Auld Lang Syne
By Robert Burns (1759-1796)
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!
Over the years, most of us may have heard or joined in singing the New Year’s Song Auld
Lang Syne. According to poets.org, Scotland’s poet Robert Burns wrote this poem in the later 18th century. Auld Lang Syne – Old Long Since – has closed down a bunch of New Year’s Eve parties ever since Mr. Burns shared so many years ago his poem-turned-song.
As a little child, I made up my own understanding of this mysterious and melancholy dirge about Old Lang Zine (sic). I was convinced Lang Zine was an eccentric man who lived in a little house at the end of a winding road near a creek. My mother and I picked wild plums in late summer, close to what I determined to be Old Lang Zine’s house. Fearful lest Lang Zine would come to the plum thickets, I stayed close to my mom. She asked me a couple of times why I didn’t go pick plums from the abundance of thickets near the old house. When I tried to explain that I was pretty sure this was the home of Old Lang Zine, she just laughed and shook her head at my strange imaginings.
We kept on picking plums until our metal buckets were full. That wild plum jelly would be delicious on toast next winter. Cold weather and the start of a new year seemed far off. We turned north and bumped along in the old jeep, leaving behind the scary house of Old Lang Zine.
The months flew by and it almost Christmas. We were at the tail-end of December. On WIBW radio some December mornings, the Pleasant Valley Gang harmonized to Auld Lang Syne.
Again, I began to wonder:
What did the song mean? And who was Old Lang Zine?
I tried to reason it out in my grade school brain, riding the bus to school:
Verse 1:
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
No
With childish logic, it seemed to me that anyone who would discount the value of old friends deserved punishment.
The Pleasant Valley singers intoned the chorus, and I supplied my own understanding of the words:
Chorus: (What they really said)
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
Chorus: (What I understood)
For old Lang Zine, Oh dear
For old Lang Zine,
We’ll break a cup of kindness up
-on the head of old Lang Zine.
And to my misguided and unforgiving mind, Old Lang Zine got his comeuppance.
From common-woman, we wish you the best at the close of 2022. May all of God’s creation enjoy a healthy, grace-filled and sweet year in 2023.
Blessings and peace.
Cheers!
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