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Auld Lang Syne ... Scottish in Origin


lanikai

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To Old Friends and New ones.. to the Admin Team .. (All Friends) .. Thank you for the Memories of 2008 .. for "Auld Lang Syne"

and as the song say's I am looking forward to the memories yet to be had in 2009~ :drinks:

Aloha Mai~

Lanikai ~

PS.. it took the commeraderie on this forum for me to finally research this traditional song... again another moment owed to you all being here.. :D

Our national New Year's anthem. How'd it happen? Glad you asked.

Sing up

Here is an old Scots version of Auld Lang Syne:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And days of auld lang syne?

Chorus (repeated between stanzas):

For auld lang syne, my dear,

For auld lang syne

We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet

For auld lang syne.

And surely ye'll be your pint stoop

And surely I'll be mine

And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet

For auld lang syne.

We twa hae run about the braes

And pou'd the gowans fine

But we've wander'd mony a weary foot

Sin' auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidl'd i' the burn

Frae mornin' sun till dine

But seas between us braid hae roared

Sin' auld lang syne.

And here's a hand, my trusty fiere

And gi'e's a hand o' thine

And we'll tak a right good willy waught

For auld lang syne.

Auld Lang Syne means ``old long since'' and is adapted from a traditional Scottish folk tune. The basic words date to at least 1711, though some scholars say it was mentioned as early as 1677. Scottish poet Robert Burns is credited with first publishing it, in the mid-1790s, and, researchers say, smoothing out some of the verses and changing the melody.

The song recalls the days gone by and says we will always remember them. ``Should auld acquaintance be forgot?'' it asks. No, the chorus replies: ``For auld lang syne (for times gone by), we'll tak (drink) a cup o' kindness yet.''

As for the other lyrics, Verse 2 refers to friends at separate places (or pubs), drinking to each other. Verses 3 and 4 talk about a long journey to find that friend, running ``about the braes'' (hillsides), and ``pou'd the gowans fine'' (pulled the pretty daisies), and getting tired doing so (``wander'd mony a weary fit,'' or ``a weary foot'' depending on the version). It continues with wading streams (``paidl'd in the burn''), from dusk until dinnertime, but even then, broad (``braid'') seas roar between them.

But finally, in the last verse, the friends find each other. And they ``tak a right guid-willie waught'' (``drink a goodwill drink'') for times gone by.

It wasn't Burns, however, who turned this misty-eyed tune into a New Year's tradition. That would be Guy Lombardo, who first heard the song in his youth from Scottish immigrants in his hometown of London, Ontario.

Mr. Traher, who organizes the Royal Canadian Big Band Music Festival and tribute to Lombardo every year in London, says the song stuck in the musician's head. When Lombardo formed an orchestra with his brother in 1919, they arranged the piece and made it part of their repetoire.

``It seemed appropriate for New Year's -- a time to look back,'' Mr. Traher says. So when the Lombardo brothers got the chance to headline a New Year's Eve party in New York in 1929, they played Auld Lang Syne near midnight, then counted down.

For nearly 50 years after that, Guy Lombardo and his orchestra played New Year's Eve radio, and later, television specials from the Waldorf Astoria.

``Prior to Dick Clark, there was Guy Lombardo,'' Mr. Traher says, and though Lombardo died in 1977, Auld Lang Syne became a staple.

Now there are pop versions of the song, disco remixes -- even a controversial British single of the Lord's Prayer sung to the tune of Auld Lang Syne topping the charts in the United Kingdom this month. George Reynoso, an independent music retailer in El Paso, Texas, sells a CD through his Web site (www.newyearseve-song.com/) that includes country, polka and dance versions of the standard.

``The Lombardo version is sleepy, dreamy, it definitely needed an update,'' Mr. Reynoso says.

He adds that he got the idea from Corrido de Auld Lang Syne, a hard-to-find Mexican dance version of the song.

``It's engrained in the consciousness,'' Mr. Reynoso says of Auld Lang Syne's appeal.

And even though people aren't sure what it means, it sounds sad and soothing at once, he says. ``It's a song about loss, but also about love -- a hope that you'll see the same people you love next year.''

Really?

``Well, that's the way I think about it,'' Mr. Reynoso says. ``But no, I don't know the words.''

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.........and sung here at the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 2007.

The eagle eyed will of course spot a certain Sean Connery in there. (Aye queenie anaw!)

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vu8hwvvmEhc&...feature=related

Happy New Year to all and Slainthe Mhath!

JTB

Thank you for that JTB !! Saw Mr. Connery .. warms the heart to here the tune.. we have borrowed it in America and I cannot help but connect it with the "old aquaintance" ... verse .. come every New Years Eve.. :D

Hauoli Maka Hiki Hou !! Happy New Year to you to !!

Lani

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Indeed, we have vikings on Dad's side and Robert burns and a bit of blue blood on Mum's B)

Ken

So, part of your relatives Raped and Pilaged through England .. and relatives on your Mum's side fancied the Wild Devils that were from the North ... hopped on their dragon boats .. took to being Nomads with their Viking Men.. (sounds like a Biker Movie today) ..... traveled the World until Valhala called ... prayed to Oden for children.... and Bam ... here you are today..... great story line..

a Movie script is on it's way.. but we'll mix it with you travelling back in time to witness all this.. then getting stuck in the middle of a epic battle and ending up marrying one of your ancestors... :) ..... no ?? Ok.. I'll rewrite that part B)

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dluddy you must be my long lost cousin :D

And we thought you were in the bush being raised by wild dogs. :lol:

Ken

PS....Lani your script stinks...lets stick to rape and pillage and cut out the marrying part. ;)

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And some Scots were somewhat civilized eventually.

My predecessors were kicked out of Ayrshire around 1619, and here we are today!

Happy New Year to all !

Carl

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dluddy you must be my long lost cousin :D

And we thought you were in the bush being raised by wild dogs. :lol:

Ken

PS....Lani your script stinks...lets stick to rape and pillage and cut out the marrying part. ;)

Ok...I'll shall stick to Porn dialogue.... :D

RobbieG Posted Today, 04:51 PM

I'll brew some coffee and get back to you R...

eh.. EH !! ... no count.. dis one no count as long post....... 90% of it is a copy of the "history" of Auld Lang Syne.. .. No act ... :o

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