A Conversation about Auld Lang Syne

It's that time again. We change our calendars and chalk off another year to history and experience. January first is an arbitrary date, but a useful one. There's not much else going on and the days are getting longer, so there's a reason to celebrate. We all look back on the past year and review the events we lived through together. It's useful to stop and assess our recent history, because then, of course, we have a starting point to recalculate our next steps. Granted, there's not much we can change, usually. But it still feels good to have something to remember and something to anticipate.

Especially on a day like today. This morning I walked the dog at about six thirty A.M. (his elderly bodily functions are more urgent all the time.) It was like a scene from the miniseries, “Throne of Swords,” where Jon Snow battles the monsters in the bleak desolate North. The clouds were all different shades of gray and  black . They roiled like a cauldron to the accompaniment of the whistling, groans and grim howls of the wind. It seemed like the wind was tossing pellets of discarded ice at us, and the crows were calling and swooping overhead. 

This afternoon the ferocity was abated for an hour of , to quote another movie, “Dr. Zhivago,” style crisp blue skies and glaring white sheets of frozen snow icing the landscape. I swear the windchimes were playing the theme song for me.

So why do we all sing (or fake) the song “Auld Lang Syne?”  It's a long story, of course. The original folk song has been around the Scottish countryside since the 1700's. Then the poet Robert Burns published it for the first time with his own lyrics, not much changed, Since then, the lyrics were updated to some extent, but never modernized to fit the language of the modern English speaking public. It pretty quickly became a standard tune throughout the British Empire in its heyday, 

This world wide exposure made it a very common melody over a century or so, but 1929 started the annual playing by the Canadian Guy Lombardo Orchestra. For the next fifty years plus, it was the theme at the dropping of the ball around the world, and remains so even without Guy Lombardo.

 Most of us have very little idea what it actually says, but it can still bring a tear to the eye, regardless. Here it is, in a nutshell. The singer asks if we should forget our old friends and family that we are no longer with, along the memories of the events from that time? The response is that we should raise a festive cup in memory of the friends and events from the past. The “cup of kindness” refers to a toast to all past friends and shared memories. In fact, all liquid references in the song are to alcohol, although teetotalers are encouraged to sing along, of course.

The traditional singing of the song is standing in a circle, with a joining of hands in peace, cameraderie and nostalgia. If you don't know any of the words but part of the chorus, now you know why many people tear up at the musical expression of memory, grief and contemplation of all things past.

You can find the words many places on line, both in the Scots language and in English.

If you have comments or suggestions for future columns, contact me at jeanthepipper@duck.com