Flag of Scotland
If you are going to an event where they are likely to sing Auld Lang Syne on the last night, it helps to know the words. You find them in Wikipedia. You can bring them up on your phone. Or email them to yourself and open the email at the event and share each verse with the person standing next to you.
Prepare to stand up to sing, no clutter on your feet, nor a laptop on your lap. If you have a laptop to read the words, sit at a table at the front, side or back of the room. Who will I try to ensure I am sitting next to? An old friend? Or a new friend who I want to be an old friend?
You could shake hands with a couple of people, to be sure you find somebody who does not have damp hands when it comes to holding hands through three verses!
For Covid-19, you might hold out a white handkerchief on both sides for the other person to hold, or the song sheet. I remember attending an orthodox Jewish wedding of a student I met at University College London. I was surprised to see the men dancing around the room, in a linked line, but hands separated by white handkerchiefs. I thought how ol time and odd. Now it seems sensible.
If you are organizing the event, you can display the words on the screen. Or distribute song sheets. Or, for children or adults, practise earlier in the day.
Even if you are not from the UK or England or Scotland, you might think the words sound familiar, even if you don't know the words.
One line appears in You're a grand old flag.
Useful Websites
Auld Lang Syne - Wikipedia
You're a Grand Old Flag - Wikipedia
(See next post for details of author Angela Lansbury and the words and tune of Happy Birthday to you.)
The tune to which "Auld Lang Syne" is commonly sung is a pentatonic Scots folk melody, probably originally a sprightly dance in a much quicker tempo. The song originally had another melody, which can be traced to around 1700 and was deemed "mediocre" by Robert Burns. The famous melody was first used in 1799, in the second volume of George Thomson's Select Songs of Scotland.[10]
Older versions of the original song which use other melodies have survived in isolated Scottish communities. The American folk song collector James Madison Carpenter collected a version of "Auld Lang Syne" which appears to be distantly related to the original folk song version from a man named William Still of Cuminestown, Aberdeenshire in the early 1930s. William Still can be heard singing the song on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website.[11]
The song begins by posing a rhetorical question: Is it right that old times be forgotten? The answer is generally interpreted as a call to remember long-standing friendships.[10] Alternatively, "Should" may be understood to mean "in the event that" (expressing the conditional mood) referring to a possible event or situation.
George Thomson's Select Songs of Scotland was published in 1799 in which the second verse about greeting and toasting was moved to its present position at the end.[10]
Most common usage of the song involves only the first verse and the chorus. The last lines of both of these are often sung with the extra words "For the sake of" or "And days of", rather than Burns' simpler lines. This allows one note for each word, rather than the slight melisma required to fit Burns' original words to the melody.
The "singable" English version given here keeps the Scots phrase "auld lang syne" rather than translating it as "long long ago" or something like that — see the third paragraph of this article for a full explanation of this phrase.
| Burns' original Scots verse[5] | Standard English version
(singable) | Scots pronunciation guide
(as Scots speakers would sound) | IPA pronunciation guide
(Burns' own Ayrshire dialect)[12] |
|---|
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne?[a]
Chorus:
For auld lang syne, my jo,
for auld lang syne,
we'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
And surely ye'll be your pint-stoup!
and surely I'll be mine!
And we'll tak' a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
Chorus
We twa hae run about the braes,
and pou'd the gowans fine;
But we've wander'd mony a weary fit,
sin' auld lang syne.
Chorus
We twa hae paidl'd in the burn,
frae morning sun till dine;[b]
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
sin' auld lang syne.
Chorus
And there's a hand, my trusty fiere!
and gie's a hand o' thine!
And we'll tak' a right gude-willie waught,
for auld lang syne.
Chorus | Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne?
Chorus:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of 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.
Chorus
We two have run about the hills,
and picked the daisies fine;
But we've wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.
Chorus
We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.
Chorus
And there's a hand my trusty friend!
And give me a hand o' thine!
And we'll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.
Chorus | Shid ald akwentans bee firgot,
an nivir brocht[c] ti mynd?
Shid ald akwentans bee firgot,
an ald lang syn*?
Chorus:
Fir ald lang syn, ma jo,
fir ald lang syn,
wil tak a cup o kyndnes yet,
fir ald lang syn.
An sheerly yil bee yur pynt-staup!
an sheerly al bee myn!
An will tak a cup o kyndnes yet,
fir ald lang syn.
Chorus
We twa hay rin aboot the braes,
an pood the gowans fyn;
Bit weev wandert monae a weery fet,
sin ald lang syn.
Chorus
We twa hay pedilt in the burn,
fray mornin sun til dyn;
But seas between us bred hay roard
sin ald lang syn.
Chorus
An thers a han, my trustee feer!
an gees a han o thyn!
And we'll tak a richt[c] gude-willie-waucht,[c]
fir ald lang syn.
Chorus | ʃɪd o̜ːld ə.kwɛn.təns bi fər.ɡot
ən nɪ.vər brɔxt tɪ məin
ʃɪd o̜ːld ə.kwɛn.təns bi fər.ɡot
ən o̜ːld lɑŋ səin
Chorus:
fər o̜ːld lɑŋ səin mɑ d͡ʒo
fər o̜ːld lɑŋ səin
wiːl tɑk ə kʌp o kəin.nəs jɛt
fər o̜ːld lɑŋ səin
ən ʃeːr.li jiːl bi juːr pəint.stʌup
ən ʃeːr.li ɑːl bi məin
ən wiːl tɑk ə kʌp o kəin.nəs jɛt
fər o̜ːld lɑŋ səin
Chorus
wi two̜̜ː heː rɪn ə.but ðə breːz
ən puːd ðə ɡʌu.ənz fəin
bʌt wiːv wo̜n.ərt mʌ.ne ə wiːrɪ fɪt
sɪn o̜ːld lɑŋ səin
Chorus
wi two̜̜ː heː pe.dlt ɪn ðə bʌrn
freː moːr.nɪn sɪn tɪl dəin
bʌt siːz ə.twin ʌs bred heː roːrd
sɪn o̜ːld lɑŋ səin
Chorus
ən ðeːrz ə ho̜ːn mɑ trʌs.tɪ fiːr
əŋ ɡiːz ə ho̜ːn o ðəin
ən wiːl tɑk ə rɪxt ɡɪd wʌ.lɪ wɑːxt
fər o̜ːld lɑŋ səin
Chorus |
- ^
About the Author
Angela Lansbury, is a semi-retired travel writer still researching bucket list countries and seeking out the special, unusual, people, places, landmarks, hotels, museums and trails, fabulous foods, recipes, clothes and online souvenir shopping.
Angela Lansbury is a member of Toastmasters International.
About the Author Angela Lansbury
The Author - Quick Quotations
Angela Lansbury B A Hons is the author of ten books by regular publishers plus another ten self-published books.
About Angela The Speaker & Trainer
Angela Lansbury is a teacher of English and other languages to Toastmasters clubs and businesses.
Braddell Heights Advanced Toastmasters Speakers Vice President Public Relations, Immediate Past President. VPPR
Former Area Director S3. Club Coach for Nee Soon South Toastmasters Club.
Also Member of: TCA Toastmasters Club; Singapore Online Dynamic; Harrovians UK
BHA
Past meetings have included Garen Tee on using story telling in business, on
bha.learncool.sg/meet/bha .
Recent meetings of BHA included an educational session on using Powerpoint for posters.
Next BHA meetings, always first Wednesday evening, 7 pm Singapore time. Next meeting is the third Saturday afternoon, June 19th 2pm Singapore time. Inauguration of the new committee was by the incoming Director of S, plus a lively speech on teamwork.
Next meetings will be on these dates (unless a national holiday in Singapore or worldwide)
Themes and word of the day are tentative
2021
JULY - JUBILANT JULY
Theme/WOD Jubilant
WORKSHOPS & EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS (based on level one of Pathways)
1 Your first speech or role EASY ENGLISH LANGUAGE (Articles A and The, Plurals, Tenses, Pronunciation, Singlish)
2 CHOOSE YOUR PATH
Wed July 7th
Saturday 17th
July 4rh American Independence Day.
2021 AUGUST - AWESOME AUGUST
1 Pathway Level 1 Introductory Speeches
2 Evaluations
Wed 4th
Sat 21
2021 SEPT - SUPER SEPTEMBER
Wed 1st
Sat 18th SPEECH CONTESTS
Humorous Speech Contest
Table Topics Contest
2021 OCT - ODD OCTOBER
Wed 6th
Sat 16th
2021 NOV - NOVELTY NOVEMBER
Wed 3rd
Sat 20th Wed
Diwali Hindu Festival of lights Nov 4th.
Nov 25th American Thanksgiving.
Hanukah starts 28 Dec 8 days until Dec 6. Jewish Festival of lights, celebrated by Jesus.
2021 DEC - DARLING DECEMBER
Wed 1st (Hanukah if not previous month. Festival foods.)
Sat 18th
Speech on
JAN 2022 - JOYFUL JANUARY
Wed Jan 5th New beginning - forget the past
Sat 15 Long-term plans = for the future/Chinese New Year (CNY for short)
2022 FEB FUN FEBRUARY
Theme Love and romance - Chinese New Year
Feb 1st and 2nd are holidays - do we move this Feb 2nd meeting date?)
Wed 2nd (Valentine's Day Mon Feb 14)
Sat 19th
2022 MAR - MARVELLOUS MARCH
Theme
Wed 2nd
Sat 19
March 1st is Christian Pancake day.
2022 APR - APRIL'S AIMS
Wed 6th
Sat 16th
Muslim Ramadan 1-30 April.
Jewish Passover (Seder meal=Last supper) April
16
2022 MAY - MODERNISING MAY
2022 JUN - JUBILANT JUNE
Jul 6, Jul 16, Aug 3, Aug 20, Sept 7, Sept 17, Oct 5, Oct 15, Nov 2, Nov 19, Dec 7, Dec 17.
Angela The Blogger
Angela has several blogs speeches, comedy and song writing and organizing, writing intermittently, but writes almost daily on these three:
See many varied posts such as the post on sculptor Tom Harvey.
Please share links to your favourite posts.
No comments:
Post a Comment