Thursday December 31st, 2015
This will be my fourth new year’s eve since I retired. I used to hate New Years because I had to work. In the early years it was a fairly drunken affair with lots of fights, arguments, break ups, happiness and sadness. Along with my staff I was the only sober one in the room. I don’t miss it. I do miss being in the room when the mass began to sing Auld Lang Syne.
You may or may not know that this song was written by the only famous Scot (I know) Robbie Burns. (Having said that I run the risk of getting almost as much heat as I did from the Rita MacNeil incident) He worked with a fragment or phrase from someone else and wrote this now famous North American New Years standard. The problem with this tune surfaces when you have someone in the room who is jiggered and worse than that, knows all the verses. The vast majority of the room also snoggered are singing something but only using two and three letter sounds each drunk trying to out yell the other. At the end of each verse they try to make a break for their cups but the one who knows it all yells out the first word of the next friggin stanza and away they go again with the phonetic opera. The song is a new years classic because it takes almost a year to sing the thing. Scots are notoriously cheap so if they are going to write or sing a song it will be full friggin value.
ML and I will be home for the evening celebrating the end of 2015 with our grandson HR. HR doesn’t know the real words to Auld Lang Syne but he knows the sounds to sing it North American style. I will continue to work on my draft list of New Years resolutions whittling it down to one which will be announced tomorrow.
ML and I will try to get to midnight…(we are grandson sitting so we may have to be up) in our pajamas neither jiggered or snoggered watching that loud mouthed red haired woman and the gay guy on CNN.
So that you can be that know it all guy at your New Years event you will find below the lyrics to Auld Lang Syne… Please do not actually sing the word “chorus” but repeat the “for auld lang syne…thingy
Please be safe and careful this night and if you lose your driver’s license I hope it is because you can’t find your wallet. Happy New Year
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.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.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.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.Chorus
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
And long, long ago.Chorus
And for long, long ago, my dear
For long, long ago,
We’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
For long, long agoAnd surely youll buy your pint-jug!
And surely I’ll buy mine!
And we’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
For long, long ago.Chorus
We two have run about the hills
And pulled the daisies fine;
But we’ve wandered manys the weary foot
Since long, long ago.Chorus
We two have paddled in the stream,
From morning sun till dine;
But seas between us broad have roared
Since long, long ago.Chorus
And there’s a hand, my trusty friend!
And give us a hand of yours!
And we’ll take a deep draught of good-will
For long, long ago.Chorus