New Year’s Eve never seems complete until someone plays and/or sings Auld Lang Syne. I am not sure how that happened. This is actually a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1788. I am relative sure that few people know much more than the first chorus.
Auld Lang Syne
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,
Frankly, I am not sure many people understand the first verse and the chorus. What does it mean to forget old acquaintance? How is that helpful. I sometimes thing we sing Auld Lang Syne only because we sing Auld Lang Syne and some how it feels right. It doesn’t have to make sense.
In addition, Robert Burns may have “borrowed” the most familiar lyrics from a poen written by James Watson in 1711.
In some ways, Watson’s poem “Old Long Syne” is easier to understand:
Old Long Syne
Should Old Acquaintance be forgot,
and never thought upon;
The flames of Love extinguished,
and fully past and gone:
Is thy sweet Heart now grown so cold,
that loving Breast of thine;
That thou canst never once reflect
On Old long syne.
Chorus
On Old long syne my Jo,
On Old long syne,
That thou canst never once reflect,
On Old long syne.
The comparison between the two poems is pretty obvious. I at least understand the James Watson version. New Year’s Day is a good time to remember times gone by and particularly old friends. It is a time to focus more on the future than on the past, but also to appreciate the pure joy of living. It is only by pausing to remember that we can truly appreciate all the blessings we have.
It is also a time to let bygones be bygones and to focus on what really matters. There is probably no better example of this than the life long relationship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. They were close friends who worked together on the Declaration of Independence. They both were representatives of the Colonies in France. John Adams was the second President of the United States. Thomas Jefferson was the third. Political divisions drove them apart. The closest of friends became the bitterest of enemies. They went many years without contacting each other at all. But then, later in life, they were able to put aside the bitter disputes and were able to once again reflect on the things that united them. Both of them died within hours of each other on July 4, 1826. I am sure that when James Watson wrote Old Long Syne in 1711 he didn’t have Adams and Jefferson in mind. But they lived out what Old Long Syne/Auld Lang Syne is all about.
Happy New Year.
TDM