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Verse
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Auld Lange Syne
by Robert Burns
modern English translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
And days for which we pine?
For times we shared, my darling,
Days passed, once yours and mine,
We'll raise a cup of kindness yet,
To those fond-remembered times!
Have you ever wondered just exactly what you're singing? "Auld lang syne" means something like "times gone by" or "times long since passed" and in the context of the song means something like "times long since passed that we shared together and now remember fondly." In my translation, which is not word-for-word, I try to communicate what I believe Burns was trying to communicate: raising a toast to fond recollections of times shared in the past. Keywords/Tags: Robert Burns, auld lang syne, old, age, old acquaintance, memory, remember, remembrance, reminiscences, friends, friendship, drink, drinking, translation, modernization, update, interpretation, modern English, song
Original Scots Dialect Lyrics
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.
And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp!
And surely I'll be mine!
And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
REPEAT CHORUS
We twa hae run about the braes
And pu'd the gowans fine
But we've wander'd mony a weary foot
Sin auld lang syne.
REPEAT CHORUS
We twa hae paidl'd i' the burn
Frae mornin' sun till dine.
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin auld lang syne.
REPEAT CHORUS
And there's a hand, my trusty fiere!
And gie's a hand o' thine!
And we'll tak a right guid willy waught,
For auld lang syne.
Hugh MacDiarmid wrote "The Watergaw" in a Scots dialect. A watergaw is a fragmentary rainbow.
The Watergaw
by Hugh MacDiarmid
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
One wet forenight in the sheep-shearing season
I saw the uncanniest thing—
a watergaw with its wavering light
shining beyond the wild downpour of rain ...
and I thought of the last wild look that you gave
when you knew you were destined for the grave.
There was no light in the skylark's nest
that night—no—nor any in mine;
but now often I've thought of that foolish light
and of these more foolish hearts of men ...
and I think that maybe at last I ken
what your look meant then.
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Details |
Free verse
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“Auld Lang Syne” - the most-sung New Year's Eve song
Courtesy Robert Burns
circa (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796)
the National Bard,
Bard of Ayrshire
and the Ploughman Poet.
Two hundred sixty one orbitz elapsed
since brief existence of aforementioned
Scottish poet and lyricist graced Earth,
yet his legacy unwittingly still
enshrined, regaled, warbled...
upon cusp of New Year's Eve,
when revelers sing familiar words
getting misty eyed about
times long past, yet without doubt.
Courtesy Geordie composer William Shield
5 March 1748 – 25 January 1829,
an English composer, violinist and violist
contemporaneous with former
credited with writing music
linkedin with aforementioned tune
posthumous popularity doth wield.
Covid-19 pandemic that
swept across human lot
decrees loved ones untimely
passing, a poignant jot
upon surviving kith and kin
necessitates apropos bon mot
to allow, enable and provide
succor yada yada yada
loosening Gordian knot
constricting one groveling,
muttering, and sniveling snot.
Convenient heft of New
Year's eve lends clout
any other month date day
one could more easily flout
generally speaking/writing
vouchsafing making resolutions
not agreeable with lout
spinning forth verses
as he moseys along
figurative groovy route.
Abstract notion delineating, indicating,
plotting, and zoning passage of time
extremely elusive to grasp at least
for purposes of reasonable poetic soupy rhyme
nevertheless civilizations far and wide
codifying, formulating, identifying
lapsing seconds, minutes, hours,
days, months, years... constituting
artificial construct paradigm
watching, validating, tabulating,
recording, pendulum swinging tick tock
while days of our lives
segues from day into nighttime
as the world (wide web) turns.
Now join in and sing if not averse
despite damning series
(I tip hat to Lemony Snicket)
of unfortunate events, a curse
hundreds of years ago
witnessed by countless
many horse drawn hearse
when "bring out your dead"
what fate could be worse?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And days of auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear
For auld lang syne
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet
For days of auld lang syne
We twa hae run about the braes
And pu'd the gowans fine
But we've wander'd mony a weary fit
Sin days of auld lang syne
We twa hae paidl'd i' the burn
Frae morning sun till dine
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin days of auld lang syne
For auld lang syne, my dear
For auld lang syne
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet
For days of auld lang syne
And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp
And surely I'll be mine
And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne
And there's a hand, my trusty fiere
And gie's a hand o' thine
And we'll tak a right gude-willy waught
For auld lang syne
For auld lang syne, my dear
For auld lang syne
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne
For auld lang syne, my dear
For auld lang syne
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne.
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