Editor’s Note: The following was originally published on December 31, 2023.
This column celebrates the arrival of New Year’s Eve, when millions of people the world over sing the traditional Scottish song “Auld Lang Syne.” Literally the title means “Old Long Since,” which I like to interpret as “For Old Times Sake.” Raising a glass to old friends while making new friends is an integral part of the occasion.
The ideas expressed in the lyric floated through Scottish folk songs for a number of years, and in 1724 poet Allan Ramsay published a verse that begins, “Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot.” But the poem as we know it today was put together by Robert Burns in 1788.
Worthy of notice: “Auld Lang Syne” has a fine melody which was used by both Haydn and Beethoven. George M. Cohan quoted the melody and words in his stirring “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” And some old-timers will remember that Guy Lombardo and his band of Royal Canadians broadcast the song on New Year’s Eve for more than 30 years.
Let me now wish you a Very Happy New Year and offer the most moving performance of “Auld Lang Syne” I have ever heard. The singers are the Choral Scholars of University College, Dublin.
