ADD Research Moment: Auld Lang Syne...

[Damocles]

Auld Lang Syne:

Literal meaning: "old long since"

Idiomatic Meaning: "days gone by" or "those were the days"

The original lyrics as written by Robert Burns:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days o' 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 morning 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 gude-willy waught,
For auld lang syne.

CHORUS

After a bit of translation:

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old times since?

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely you’ll buy your pint cup!
And surely I’ll buy mine!
And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne. (Old Time's Sake).

CHORUS

We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne. (Time's gone by.)

CHORUS

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne. (the good ol' days.)

CHORUS

And there’s a hand my trusty friend!
And give us a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne. (old time's sake).

CHORUS

For all the research I've put into this (wiki, and 1 other site then ADD set in), it seems a song about two lovers meeting by chance and remembering the "good old days" wistfully.

 

[evince]

Or just old friends who spent years appart.

 

[Damocles]

Or just old friends who spent years appart.

I think the verse where one seemed to always have purchased the drink before, but now "I buy mine and you buy yours" tends to lean it towards the lover angle.

But I may be reading too much into the lyric.

 

[evince]

Mmm , it may just be that they are Scotish?