Should old acquaintance be forgot... by Kaye Spencer #HappyNewYear #FireStarPress #PrairieRosePubs @kayespencer

2019 is just around the corner — eight days, in fact. While I don't have traditions attached to seeing the old year out and the new year in, a good many people around the world will sing a rousing rendition of Robert Burns' Auld Lang Syne in the midnight hour as an optimistic welcome to the New Year and as a sentimental tribute to the Old Year.

But did you know that Robert Burns didn't write the poem for which he is well-known? He wrote down the lyrics to an old Scottish folk song and added to it, which is not unlike Francis Scott Key's repurposing the tune of an English tavern ballad then adding the lyrics for the Star Spangled Banner.

According to the website, "Poems for the New Year", Burns wrote this in a letter to a friend:

“There is an old song and tune which has often thrilled through my soul. You know I am an enthusiast in old Scotch songs. I shall give you the verses on the other sheet... Light be the turf on the breast of the heaven-inspired poet who composed this glorious fragment! There is more of the fire of native genius in it than in half a dozen of modern English Bacchanalians.”*

Another tidbit from this website explains, "Though the history of the authorship of the poem is labyrinthine and disputed, Burns is generally credited with penning at least two original stanzas to the version that is most familiar to revelers of the New Year. Here are the first two stanzas as Burns recorded them:

Auld Lang Syne by Robert Burns

    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 dear,
    For auld lang syne.
    We’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
    For auld lang syne."

So from me, in southeastern Colorado, to you, wherever you may be on New Years Eve, here is a bagpipe presentation of Auld Lang Syne performed by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.

Until next year,

Kaye Spencer

Writing through history one romance upon a time

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References:
*Poems for the New Year - https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/poems-new-year
*Robert Burns - http://www.robertburns.org/