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- "Auld Lang Syne" is a Scots phrase that literally translates to "old long since," but has taken on a more fluid definition along the lines of "for old time's sake" or "the olden days." Often misclassified as an English dialect, Scots is a West Germanic language unique to Scotland, with a literary tradition that dates back to the early Middle Ages.
news.yahoo.com › heres-real-meaning-behind-auld-211000501Why We Sing “Auld Lang Syne” on New Year's—and What It Really ...
Dec 29, 2021 · The phrase "auld lang syne" directly translates from Scots language to modern English as "old long since," but can be interpreted in practice as “old times, especially times...
- Why We Sing “Auld Lang Syne” on New Year's—and What It Really ...
It's midnight on New Year’s—cue the sentimental “Auld Lang...
- What does auld lang syne mean? Explaining the New Year's ...
At midnight on New Year's Eve, revelers across the globe...
- Why We Sing “Auld Lang Syne” on New Year's—and What It Really ...
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Dec 31, 2022 · It's midnight on New Year’s—cue the sentimental “Auld Lang Syne” singalong. Here's what to know about the lyrics, meaning, and origin of the Scottish song.
- Overview
- What does "auld lang syne" mean?
- What are the song's origins?
- Why do we sing the song every New Year's Eve?
As the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve, revelers across the globe will sing "Auld Lang Syne," a song about "old acquaintance be forgot" and, well, other lyrics people may not recall from the New Year's song.
The song's origins date back to an 18th-century Scottish ballad, with Auld Lang Syne eventually becoming a New Year's celebration staple. Experts explained the song's lyrics, origin and staying power.
Roughly translated, the phrase means "old long since," or "for old time's sake." The song title is actually in Scots language, which is similar to English, according to Scotland's national tourist board.
"'Auld Lang Syne' can be literally translated as 'Old Long Since,' but the literal English does not give a sense of what it means to a user of Scots, where it refers to a shared past underpinning the current relationships of a family, community or professional/social association," Professor Murray Pittock, a literary historian with the Centre for Robert Burns Studies at the University of Glasgow, told CBS News. "As such it is more evocative, nostalgic and communally unifying than any simple English equivalent."
Today's song comes from a publication by Scottish poet Robert Burns. The poet was trying to preserve Scottish language and culture after Scotland and England formed the United Kingdom, according to Scotland's national tourist board. So he traveled the country and collected old Scots poetry and songs, including "Auld Lang Syne."
"Burns said in one of the letters on view that he listened to an old man singing the song and that it had never been in print or in manuscript until he wrote it down from that old man singing," Christine Nelson, who once curated an exhibition on the song at the Morgan Library in Manhattan, told CBS News in 2012.
The song Burns wrote down can be traced back to "Auld Kyndness Forgot," which was preserved in a manuscript from 1568, Pittock said.
Historians believe that Burns substantially re-wrote the words.
"He didn't make any secret of the fact that he was doing what he called 'mending' these old songs," Nelson said in her 2012 interview. "So that they could be, you know, given to the public for posterity."
His words were first published in 1796, according to the Library of Congress. Burns also sent a slightly revised version to a publisher in 1793, but that version was not published until 1799 — three years after Burns' death. The best known set of words for Auld Lang Syne are the ones published in 1799.
While the song has Scottish roots, its popularity in the U.S. is owed to a Canadian.
Bandleader Guy Lombardo popularized it after he and his Royal Canadian Big Band played it on a New Year's Eve broadcast in 1929. In 1965, Lombardo told "LIFE" magazine that he came from a part of western Ontario home to a large Scottish population. In that area, it was traditional for bands to end every dance with "Auld Lang Syne."
"The main reason why Lombardo became identified as the Ghost of New Years Past, of New Years Present and of New Years Yet to Come, he says, 'is because Auld Lang Syne is our theme song — and was long before anyone ever heard us on the radio,'" "LIFE" Magazine reported.
After Lombardo's 1929 broadcast, "Auld Lang Syne" went on to become part of popular culture, playing in "Forrest Gump," "Sex and the City" and "When Harry Met Sally."
Harry and Sally even have a conversation about the song, trying to figure out its meaning.
"My whole life, I don't know what this song means," Harry, played by actor and comedian Billy Crystal, says in the 1989 movie. "I mean, 'should old acquaintance be forgot?' Does that mean that we should forget old acquaintances or does it mean that if we happen to forget them, we should remember them, which is not possible because we already forgot 'em?"
- aliza.chasan@paramount.com
- CBS News
- Digital Content Producer
Dec 31, 2023 · What is the meaning of "Auld Lang Syne"? "Auld Lang Syne" directly translates to "old long since" in 18th-century Scots. This essentially means times gone by or "old times."
Sep 7, 2023 · What does ‘Auld Lang Syne’ mean? The most accurate plain English interpretation of the piece’s famous title is ‘Old long since’, or ‘For the sake of old times’. The song itself is reflective in nature, and is basically about two friends catching up over a drink or two, their friendship having been long and occasionally distant.
Dec 22, 2021 · The words auld lang syne literally mean “old long since,” though in practice it means “old times, especially times fondly remembered,” as well as an “old or long friendship .”. It’s from the Scots language, and the expression was first recorded in 1660–1680.
Dec 31, 2023 · At midnight on New Year's Eve, revelers across the globe will sing "Auld Lang Syne," but not everyone knows the lyrics to the New Year's song or its origin.
