Do YOU Know the origins of Auld Lang Syne
The
song that millions of people sing on New Years Eve is ACTUALLY a Scottish poem
written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional
folk song. WHO KNEW? Ok, well us Celtic folk did, but let's skip that for the moment.
Burns never claimed that he was the original author.
Instead, he once wrote, "I took it down from an old man." In fact, the
ballad "Old Long Syne" printed in 1711 by James Watson shows
considerable similarity in the first verse and the chorus to Burns'
later poem and it is assumed that Watson's version was not the
original, but taken from an older song!
The song's Scottish title can be translated into English
literally as "old long since", or more idiomatically, "long long ago",
"days gone by" or "old times". "For auld lang syne", as it appears in
the first line of the chorus, is loosely translated as "for (the sake
of) old times".
Singing the song on Hogmanay or New Year's Eve very quickly became a
Scottish custom, that soon spread to other parts of the British Isles. As
the Celts (and the English) emigrated around
the world, they took the song with them.
How about a more traditional version?
Check it out?
So NOW you know!
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