Auld Lang Syne

Illustration of Robert Burns’s Auld Lang Syne

A word in defense of New Years celebrations that long antedate woke globalization and childish fixations on cultural appropriation*.

According to current tribalism orthodoxy, nobody but Scots should have any right to this song. This should be the only approved version:

But what are the lyrics and what might they mean?

Thing is, they’re written in a marginalized dialect suppressed by British colonialism called Êcottics by the French, who have never understood a single word spoken by Scots. (Like me.) Here’s the only translational guide you can expect…

Permitting you to translate the original verses by the colonialized Scotter named Robert Burns:  

Auld Lang Syne

Robert Burns - 1759-1796

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And auld lang syne!

     Chorus:

     For auld lang syne, my dear,

     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 pou'd the gowans fine;

But we've wander'd mony a weary fit,

Sin' auld lang syne.

     Chorus

We twa hae paidl'd in 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 fere!

And gie's a hand o' thine!

And we'll tak a right gude-willie waught,

For auld lang syne.

     Chorus

All right…

THE FUN STUFF

Auld Lang Syne, a treatment of its iconic status. Don’t take the link. Listen to all these exemplars instead.

 Hollywood

Jazz

Saloon

Classical

The Great Depression

 

Millennium Celebration

Pop

Blues

R&B

And even…

Irish 

English 

Canadian

Australian

Reggae

Caribbean, Trinidad & Tobago

Hip Hop

Norwegian, French, and Spanish

English, French, Welsh, Mandarin & Spanish

Because everyone knows, as the oldest organized, surviving tribe on earth, the Scots have always been friendly, welcome to opposing viewpoints, generous to a fault with a shilling or two, and committed as hell to diversity as long as you have red hair and a few coins in your purse. 

And we had a temple in the Orkneys 1500 years before Moses did his thing. There weren’t any lawyers then.

Why civilization wasn’t stillborn.

THE HARD STUFF

*Cultural appropriation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia…

Cultural appropriation is the inappropriate or unacknowledged adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity. This can be controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from minority cultures.

According to critics of the practice, cultural appropriation differs from acculturation, assimilation, or equal cultural exchange in that this appropriation is a form of colonialism. When cultural elements are copied from a minority culture by members of a dominant culture, and these elements are used outside of their original cultural context ─ sometimes even against the expressly stated wishes of members of the originating culture – the practice is often received negatively.

Cultural appropriation is considered harmful by various groups and individuals, including Indigenous people working for cultural preservation, those who advocate for collective intellectual property rights of the originating, minority cultures, and those who have lived or are living under colonial rule. Cultural appropriation can include exploitation of another culture's religious and cultural traditions, dance steps, fashion, symbols, language, and music.

Those who see this appropriation as exploitative state that cultural elements are lost or distorted when they are removed from their originating cultural contexts, and that such displays are disrespectful or even a form of desecration. Cultural elements that may have deep meaning to the original culture may be reduced to "exotic" fashion or toys by those from the dominant culture. Kjerstin Johnson has written that, when this is done, the imitator, "who does not experience that oppression is able to 'play', temporarily, an 'exotic' other, without experiencing any of the daily discriminations faced by other cultures". The academic, musician and journalist Greg Tate argues that appropriation and the "fetishising" of cultures, in fact, alienates those whose culture is being appropriated.

**********

There are 5.6 million Scots in Scotland. Our oldest temple predates Solomon’s by 1500 years. And we invented the Industrial Revolution. Why, maybe, we don’t see all of life as revenge and guilt and greed.

And more to the point… oh, some other time……..  Maybe not. Cultural appropriation and something about oppression of minorities? Scots not oppressed? Ask William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, Mary Queen of Scots, and Bonnie Prince Charlie. They’re still 50 million, and we’re still 5 million. But we kicked their ass through the centuries. Until they tricked us into a semblance of freedom that did not exist. Their Royals still wear our tartans (once a death penalty on us for owning). We still fight their wars. 

Because the Scots all have PTSD (Posh Twit Stupid Disorder) now, caught from the English usurper twats, and even our American sons hate us. Like me. Knives are not balls. Can’t stand to hear you talk. These days, you’re as craven as the f**ing Americans under FJB…

Now my Irish wife is mad at me about dinner.

This is the way an American Scot rolls…

Half of them are dead, and the other half is me.

Oh hell. Happy New Year.

P.S. When it occurs to you there’s no Scottish Defense League (SDL) despite all the abuse we take, see if you can find the video that goes with this Monty Python masterpiece. Not to be found. Political Correctness removed it from Youtube. Not the Scots. We may be assholes, but we’re assholes with a sense of humor.