S03 - E06 - Dec 30, 2019
Auld Lang Syne
The New Year's Song
- Sung/mumbled by drunk and sober people at midnight to ring in the New Year
- Known worldwide
Ol’d Lang Sang
Awld Lang Zahyn
History
- “Ae Fond Kiss”
- “To A Mouse”
- Where “of mice and men” comes from
- Writes down the song and sends it to James Johnson
- "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."
- Doesn’t appear in print until 1796
- Published in volume five of James Johnson’s Scots Musical Museum
- Lyrics set to different tune
- Poems with similar words existed before this one
- Found in the commonplace book of James Crichton, 2nd Viscount Frendraught
- Commonplace books are journals/scrapbooks where people compiled knowledge
- May be the earliest surviving rendering of a ballad beginning "Should old acquaintance be forgot"
- Many versions of this were in circulation at the time
- Rest of poem is nothing like the ballad
- The Hive: A Collection of the Most Celebrated Songs
- Author: Allan Ramsay
- Has that same first line
- Rest of poem is about a couple that gets married
- Ramsay poem published with music
- Took time before the tune of the song we know came into being
- Can trace where the tune got its start
- “The Miller’s Wedding”
- A Collection of Scots Reels or Country Dances
- Rosina, A Comic Opera by William Shield
- " "
- The Scots Musical Museum, vol. 4
- We finally have the tune (apart from some minor changes)
- "Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot"
- A Select Collection of Original Scotish Airs for the Voice
- The tune we know and the lyrics we love are finally published together
- George Thomson put these two tog ether
- Many versions kept appearing
What does it mean
- Roughly translates to “old long since”
- "long long ago"
- "days gone by"
- "old times"
- "For auld lang syne" might be loosely translated as "for the sake of old times"
Why we sing it
- Canadian-born band leader
- The Royal Canadians - his band
- Held New Year’s Eve TV and radio broadcasts for over 45 years, beginning in 1929 and going until 1976
- Became known as “Mr. New Year’s Eve”
- Played “Auld Lang Syne” at the stroke of midnight
- He died November 1977
References