Robert Burns 1788 - Auld Lang Syne

[Pergamum]

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne?

CHORUS:
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 wander’d mony a weary foot, sin auld lang syne.
CHORUS

We twa hae paidl’d i’ the burn, frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar’d sin auld lang syne.
CHORUS

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere! and gie’s a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll tak a right gude-willy waught, for auld lang syne.
CHORUS





Huh?

Can anyone translate?

 

[LawrenceU]

Pretty easy. It's Scots. Auld Lang Syne is idiomatically 'days gone by' or 'long ago'.

Here is some of the vocabulary:

auld - old
jo - dear
be - buy
stowp - cup
twa - two
braes - slopes / hills
pud - picked
gowans - daisies / flowers
mony - many
paid'l - paddled
i' - in
burn - stream
fra - from
dine - dinner
braid hae roar'd - broad have roared
fiere - friend
gie's - give us
tak - take
guid - willy - good will
waught - draught

 

[dudley]

“auld lang syne” which means to “times gone past”.

AULD LANG SYNE Robert Burns c. 1788
"Auld Lang Syne" has become a well-known and well-loved song in all English-speaking lands. Many people, if asked, would call it a Scottish folk song, and it is true that the melody may originally have been a folk tune. The words, however, were written by Scotland's famous poet, Robert Burns, who lived from 1759 to 1796. He wrote this particular poem about 1788, using in its 5 stanzas a goodly measure of Scottish dialect which many people today do not understand.

The dictionary defines the words as follows:
auld lang syne n. [Scottish, literally: old long since]
The times gone past; the good old days., old times; times past, esp those remembered with affection or nostalgia

The title words mean, literally, "old long since" or, colloquially, "the good old days." The phrase "auld lang syne" appears at the end of each verse and in 3 of the 4 lines of the chorus, as well as in the title. Other dialect words are sometimes altered in modern versions of the song to make them more easily understood.

I have placed here for you a modern 21st century English translation of Auld Lang Syne to help all understand the meaning.

Auld Lang Syne Translated into 21st century English

Should old friends be forgotten
and never remembered
Should old friends be forgotten
and the days they shared together

Chorus
For days now in the past, my dear
For days now in the past
We'll drink a toast of kind remembrance
For days now in the past

You can pay for your pint tankard
and I will pay for mine
We'll drink a toast of kind remembrance
For days now in the past

We two have run about the hillsides
and pulled wild daisies
but now we are far apart in distance
From those days now in the past

We two have paddled in the stream
from morning untill noon
but oceans now lie between us
since those days now in the past

So take my hand, my trusty friend
and give me your hand
and we will take a hearty drink together
In memory of those days now in the past

The following is the traditional song as it is sung today. The original Scottish dialect and words written by Robert Burns are very difficult for many people today to understand. So even the song we traditionally sing was a earlier translation into modern English in the early 20th century. I taught English at the high school level for many years and as all might be aware all language even English is always evolving and changing.

Traditional Auld Lang Syne

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old lang syne ?

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely you'll buy your pint cup !
and surely I'll buy mine !
And we'll take a cup o' kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS
We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine ;
But we've wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS
We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine† ;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS
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.

 

[JennyG]

Would you believe, the European Union has declared Scots to be a (minority) language in its own right, and if you can just hang on a bit longer, an up-to-date dictionary of it is in preparation even as we write.

The only variation I usually hear sung (in Fife at least) is at the beginning:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And the days of auld lang syne?

 

[Glenn Ferrell]

The tune is Common Meter Double (CMD) and can be used to sing any CM or CMD Psalm.

 

[JennyG]

And it can be made to fit a version of the Lord's Prayer, as Cliff Richard proved in 2000 when he went to the top of the UK charts with his "Millennium Prayer"!