Summary: Canadian band leader Guy Lombardo is often credited with popularising the use of the song at New Year’s celebrations in America, through his annual broadcasts on radio and television, beginning in 1929. “Auld Lang Syne” is traditionally sung at the conclusion of a gathering in Scotland and around the world, especially in English speaking countries.
BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS
Description: Song, Scottish
Known For: English translation would be something like – “long long ago” etc
Music Styles: Traditional, Folk
CONTACT DETAILS
Web Site: http://www.worldburnsclub.com/poems/translations/auld_lang_syne.htm
Other Links: For other links about this entertainer click on the Links button above
BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
Auld Lang Syne
A Scottish poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song.
It is well known in many English-speaking and other countries and is often sung to celebrate the start of the New Year at the stroke of midnight. By extension, its use has also become common at funerals, graduations, and as a farewell or ending to other occasions.
The song’s Scots title may be translated into English literally as “old long since”, or more idiomatically, “long long ago”, “days gone by” or “old times”.
The phrase “Auld Lang Syne” is also used in similar poems by Robert Ayton (1570–1638), Allan Ramsay (1686–1757), and James Watson (1711) as well as older folk songs predating Burns.
Matthew Fitt uses the phrase “In the days of auld lang syne” as the equivalent of “Once upon a time…” in his retelling of fairy tales in the Scots language.
Historically Robert Burns sent a copy of the original song to the Scots Musical Museum with the remark, “The following song, an old song, of the olden times, and which has never been in print, nor even in manuscript until I took it down from an old man”.
Some of the lyrics were indeed “collected” rather than composed by the poet; the ballad “Old Long Syne” printed in 1711 by James Watson shows considerable similarity in the first verse and the chorus to Burns’ later poem, and is almost certainly derived from the same “old song”.
It is a fair supposition to attribute the rest of the poem to Burns himself.
Canadian band leader Guy Lombardo is often credited with popularising the use of the song at New Year’s celebrations in America, through his annual broadcasts on radio and television, beginning in 1929.
A manuscript of “Auld Lang Syne” is held in the permanent collection of The Lilly Library at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.
“Auld Lang Syne” is traditionally sung at the conclusion of a gathering in Scotland and around the world, especially in English speaking countries.
The above readings have been mainly extracted from the Wikipedia web site, the free encyclopedia.
All in-depth information may be obtained at the web address above.
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