Auld Lang Syne
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
And old lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We’ll take a cup o’ 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.
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
We two have run about the slopes
and picked the daisies fine;
But we've wandered many a weary foot
since auld lang syne.
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
We two have paddled in the stream
from morning sun till dine
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
And there's a hand my trusty friend
And give me a hand o' thine
And we'll take a right goodwill draught
for auld lang syne
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
It has been said that Scotland’s greatest gift to the world was Robert Burns, and Robert Burns’ greatest gift to the world was Auld Lang Syne.
The arrangements, performances, and circumstances under which this great song has been played and/or sung are too many to give a proper representation here. Still, I offer the following small sampling, and I hope you enjoy it.
The original 1947 version of Auld Lang Syne, performed by Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadiens. They performed it every New Years Eve from 1939 until Lombardo’s death in 1977. It is still played in Times Square every New Years, immediately following the dropping of the ball.
And here, an uncluttered small choral arrangement, impeccably sung by The Choral Scholars of University College, Dublin.
Auld Lang Syne is played here in a “Massed Pipes and Drums” event in Switzerland.
A crowd-pleasing symphonic performance of Auld Lang Syne is presented here by Andre Rieu in his home town of Maastrict in the Netherlands.
In this scene from “The Crown”, soldiers serenade Louis Lord Mountbatten with Auld Lang Syne as he leaves his position as Chief of the Defence Staff, which dramatically marked the end of an era.
On June 30, 1997, the tune was played by the Royal Hong Kong Police Force bands during the departure of Hong Kong's last British Governor and the handover of Hong Kong to China.
