Auld Lang Syne
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
For the sake of auld lang syne!
For auld lang syne, my jo,
For auld lang syne
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!
And surely ye'll be your pint stowp!
And surely I'll be mine!
And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne.
We twa hae run about the braes
And pu'd the gowans fine,
But we've wandered mony a weary fit,
Sin auld lang syne
We twa hae paddl'd in the burn
Frae morning sun till dine
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin auld lang syne
And there's a hand my trusty fiere
And gie's a hand o' thine!
And we'll tak a richt guid willie-waught
For auld lang syne!
The best known Scottish song, sung all around the world at Hogmanay.
This song is always credited to Robert Burns, but Burns himself wrote that he had heard the first verse of this song from an old man, and immediately wrote it down as he thought it "exceedingly expressive". He later remarked it "has often thrilled through my soul."
He did write the other verses given above and wanted to print the song in the collection of songs called the Scots Musical Museum, but he had already used the tune the old man sang him for a song called ‘O Can Ye Labour Lea, Young Man’, also known as ‘I Fee'd a Man at Martinmas’.
So the lyrics were attached to another old tune that Burns called ‘The Miller’s Wedding’. This tune has had many other names, and has even been claimed as an English tune, but the Scottish claim seems incontestable.
We still sing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ to the tune of ‘The Miller's Wedding’. So the best known Scottish song is not sung to the original 'traditional' tune, but to another traditional tune.
Carmondean Primary choir, Livingston, perform Auld Lang Syne to the well known tune.
