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians orchestra transfixed North America with their first radio New Year’s Eve broadcast from New York in 1929. That is the moment the song became popular, and from that point there was no turning back. At midnight, throughout the land, people held hands as the clocks struck midnight. Every household each side of the border who had a crystal radio heard the song.
This New Year Eve radio tradition continued until 1959.
Radio then ceded to television. This was the first time a real Christmas special was created. Listeners became viewers, and Auld Lang Syne sung at midnight once more, through the new medium of television. Everyone listened to the version played by the Royal Canadians, led by Guy Lombardo, who was affectionately called "Mr. New Year's Eve".
A Scottish star song was Canadian born
Here is Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians 1947 version.
And so the story finishes happily ever after, and we come back to the beginning once more …
In a few hours, we will all stand to hum, or mumble, this song on highlands and lowlands, belt it out in Scottish hamlets and small bars in the US, play it on fiddles in China, on guitars in the heat of a Mexican night. Florian the DJ of Tuchan in France will turn the lights up, Louis Eugene on his boat in Australia will sing to the ocean, an old man in the Tehran market place will pick up his broken harmonica, a group of nuns will meet to sing and pray, a child will teach her parrot the tune, factory workers will stick the musical boxes into gift bags . . .
Like a domino effect, the song will be sung in your home and my home, and millions of other homes.
Auld Lang Syne is the ballad which will knit the whole world of us together,
as one.
Thank you Scotland!
Happy New Year
Auld Lang Syne to you, one and and all
Thank you for passing by, take care, enjoy these next weeks, be healthy, happy and let it SHINE all over!!!! NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE
Jeanne
Happy New Year from the family
Alyosha, Violette and Loâla - 萝拉
I LOVE this story!! I had no idea this song came from Scotland. Thank you for laying out the origins and history of this song engrained in our human DNA :).