1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:10,319 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren vog Obam Here. You know that song 3 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:13,200 Speaker 1: you hear every New Year's Eve, the one about not 4 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:17,239 Speaker 1: forgetting old acquaintances? Did you ever wonder about that phrase 5 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:19,520 Speaker 1: in the chorus? The one that's also in the title 6 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:23,640 Speaker 1: for Old Lang Sign. It's the most common song for 7 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:26,560 Speaker 1: most English speaking people to sing on New Year's Eve, 8 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:29,040 Speaker 1: and it may be one of the top two most 9 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:32,600 Speaker 1: sung songs in the English language, after only Happy Birthday. 10 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:35,920 Speaker 1: But to be honest, I've never known exactly what it 11 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:38,159 Speaker 1: means or where it comes from, and I'm guessing a 12 00:00:38,159 --> 00:00:40,720 Speaker 1: lot of other people don't either, or a lot of 13 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:42,600 Speaker 1: the other words in it, for that matter. In a 14 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: survey from the UK in a third of respondents said 15 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:48,680 Speaker 1: that they were planning to sing it on New Year's 16 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:52,600 Speaker 1: but only three percent knew the lyrics. So what does 17 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:56,080 Speaker 1: it mean? A good sub question to this is what 18 00:00:56,440 --> 00:01:00,680 Speaker 1: language is it? It turns out that Oddline Sign is 19 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:04,000 Speaker 1: an Old Scots language folk song that may have never 20 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,960 Speaker 1: even been written down until the seventeen hundreds. Scott's isn't 21 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:10,880 Speaker 1: just a dialect of English, but a distinct, if related 22 00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:14,319 Speaker 1: language which is why it's fair that revelers who don't 23 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:17,720 Speaker 1: speak any Scots have some trouble with the lyrics. Some 24 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:21,520 Speaker 1: phrases and even whole verses commonly printed for English speakers 25 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:25,160 Speaker 1: are in Scots. The first written version may have been 26 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 1: put down by Scottish printer James Watson in seventeen eleven, 27 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:33,320 Speaker 1: but the seventy eight version by Scottish poet Robert Burns 28 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:36,040 Speaker 1: is the one that's gotten the most attention over the years, 29 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:39,520 Speaker 1: so the song is associated with him. A friend of his, 30 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 1: the music publisher George Thompson, may have been the one 31 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:46,200 Speaker 1: who suggested the relatively modern melody that we're familiar with 32 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 1: today instead of the more traditional folk melody that It 33 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:55,640 Speaker 1: was originally transcribed with odd lang sign literally means old 34 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: long since. More conversationally, you might say it means something 35 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:04,560 Speaker 1: long long ago or times gone by. So when we 36 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 1: sing this song, we're saying, in essence, we'll drink a 37 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:12,480 Speaker 1: cup of kindness yet for times gone by. The song 38 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 1: has been popularized by a number of musicians over the years, 39 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:18,840 Speaker 1: including Beethoven, who included an arrangement of it in his 40 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:23,040 Speaker 1: twelve Scottish Folk Songs from eighteen fourteen. The Scottish may 41 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:26,079 Speaker 1: have started incorporating it into New Year's celebrations soon after 42 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:29,000 Speaker 1: Robert Burns published it, and it's also sung at other 43 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:32,560 Speaker 1: Scottish events like weddings and Burns Night, the holiday that 44 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:36,120 Speaker 1: celebrates the poet on the day of his birth January. 45 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:39,720 Speaker 1: They likely spread it throughout the British Isles and into 46 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:42,520 Speaker 1: the U s and Canada as they immigrated, but it 47 00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:46,079 Speaker 1: perhaps became cemented with American New Year's Eve traditions when 48 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:49,239 Speaker 1: the Canadian big band music group Guy Lombardo and the 49 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:52,520 Speaker 1: Royal Canadians began playing it during their New Year's Eve 50 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 1: concerts starting in Their show was broadcast on North American 51 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:02,359 Speaker 1: radio and later television all the way until nineteen, earning 52 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:06,000 Speaker 1: Lombardo the nickname Mr. New Year's Eve until his show 53 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:08,919 Speaker 1: was supplanted by Dick Clark's New Year's Rock and Eve. 54 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:13,240 Speaker 1: But Lombardo and his band played odd Lang sign every 55 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:17,240 Speaker 1: year for decades, and it's since been reinforced by other 56 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:21,440 Speaker 1: pieces of popular culture, like the film When Harry Met Sally, 57 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:25,800 Speaker 1: and apparently in some parts of Japan, it's played in 58 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:34,639 Speaker 1: stores to signal that's almost closing time. Today's episode was 59 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 1: written by someone on the house stuff Works editorial team, 60 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 1: possibly Marshall brain Um and added to by me and 61 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:43,800 Speaker 1: it was produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this 62 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:46,120 Speaker 1: and lots of other new topics, visit house to works 63 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: dot com. Brain Stuff is a production of I Heart Radio. 64 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:52,080 Speaker 1: For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 65 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:54,960 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.