“Auld Lang Syne”
Robert Burns, the most famous of Scottish poets, discovered the lyrics for “Auld Lang Syne” in the course of his travels about the Highland countryside. He wrote his publisher in 1791 that he heard these lyrics being sung by an old man to a “mediocre” tune but was sure they were good enough to deserve a better melody. That “mediocre” tune is not what we sing today. The now traditional one was used in ‘Rosina,’ an opera by William Shield, was first performed in London in 1783. Perhaps Shield knew it as a folksong. It appears somewhat altered, in his opera’s Overture, and later as an imitation of bagpipes. Somehow that tune crossed the Atlantic, where it became the marching song at the University of Virginia.
When bandleader Guy Lombardo programmed it there in 1932 with the “Auld Lang Syne” words (that include two stanzas from Burns’ adaptation of the ancient poem) as a closing number at a college dance, the students cheered in recognition of “their” tune. As a result, Lombardo decided to make it his regular closing number.
Today, the familiar music and words (the title translates literally as “old long since”) are sung as a farewell to the old year, a ritual of parting, in virtually all English-speaking countries. And for more than half a century, it was featured on Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians’ famous New Year’s Eve radio and television broadcasts, heard throughout most of the world.
Robert Burns, the most famous of Scottish poets, discovered the lyrics for “Auld Lang Syne” in the course of his travels about the Highland countryside. He wrote his publisher in 1791 that he heard these lyrics being sung by an old man to a “mediocre” tune but was sure they were good enough to deserve a better melody. That “mediocre” tune is not what we sing today. The now traditional one was used in ‘Rosina,’ an opera by William Shield, was first performed in London in 1783. Perhaps Shield knew it as a folksong. It appears somewhat altered, in his opera’s Overture, and later as an imitation of bagpipes. Somehow that tune crossed the Atlantic, where it became the marching song at the University of Virginia.
When bandleader Guy Lombardo programmed it there in 1932 with the “Auld Lang Syne” words (that include two stanzas from Burns’ adaptation of the ancient poem) as a closing number at a college dance, the students cheered in recognition of “their” tune. As a result, Lombardo decided to make it his regular closing number.
Today, the familiar music and words (the title translates literally as “old long since”) are sung as a farewell to the old year, a ritual of parting, in virtually all English-speaking countries. And for more than half a century, it was featured on Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians’ famous New Year’s Eve radio and television broadcasts, heard throughout most of the world.
It happened on January 1st…
1985 – New York State became the 1st state in the U.S. with a mandatory seat belt law
1971 – Tobacco ads totaling $20 million were banned from Television & radio
1966 – The final episode of ‘The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet’ w/Rick Nelson filmed
1956 – Elvis Presley recorded ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ for RCA in Nashville
1946 – Emperor Hirohito of Japan announced he was not a god
1944 – Gen. Clark replaced Gen. Patton as commander of the 7th Army
1908 – The 1st “Ball Drop,” signaling the New Year, took place in New York City
1892 – Ellis Island was first opened as an immigration station near the Statue of Liberty
1863 – President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves
404 – The last gladiator competition took place in Rome
Ref. RDM TimelinesOfHistory TanBible DmarieCapsule CBS.COM
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