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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhat Does "Auld Lang Syne" Really Mean?
https://www.rd.com/article/what-does-auld-lang-syne-mean/Historians call it the song that nobody knows. And yet weve all tried to sing it on New Year's Eve. Here's the real "Auld Lang Syne" meaning.
What Does Auld Lang Syne Really Mean?
Brandon Specktor
Updated: Dec. 03, 2021
There are scores of traditional Christmas songs, but New Years really just has the oneand were willing to bet you dont even know what it means. (We certainly didnt!) Belting out Auld Lang Syne while watching the ball drop is a cherished New Years tradition. Yet most of us join in without knowing what auld lang syne means, what language it is, or what it has to do with New Years. Well fill you in so that you can use the saying in your New Years captions with confidence.
What does auld lang syne mean? Auld lang syne is the title and key phrase of a 1788 Scottish poem by Robert Rabbie Burns, typically sung on New Years Eve around the world. The phrase auld lang syne literally translates to old long since and basically means days gone by. Or, as Merriam-Webster puts the auld lang syne meaning, the good old times.
What is the song Auld Lang Syne about? If the auld lang syne meaning has to do with remembering days gone by, the song must reminisce about the good ol days, right? Sort of. Its a bit boozier than that. -- The original five-verse version of the poem essentially gets people singing, lets drink to days gone by, an appropriate toast for the New Year. Thats right: Sometimes deemed the most famous song that nobody knows by music historians, Auld Lang Syne is a piece of the long oral tradition of getting drunk and belting out a tune.
Where does the term auld lang syne come from? The nostalgic phrase auld lang syne appeared in Scottish song as early as 1588, but it was poet hero Burns who gave us the version we prefer to butcher every December 31, perhaps with our mouths stuffed full of one of these lucky New Years foods.
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What Does "Auld Lang Syne" Really Mean? (Original Post)
NurseJackie
Jan 2022
OP
Scottish Fiddler & Singer Mairi Campbell recording of Robert Burns original here:
msfiddlestix
Jan 2022
#4
jimfields33
(15,808 posts)1. Thank you for the interesting background.
I personally hate the song, but many people cherish and love it.
a kennedy
(29,669 posts)2. 🤣 have wondered what it meant as well......
now, I know.
Wounded Bear
(58,662 posts)3. So it was the original karaoke song?
Auld Lang Syne is a piece of the long oral tradition of getting drunk and belting out a tune.
stopdiggin
(11,314 posts)5. absolutely! and I couldn't have put it better! -(nt)-
msfiddlestix
(7,282 posts)4. Scottish Fiddler & Singer Mairi Campbell recording of Robert Burns original here:
my very favorite is the closest to Robert Burns composition:
English and Gaelic
LastDemocratInSC
(3,647 posts)6. It's Gaelic for "I'm going to have a hangover"
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)7. Ha!
I think you're right.