Why Do We Sing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ on New Year’s Eve?

“Should old acquaintance be forgot / And never brought to mind” — wait, what does that even imply?

Every New Year’s Eve brings about many makes an attempt at singing the one tune everyone associates with the vacation: “Auld Lang Syne.” Few partygoers, nonetheless, know the phrases, and fewer nonetheless perceive what “auld lang syne” even means. If your decision going into 2024 was to not begin the 12 months off unaware of the tune’s historical past, permit Us Weekly that will help you maintain that promise.

Keep studying to be taught the tune’s which means and discover a couple of notable covers so as to add to your playlist.

What Does “Auld Lang Syne” Mean?

“Auld Lang Syne” actually means “old long since,” which roughly interprets to “days gone by.” When you sing, “Should old acquaintance be forgot / And never brought to mind,” you’re rhetorically asking, “Should old friends be forgotten?” Should the outdated days we’ve skilled be left behind, or, ought to we keep in mind them and toast them with a “cup o’ kindness,” as talked about later within the tune?

The tune is actually a ingesting tune about fond remembrance of the great ol’ days, which is acceptable to sing firstly of a brand new 12 months, when the possibility to make some new “good ol’ days” is simply across the nook.

The History of “Auld Lang Syne”

“Auld Lang Syne” is attributed to Robert Burns, the nationwide poet of Scotland. In 1788, Burns wrote down the lyrics to “Auld Lang Syne” and despatched them to the Scot Musical Museum, a group of conventional people music of Scotland. Burns wrote that the phrases have been taken “from an old man’s singing.” While the tune has lengthy been related to Burns, Encyclopedia Britannica notes that poets together with Sir Robert Ayton and Allan Ramsay wrote works that had related traces to “Auld Lang Syne.” These works are cited as Burns’s inspiration, whereas the credit score for “Auld Lang Syne” stays solely his.

The melody is credited to Geroge Thomson, who put it to Burns’ phrases in 1799. Like Burns’ lyrics, Thomson’s melody has been linked to prior works, together with that of William Shield (who used an identical tune in 1782) and quantity 4 of the Scot Musical Museum in 1792, although this model didn’t use the “Auld Lang Syne” lyrics. Thomson paired the music and phrases collectively, and thus the tune we’ve come to know because the New Year’s Eve anthem was born.

As for the way it turned related to the vacation, credit score Guy Lombardo. The Canadian-born bandleader would lead his group, the Royal Canadians, in enjoying “Auld Lang Syne” on his fashionable radio broadcasts. Lombardo made the profitable leap to tv, and for greater than 30 years, he and the Royal Canadians would play “Auld Lang Syne” on New Year’s Eve for viewers at residence. Other bandleaders adopted, together with Jack Parnell (who the Muppets and Vincent Price lampooned on The Muppet Show), additional spreading the affiliation between New Year’s Eve and “Auld Lang Syne.”

The Lyrics to “Auld Lang Syne”

Since this can be a tune tailored from a Scottish poem and based mostly on Scottish folklore, there are a couple of Scottish phrases within the tune.

Should outdated acquaintance be forgot,
And by no means delivered to thoughts?
Should outdated acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne.

[Chorus]
For auld lang syne, my jo,
For auld lang syne.
We’ll take a cup o’ kindness but,
For auld lang syne.

And certainly ye’ll be your pint-stowp!
And certainly I’ll be mine!
And we’ll take a cup o’ kindness but,
For auld lang syne.

[Chorus]
For auld lang syne, my jo,
For auld lang syne.
We’ll take a cup o’ kindness but,
For auld lang syne.

We twa hae run in regards to the braes
And pu’d the gowans advantageous
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary foot
Sin auld lang syne.

[Chorus]
For auld lang syne, my jo,
For auld lang syne.
We’ll take a cup o’ kindness but,
For auld lang syne.

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere
And gie’s a hand o’ thine
And we’ll take a proper gude-willy waught,
For auld lang syne

[Chorus]
For auld lang syne, my jo,
For auld lang syne.
We’ll take a cup o’ kindness but,
For auld lang syne.

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Notable Covers

Mariah Carey

While the tune’s lyrics nonetheless seize the bittersweetness of the vacation, Carey turns her model right into a membership banger.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

Taken from Springsteen’s New Year’s Eve live performance on the Nassau Coliseum in 1980, this rendition is a rockin’ model that reveals that you just don’t want phrases to have a good time.

The Platters

New Year’s Eve is an opportunity to decorate up, sip champagne and really feel elegant. One of one of the best methods to take action is to place on The Platters, whose model of “Auld Lang Syne” is pure magic.

Jimi Hendrix

In December 1969, Hendrix recorded an EP with bassist Billy Cox and drummer Buddy Miles. The trio practiced in intensive rehearsals for an look on the Fillmore East. To commemorate what was to be the beginning of a brand new chapter (Hendrix would die in September 1970 at age 27), the guitar legend recorded a medley of vacation songs, together with “Little Drummer Boy,” “Silent Night” and “Auld Lang Syne.” While revisiting Christmas music on December 31 might sound a little bit gauche, Jimi Hendrix’s guitar rendition of “Auld Lang Syne” is value it.