Tell Me A Story: NEW YEAR'S EVE

Sunday, December 27, 2015

NEW YEAR'S EVE

Mary Marcia
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

http://tellmeastory-marcia.blogspot.com

December 31st

New Year's Eve

The song, Auld Lang Syne, is known in many countries, and traditionally sung at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve,

to say "Goodbye" to the old year.

Robert Burns, is credited with writing the lyrics to the song, Auld Lang Syne. Burns wrote a poem in 1788, that was set to the tune of an old Scottish folk song.

I never liked the lyrics to the song, Auld Lang Syne. This year my grandchildren's high school orchestra played a different and beautiful rendition of Auld Lang Syne, and I loved it. There were no words to get in the way - just beautiful music.

What do those words that everyone sings on New Year's Eve mean, anyway? I've sung it so many times in the past 50 years that the words have become a blur.

I thought of the opening line on the song as a statement that old friends should be forgotten.

It appears the words are a rhetorical question.

Should old acquaintances be forgot?

Have the flames of love extinguished?

Has your heart grown cold?

Can you never once reflect on (auld laang syne) days gone by?

I'll add a question mark to the lyrics.

Should Old Acquaintance be forgot,
and never thought upon?????????
The flames of Love extinguished,
and fully past and gone:
Is thy sweet Heart now grown so cold,
that loving Breast of thine;
That thou canst never once reflect
On Old long syne???????

CHORUS:
On Old long syne my Jo,
On Old long syne,
That thou canst never once reflect,
On Old long syne??????????????

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auld_Lang_Syne

The song's Scots title may be translated into English literally as "old long since", or more idiomatically, "long long ago", "days gone by" or "old times".

Consequently "For auld lang syne", as it appears in the first line of the chorus, might be loosely translated as "for (the sake of) old times".

The phrase "Auld Lang Syne" is also used in similar poems by Robert Ayton (1570–1638), Allan Ramsay (1686–1757), and James Watson (1711) as well as older folk songs predating Burns.^[5] Matthew Fitt uses the phrase "In the days of auld lang syne" as the equivalent of "Once upon a time..." in his retelling of fairy tales in the Scots language.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auld_Lang_Syne

History of an American Folk Song

By Kim Ruehl

http://folkmusic.about.com/od/folksongs/qt/AuldLangSyne.htm

The literal meaning of "Auld Lang Syne" is "Old Long Since," or "Long, Long Ago."

The lyrics talk about raising a toast to days gone by and all the joyous adventures embarked upon between friends.

The most commonly remembered verse in America is the opening:
"Should old acquaintance be forgot /
and never brought to mind? /
Should old acquaintance be forgot /
and days o' lang syne?"

These lines ask whether one can forget the days that have gone by and the friends with whom those days have been spent.

Consecutive verses recall those days, before ending with the verse:
And there’s a hand my trusty friend
And give us a hand o’ thine
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

Read the full lyrics of "Auld Lang Syne" or purchase/download James Taylor's version of the song.

http://folkmusic.about.com/od/folksongs/qt/AuldLangSyne.htm

New Year's Eve, I will make a toast,

a "cup of kindness"

for days gone by,

and for past loves, and old friends.

I'll drink a cup of my homemade wassail
for auld lang syne.

Some call this Marcia's Fire Water!