December 31, 2024 • 15 mins
“Should old acquaintance be forgot”? What? Should we forget old friends? What does Auld Lang Syne actually mean? Why do we sing it every New Year’s Eve? Join the Professor as he waxes lyrical and sentimentally about Auld Lang Syne, Scotland, and good auld Robert Burns! A Professor Buzzkill Classic Episode
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
It's that time of the year, Buzzkillers, when we ring
out the old and ring in the new. This is
the end of another year of busting myths and taking names,
and we couldn't be more pleased with the way the
old show has developed, and we couldn't be more stoked
about the new things we've got planned for next year.
The topic of old Langzine, therefore, is perfect for this episode,
because that grand old Scottish song reminds us that when
(00:33):
we forget old friends and old times, as we're all
wont to do every now and then, we should take
time to pause and remember them. Let's do that in
this episode, but let's do it in a special way
by learning a few fascinating things about that old song.
I think it'll help us appreciate the old langzine sentiment
more the next time we belt it out, as the
stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve rings in New
(00:56):
Year's day. Old langzine means old life long since, and
it can be more broadly interpreted as long long ago
days gone by or simply old times. Therefore, for old Langzine,
as it appears in the first line of the song's course,
more or less means for the sake of old times.
(01:17):
The old Langzigne that we know started with Robert Burns,
the famous Scottish poet and lyricist in the eighteenth century.
Burns was and is such a monumental figure in Scottish
history and culture that scott celebrate his life and work
on his birthday, the twenty fifth of January every year.
Burns Night is more or less the Scottish national holiday.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Now.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
In addition to trying to make a living as a
farmer and laborer as a young man in the second
half of the eighteenth century, Burns collected folk songs and
poems from all over Scotland and wrote them down. In
many instances, this was the first time that they had
ever been transcribed and preserved in written form. In seventeen
eighty eight, Burns sent a copy of the song Old
Langzine to the Scott's Musical Museum. Now the museum I'm
(02:02):
talking about wasn't a physical building. Rather, it was a
massive folk song collection being published in a series of
volumes by fellow folk music collectors, especially the noted music
publisher James Johnson, who had met Burns in the mid
seventeen eighties. Burns wrote to Johnson, the following song is
an old song of the olden times, and which has
(02:23):
never been in print nor even in manuscript until I
took it down from an old man. Burns's letter neatly
summarizes the type of work that he did, not just
on Old Lang Sign, but on many other songs and poems.
Burns collected them from various sources, often from people singing
or reciting them to him. He wrote them down, and
he often added verses of his own. Some of the
words and basic ideas in Old Lang Ziyne had appeared
(02:45):
in older folk songs or poems dating back to the
sixteen sixties, so it's safe to say that burns seventeen
eighty eight poem is the collected culmination of lots of
earlier versions. Now I'd like to play you a fan
famous recording of Burne's original poem Old Lang Sign. But
before I do that, I need to say a few
things about the dialect and language used by Burns and
(03:07):
many Scots poets. Burns wrote and composed in Scots, which
is generally considered a dialect of English. It's common in Scotland,
and it's a very ancient origin, and that's certainly what
I've told students over the years. That's certainly what I
thought over the years. But as so often happens, I
learned a lot more about the scholarly opinion on the
(03:28):
linguistic status of Scots when I read the work that
Buzzkill Institute researchers did for me in preparation for the show.
Rather than say definitively that Scots is a dialect of English,
it's more accurate to say that the Scots dialect that
Burns used sits on a spectrum of the languages and
dialects used in Scotland, both historically and in our own day.
(03:50):
At one end of the spectrum, Broad Scots is considered
a language in his own right. On the other end
of the Scots spectrum, Scottish and English is more or
less English with a Scottish accent and a few particular
items from Scottish vocabulary. The dialect that Burns used is
closer to the Scottish Standard English end of the spectrum,
(04:12):
and is considered a dialect of English by most scholars. Now,
Scott's dialect and the Scottish language, which are Germanic in origin,
are not to be confused with Scottish Gaelic, which is
a member of the Celtic language family and is dissented
from Old Irish. Confused buzz killers, Well, think about it
this way. At any time in Scottish history, and even
(04:32):
in Scotland today, there were and are three languages in use, English,
Scots and Scottish Gaelic. No wonder Scotland has produced so
many famous mathematicians and scientists over the years. It took
massive brain power just to keep the different languages and
dialects in your head. I'm going on this at length
because when you're listening to the following recording, I want
(04:55):
you to realize to remember that the narrator is speaking English.
It's the Scots dialect of English, but it's still the
English language. It'll probably be as impenetrable to most of
you as it was to me before. That is, Institute
researchers help me understand it. Here's a nineteen fifty three
recording of Burne's original poem read by the famous actor
(05:17):
Frederick Warlock.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Should all the acquaintance be for got, never brought to mind?
Should all the acquaintance be forgot? An all lanzid for
all lan sign, my dear, for all langzeime, we'll tack
a coup a kindness yet for all lanzeime, And surely
(05:43):
you'll be your pint stupid, and surely I'll be mine,
and we'll tack a coup of kindness yet for our
lang sign. We twa here run about the praise and
pooh the cowans, fine, but we wander money, a weary
rich in how lang z we twa hip pale in
(06:05):
the burn frae morning sun till dying what she's between
us braider rods in our langzign. And there's a un
trusty fear.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
And geezer handleline.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
And we are recded wally what for all lang sign?
Speaker 1 (06:27):
And here it is in standard English, or at least
in buzzkill English, as narrated by yours. Truly, should all
acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind? Should old
acquaintance be forgot? An old lang xine for old lang xyne,
my dear, for old langzine. Will take a cup of
kindness yet for old lang Xine. And surely you'll buy
(06:49):
your pint cup, and surely I'll buy mine, and we'll
take a cup of kindness yet for old Langxie, we
two have run about the slopes and picked the day's fine,
but we've wandered many a weary foot since old lang Zyn.
We too have paddled in the stream from morning sun
till thine. But sees between us broad have roared since
(07:11):
old lang Zy. And there's a hand, my trusty friend,
and give me a hand of thine, and we'll take
a right goodwill draft for old Langzi Now. One of
the most common misunderstandings about Old lang Sign comes from
the confusion of the meaning of the first verse. Many
people wonder if the song ponders the question of whether
we should forget old friends. And I've even heard people
(07:33):
say they think the song is telling us to forget
old friends and just remember old times. Perhaps the most
famous example of this was the way Billy Crystal said
it in the popular nineties film When Harry Met Sally.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Now.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
I can't play the clip from Billy Crystal for copyright reason,
so I'm going to do my best Billy Crystal interpretation.
What does this song mean? My whole life? I don't
know what this song means. I mean, should old acquaintance
be for good? Does that mean we should forget old acquaintances,
or does it mean if we happen to forget that
we should remember them, which is not possible because we
already forgotten. This is a misunderstanding of the use of
(08:05):
the word should in the opening verse. Should in Old
Langzyne is used in the conditional sense, meaning if we
forget old friends and old times, we should pause and
take time to try to remember them, and, by implication
in the rest of the song, remember them fondly, particularly
memories of childhood. And that brings up another fascinating aspect
of the singing of Old Lanzime that should be better
(08:27):
known and frankly, in my opinion, more widely practiced. The
song is of course most closely associated with New Year's Eve,
and it's very common to sing it at the stroke
of midnight. That Harry Met Sally and a thousand other
Hollywood movies have it in there, and certainly the lyrics
and the sentiment of the song are perfectly fitted for
that occasion. But in the Scottish tradition, Old Langzyne is
(08:48):
sung at the end of any significant gathering of friends,
and especially at ceremonies marking major life passages, such as marriages,
and graduations and things like that. I first this at
a wedding reception in Scotland many many years ago, and
the way the song was sun struck me very forcefully.
During these types of occasions, old Lang sign takes a
(09:11):
more upbeat tone and even a faster pace. This gives
it a deeply hopeful feeling to my mind, and it
seems to imply that by remembering old friends and old times,
times to come will be more joyful. And that brings
me to my final point of this episode. If you're
one of life's unfortunates who doesn't know any Scottish people
(09:31):
or doesn't have a Scottish friend, go get one. Scots
are almost universally the deepest thinking but also the most
entertaining people you'll ever meet. Robert Burns in his work,
perfectly encapsulated those national traits. One of the ways to
make your life better through Scott's acquaintances is to get
invited or invite yourself to a Burns Night or a
(09:53):
burn Supper celebration. As I said earlier, Robert Burns's birthday
is a national holiday in Scotland, held on or near
January twenty fifth, and again in fact, it's the national holiday,
and it's also celebrated by the Scott's diaspora throughout the world.
Burns songs are sung, Haggis is served, indeed praised. That is,
haggis is praised by the reading of a Burne's poem
(10:15):
dedicated to it. Haggis, if you don't know, is a
traditional Scottish dish composed of a sheep's heart, liver and lungs,
minced together with onions, oatmeal and a bunch of other stuff,
and traditionally served in a sheep's stomach. Yes, I know.
After consuming that, you will indeed need to pause for
Old Langzyn. You'll hear a good number of Burne's most
(10:37):
famous poems read at a burn supper, and you'll no
doubt participate in the most meaningful rendition of Old Langsyne
you've ever heard. Speaking of that, we'd like to leave
you with Scotland's greatest singer performing Old Langxyn. Gene Redpath
was a crucial figure in the folk song revival of
the fifties and sixties and certainly had one of the
purest voices I've ever heard. We'd like to thank the
(10:57):
good buzzkillers at Rounder Records for permission to use this recording,
and we've put their CD of her songs of Robert
Burns on the Buzzkill bookshelf for you. And if you've
had the misfortune never to have heard gene Redpath before,
you can thank me for thinking of putting it in
this episode. But you should also give extra thanks to
the Scots. You've got to admire a country, a culture,
(11:20):
and a people who, when it came to choosing their
national hero, the person they've devoted a national day and
celebration to, they didn't choose a famous warrior or politician. Instead,
they chose a poet, Scott Swahey, indeed, buzz Killers talk
to you next year.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
Shoooo the Queen be forgot and ney mind.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Shoo, all the Quinton's be forgot, and.
Speaker 5 (11:59):
All lone sign for all lone sign by you, for.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
All lone sign.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
We will talk co cor O kindness yet for.
Speaker 5 (12:25):
All lone sign, and shly be.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
You paint stoop and shaly. I'll be mine and will
talk co corp O kindness yet for all.
Speaker 5 (12:52):
Lone sign.
Speaker 6 (12:57):
We to.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Run boot the breeze and pulled the.
Speaker 5 (13:07):
Ones fore, but.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
We warn the money we refit send a lone sign.
Speaker 6 (13:24):
For all Lane sign my due. For all lone sign.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Wield turn a carpool kindness, Yet for all.
Speaker 5 (13:47):
Lone signe.
Speaker 7 (13:52):
Were paid Thuburn she immor sign to day.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
But he atweeners breed, he roared senlaw signe and thes
on my CROSTI feed and geez.
Speaker 8 (14:30):
They and will talk correct garwely walked for all.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Lawn sign for Lane sign my Joe, for all lone
say well talk co Corp kindness. Yet for all Lon
(15:13):
sn
It's that time of the year, Buzzkillers, when we ring
out the old and ring in the new. This is
the end of another year of busting myths and taking names,
and we couldn't be more pleased with the way the
old show has developed, and we couldn't be more stoked
about the new things we've got planned for next year.
The topic of old Langzine, therefore, is perfect for this episode,
because that grand old Scottish song reminds us that when
(00:33):
we forget old friends and old times, as we're all
wont to do every now and then, we should take
time to pause and remember them. Let's do that in
this episode, but let's do it in a special way
by learning a few fascinating things about that old song.
I think it'll help us appreciate the old langzine sentiment
more the next time we belt it out, as the
stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve rings in New
(00:56):
Year's day. Old langzine means old life long since, and
it can be more broadly interpreted as long long ago
days gone by or simply old times. Therefore, for old Langzine,
as it appears in the first line of the song's course,
more or less means for the sake of old times.
(01:17):
The old Langzigne that we know started with Robert Burns,
the famous Scottish poet and lyricist in the eighteenth century.
Burns was and is such a monumental figure in Scottish
history and culture that scott celebrate his life and work
on his birthday, the twenty fifth of January every year.
Burns Night is more or less the Scottish national holiday.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Now.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
In addition to trying to make a living as a
farmer and laborer as a young man in the second
half of the eighteenth century, Burns collected folk songs and
poems from all over Scotland and wrote them down. In
many instances, this was the first time that they had
ever been transcribed and preserved in written form. In seventeen
eighty eight, Burns sent a copy of the song Old
Langzine to the Scott's Musical Museum. Now the museum I'm
(02:02):
talking about wasn't a physical building. Rather, it was a
massive folk song collection being published in a series of
volumes by fellow folk music collectors, especially the noted music
publisher James Johnson, who had met Burns in the mid
seventeen eighties. Burns wrote to Johnson, the following song is
an old song of the olden times, and which has
(02:23):
never been in print nor even in manuscript until I
took it down from an old man. Burns's letter neatly
summarizes the type of work that he did, not just
on Old Lang Sign, but on many other songs and poems.
Burns collected them from various sources, often from people singing
or reciting them to him. He wrote them down, and
he often added verses of his own. Some of the
words and basic ideas in Old Lang Ziyne had appeared
(02:45):
in older folk songs or poems dating back to the
sixteen sixties, so it's safe to say that burns seventeen
eighty eight poem is the collected culmination of lots of
earlier versions. Now I'd like to play you a fan
famous recording of Burne's original poem Old Lang Sign. But
before I do that, I need to say a few
things about the dialect and language used by Burns and
(03:07):
many Scots poets. Burns wrote and composed in Scots, which
is generally considered a dialect of English. It's common in Scotland,
and it's a very ancient origin, and that's certainly what
I've told students over the years. That's certainly what I
thought over the years. But as so often happens, I
learned a lot more about the scholarly opinion on the
(03:28):
linguistic status of Scots when I read the work that
Buzzkill Institute researchers did for me in preparation for the show.
Rather than say definitively that Scots is a dialect of English,
it's more accurate to say that the Scots dialect that
Burns used sits on a spectrum of the languages and
dialects used in Scotland, both historically and in our own day.
(03:50):
At one end of the spectrum, Broad Scots is considered
a language in his own right. On the other end
of the Scots spectrum, Scottish and English is more or
less English with a Scottish accent and a few particular
items from Scottish vocabulary. The dialect that Burns used is
closer to the Scottish Standard English end of the spectrum,
(04:12):
and is considered a dialect of English by most scholars. Now,
Scott's dialect and the Scottish language, which are Germanic in origin,
are not to be confused with Scottish Gaelic, which is
a member of the Celtic language family and is dissented
from Old Irish. Confused buzz killers, Well, think about it
this way. At any time in Scottish history, and even
(04:32):
in Scotland today, there were and are three languages in use, English,
Scots and Scottish Gaelic. No wonder Scotland has produced so
many famous mathematicians and scientists over the years. It took
massive brain power just to keep the different languages and
dialects in your head. I'm going on this at length
because when you're listening to the following recording, I want
(04:55):
you to realize to remember that the narrator is speaking English.
It's the Scots dialect of English, but it's still the
English language. It'll probably be as impenetrable to most of
you as it was to me before. That is, Institute
researchers help me understand it. Here's a nineteen fifty three
recording of Burne's original poem read by the famous actor
(05:17):
Frederick Warlock.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Should all the acquaintance be for got, never brought to mind?
Should all the acquaintance be forgot? An all lanzid for
all lan sign, my dear, for all langzeime, we'll tack
a coup a kindness yet for all lanzeime, And surely
(05:43):
you'll be your pint stupid, and surely I'll be mine,
and we'll tack a coup of kindness yet for our
lang sign. We twa here run about the praise and
pooh the cowans, fine, but we wander money, a weary
rich in how lang z we twa hip pale in
(06:05):
the burn frae morning sun till dying what she's between
us braider rods in our langzign. And there's a un
trusty fear.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
And geezer handleline.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
And we are recded wally what for all lang sign?
Speaker 1 (06:27):
And here it is in standard English, or at least
in buzzkill English, as narrated by yours. Truly, should all
acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind? Should old
acquaintance be forgot? An old lang xine for old lang xyne,
my dear, for old langzine. Will take a cup of
kindness yet for old lang Xine. And surely you'll buy
(06:49):
your pint cup, and surely I'll buy mine, and we'll
take a cup of kindness yet for old Langxie, we
two have run about the slopes and picked the day's fine,
but we've wandered many a weary foot since old lang Zyn.
We too have paddled in the stream from morning sun
till thine. But sees between us broad have roared since
(07:11):
old lang Zy. And there's a hand, my trusty friend,
and give me a hand of thine, and we'll take
a right goodwill draft for old Langzi Now. One of
the most common misunderstandings about Old lang Sign comes from
the confusion of the meaning of the first verse. Many
people wonder if the song ponders the question of whether
we should forget old friends. And I've even heard people
(07:33):
say they think the song is telling us to forget
old friends and just remember old times. Perhaps the most
famous example of this was the way Billy Crystal said
it in the popular nineties film When Harry Met Sally.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Now.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
I can't play the clip from Billy Crystal for copyright reason,
so I'm going to do my best Billy Crystal interpretation.
What does this song mean? My whole life? I don't
know what this song means. I mean, should old acquaintance
be for good? Does that mean we should forget old acquaintances,
or does it mean if we happen to forget that
we should remember them, which is not possible because we
already forgotten. This is a misunderstanding of the use of
(08:05):
the word should in the opening verse. Should in Old
Langzyne is used in the conditional sense, meaning if we
forget old friends and old times, we should pause and
take time to try to remember them, and, by implication
in the rest of the song, remember them fondly, particularly
memories of childhood. And that brings up another fascinating aspect
of the singing of Old Lanzime that should be better
(08:27):
known and frankly, in my opinion, more widely practiced. The
song is of course most closely associated with New Year's Eve,
and it's very common to sing it at the stroke
of midnight. That Harry Met Sally and a thousand other
Hollywood movies have it in there, and certainly the lyrics
and the sentiment of the song are perfectly fitted for
that occasion. But in the Scottish tradition, Old Langzyne is
(08:48):
sung at the end of any significant gathering of friends,
and especially at ceremonies marking major life passages, such as marriages,
and graduations and things like that. I first this at
a wedding reception in Scotland many many years ago, and
the way the song was sun struck me very forcefully.
During these types of occasions, old Lang sign takes a
(09:11):
more upbeat tone and even a faster pace. This gives
it a deeply hopeful feeling to my mind, and it
seems to imply that by remembering old friends and old times,
times to come will be more joyful. And that brings
me to my final point of this episode. If you're
one of life's unfortunates who doesn't know any Scottish people
(09:31):
or doesn't have a Scottish friend, go get one. Scots
are almost universally the deepest thinking but also the most
entertaining people you'll ever meet. Robert Burns in his work,
perfectly encapsulated those national traits. One of the ways to
make your life better through Scott's acquaintances is to get
invited or invite yourself to a Burns Night or a
(09:53):
burn Supper celebration. As I said earlier, Robert Burns's birthday
is a national holiday in Scotland, held on or near
January twenty fifth, and again in fact, it's the national holiday,
and it's also celebrated by the Scott's diaspora throughout the world.
Burns songs are sung, Haggis is served, indeed praised. That is,
haggis is praised by the reading of a Burne's poem
(10:15):
dedicated to it. Haggis, if you don't know, is a
traditional Scottish dish composed of a sheep's heart, liver and lungs,
minced together with onions, oatmeal and a bunch of other stuff,
and traditionally served in a sheep's stomach. Yes, I know.
After consuming that, you will indeed need to pause for
Old Langzyn. You'll hear a good number of Burne's most
(10:37):
famous poems read at a burn supper, and you'll no
doubt participate in the most meaningful rendition of Old Langsyne
you've ever heard. Speaking of that, we'd like to leave
you with Scotland's greatest singer performing Old Langxyn. Gene Redpath
was a crucial figure in the folk song revival of
the fifties and sixties and certainly had one of the
purest voices I've ever heard. We'd like to thank the
(10:57):
good buzzkillers at Rounder Records for permission to use this recording,
and we've put their CD of her songs of Robert
Burns on the Buzzkill bookshelf for you. And if you've
had the misfortune never to have heard gene Redpath before,
you can thank me for thinking of putting it in
this episode. But you should also give extra thanks to
the Scots. You've got to admire a country, a culture,
(11:20):
and a people who, when it came to choosing their
national hero, the person they've devoted a national day and
celebration to, they didn't choose a famous warrior or politician. Instead,
they chose a poet, Scott Swahey, indeed, buzz Killers talk
to you next year.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
Shoooo the Queen be forgot and ney mind.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Shoo, all the Quinton's be forgot, and.
Speaker 5 (11:59):
All lone sign for all lone sign by you, for.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
All lone sign.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
We will talk co cor O kindness yet for.
Speaker 5 (12:25):
All lone sign, and shly be.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
You paint stoop and shaly. I'll be mine and will
talk co corp O kindness yet for all.
Speaker 5 (12:52):
Lone sign.
Speaker 6 (12:57):
We to.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Run boot the breeze and pulled the.
Speaker 5 (13:07):
Ones fore, but.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
We warn the money we refit send a lone sign.
Speaker 6 (13:24):
For all Lane sign my due. For all lone sign.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Wield turn a carpool kindness, Yet for all.
Speaker 5 (13:47):
Lone signe.
Speaker 7 (13:52):
Were paid Thuburn she immor sign to day.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
But he atweeners breed, he roared senlaw signe and thes
on my CROSTI feed and geez.
Speaker 8 (14:30):
They and will talk correct garwely walked for all.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Lawn sign for Lane sign my Joe, for all lone
say well talk co Corp kindness. Yet for all Lon
(15:13):
sn
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