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Americans, British and Irish sing the first verse and chorus every Dec. 31 as the old year fades.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear.
For auld lang syne.
We'll take a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
Auld lang syne, literally "old long since," wistfully raises a glass-in-song to times gone by. Scottish bard Robert Burns wrote the poem in 1788, with some lyrics possibly borrowed from the older poem "Old Long Syne" by James Watson.
Toasting with a tune is that much merrier than a dry quote, and so an anonymous singing someone matched Burns' nostalgic musings to a Scottish folk melody known as "The Miller's Wedding." By 1796, the combination was established enough to appear together in print.
The practice of crooning the "old long since" at parties' end, particularly those held on New Year's Eve, soon after became standard practice in Scotland and the British Isles, from whence it traveled to America.
While the first verse (which is also the last) contains the "auld lang syne" trio, subsequent verses are thicker with the Scot tongue. Witness verse three:
We twa hae run aboot the braes (We two have run about the hillsides)
And pou'd the gowans fine; (And pulled the daises fine;)
We've wander'd mony a wear foot (We've wandered many a weary foot)
Sin' auld lang syne. (Since old long since.)
Perhaps this verse better captures the New Year's Eve experience for some, as running crazy about hillsides throwing daisies sounds like the actions of revelers one champagne glass past their limit.
But it's the first verse that's captured hold of tradition, leading numerous movies directors to insert the poignant song into their films. The titular couple sways to the tune in Rob Reiner's "When Harry Met Sally," as Harry, played by Billy Crystal, gabbles about the possible meaning of the words.
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In Quentin Tarantino's brilliant blood fest "Kill Bill," Bill's protégé Sofie Fatale uses the song as her cell phone ring tone. The telltale signal gives her away to our heroine, the Bride, who cuts off Sofie's cell phone arm.
Frank Capra may deserve the most credit for cinematic promotion of Burns' words; "Auld Lang Syne" plays during a speech in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" as well as in "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town."
Capra's most famous use of the song comes at the end of the holiday classic "It's a Wonderful Life." Recovering despondent George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart, returns home and gathers with half the town to celebrate family and friends.
Capra wasn't ashamed to end with a blatant tug at the heartstrings; we're not, either.
Enjoy the famous last scene here. Happy New Year from AOL's Good News!
You're watching It's a Wonderful Life - Hark the Herald and Auld Lang Syne. See the Web's top videos on AOL Video
Editor's note: Story has been corrected to reflect that the song is Scot in origin.
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