As many or most of you know (perhaps from reading our New Year’s Blog post for the past four years), Robert Burns revised other Scottish poems as well as wrote his own words to create the poem Auld Lang Syne. He put the words to an old Scottish tune which became known as the song by the same name. Soon it was the song sung on New Year’s Eve by revelers worldwide.
We found out that a few of our readers who didn’t know the lyrics beyond the first verse printed the pages with the lyrics to sing that night. So, not to disappoint them and possibly others, we herewith provide them again this year, perhaps beginning a tradition.
AULD LANG SYNE (Old long since, long long ago, days gone by, old times)
[1]
SHOULD AULD ACQUAINTANCE BE FORGOT, (Should old acquaintances/old times be forgotten,)
AND NEV-ER BROT TO MIN? (And never brought to mind?)
SHOULD AULD ACQUAINTANCE BE FORGOT,
AND DAYS OF AULD LANG SYNE?
[Chorus]
FOR AULD LANG SYNE, MY DEAR, (For the sake of old times, my dear/my friend/my friends,)
FOR AULD LANG SYNE,
WE’LL TAK’ A CUP O’ KIND-NESS YET, (We’ll take a cup of kindness yet,)
FOR AULD LANG SYNE.
[2]
WE TWO HAE RUN ABOUT THE BRAES, (We two have run about the slopes,)
AND PU’D THE GOWANS FINE; (And picked the daisies fine;)
BUT WE’VE WANDER’D MONY A WEARY FOOT (But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,)
SIN’ AULD LANG SYNE. (For/since auld lang syne.)
[3]
WE TWO HAE PAIDL’T I’ THE BURN, (We two have paddled in the stream,)
FROM MORNIN’ SUN TILL DINE;
BUT SEAS BETWEEN US BRAID HAE ROAR’D, (But seas between us broad have roared,)
SIN’ AULD LANG SYNE.
[4]
AND SURELY YE’LL BE YOUR PINT-STOUP, (And surely you’ll buy your pint cup,)
AND SURELY I’LL BE MINE; (And surely I’ll buy mine;)
AND WE’LL TAK’ A CUP O’ KIND-NESS YET
SIN’ AULD LANG SYNE.
[5]
AND HERE’S A HAND, MY TRUST-Y FRIEN’, (And here’s a hand my trusty friend,)
AND GIE’S A HAND O’ THINE; (And give me a hand of thine;)
WE’LL TAK’ A CUP O’ KIND-NESS YET,
SIN’ AULD LANG SYNE.
[Chorus]
