WEBVTT - What Does 'Auld Lang Syne' Mean?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren vog Obam Here. You know that song

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<v Speaker 1>you hear every New Year's Eve, the one about not

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<v Speaker 1>forgetting old acquaintances? Did you ever wonder about that phrase

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<v Speaker 1>in the chorus? The one that's also in the title

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<v Speaker 1>for Old Lang Sign. It's the most common song for

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<v Speaker 1>most English speaking people to sing on New Year's Eve,

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<v Speaker 1>and it may be one of the top two most

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<v Speaker 1>sung songs in the English language, after only Happy Birthday.

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<v Speaker 1>But to be honest, I've never known exactly what it

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<v Speaker 1>means or where it comes from, and I'm guessing a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of other people don't either, or a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>the other words in it, for that matter. In a

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<v Speaker 1>survey from the UK in a third of respondents said

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<v Speaker 1>that they were planning to sing it on New Year's

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<v Speaker 1>but only three percent knew the lyrics. So what does

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<v Speaker 1>it mean? A good sub question to this is what

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<v Speaker 1>language is it? It turns out that Oddline Sign is

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<v Speaker 1>an Old Scots language folk song that may have never

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<v Speaker 1>even been written down until the seventeen hundreds. Scott's isn't

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<v Speaker 1>just a dialect of English, but a distinct, if related

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<v Speaker 1>language which is why it's fair that revelers who don't

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<v Speaker 1>speak any Scots have some trouble with the lyrics. Some

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<v Speaker 1>phrases and even whole verses commonly printed for English speakers

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<v Speaker 1>are in Scots. The first written version may have been

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<v Speaker 1>put down by Scottish printer James Watson in seventeen eleven,

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<v Speaker 1>but the seventy eight version by Scottish poet Robert Burns

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<v Speaker 1>is the one that's gotten the most attention over the years,

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<v Speaker 1>so the song is associated with him. A friend of his,

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<v Speaker 1>the music publisher George Thompson, may have been the one

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<v Speaker 1>who suggested the relatively modern melody that we're familiar with

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<v Speaker 1>today instead of the more traditional folk melody that It

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<v Speaker 1>was originally transcribed with odd lang sign literally means old

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<v Speaker 1>long since. More conversationally, you might say it means something

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<v Speaker 1>long long ago or times gone by. So when we

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<v Speaker 1>sing this song, we're saying, in essence, we'll drink a

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<v Speaker 1>cup of kindness yet for times gone by. The song

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<v Speaker 1>has been popularized by a number of musicians over the years,

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<v Speaker 1>including Beethoven, who included an arrangement of it in his

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<v Speaker 1>twelve Scottish Folk Songs from eighteen fourteen. The Scottish may

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<v Speaker 1>have started incorporating it into New Year's celebrations soon after

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<v Speaker 1>Robert Burns published it, and it's also sung at other

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<v Speaker 1>Scottish events like weddings and Burns Night, the holiday that

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<v Speaker 1>celebrates the poet on the day of his birth January.

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<v Speaker 1>They likely spread it throughout the British Isles and into

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<v Speaker 1>the U s and Canada as they immigrated, but it

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<v Speaker 1>perhaps became cemented with American New Year's Eve traditions when

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<v Speaker 1>the Canadian big band music group Guy Lombardo and the

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<v Speaker 1>Royal Canadians began playing it during their New Year's Eve

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<v Speaker 1>concerts starting in Their show was broadcast on North American

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<v Speaker 1>radio and later television all the way until nineteen, earning

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<v Speaker 1>Lombardo the nickname Mr. New Year's Eve until his show

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<v Speaker 1>was supplanted by Dick Clark's New Year's Rock and Eve.

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<v Speaker 1>But Lombardo and his band played odd Lang sign every

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<v Speaker 1>year for decades, and it's since been reinforced by other

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<v Speaker 1>pieces of popular culture, like the film When Harry Met Sally,

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<v Speaker 1>and apparently in some parts of Japan, it's played in

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<v Speaker 1>stores to signal that's almost closing time. Today's episode was

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<v Speaker 1>written by someone on the house stuff Works editorial team,

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<v Speaker 1>possibly Marshall brain Um and added to by me and

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<v Speaker 1>it was produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this

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<v Speaker 1>and lots of other new topics, visit house to works

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<v Speaker 1>dot com. Brain Stuff is a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app,

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<v Speaker 1>Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.