New Year’s Music from Scotland

Extracts from: The Scots musical museum in six volumes. Consisting of six hundred Scots songs with proper basses for the piano forte &c. Humbly dedicated to the Society of anti-quaries of Scotland, by James Johnson
Published in 1787, Printed & sold by J. Johnson (Edinburgh)

A poem set to music by Robert Burns in the 1796 edition of the book. The final volumes of the six volumes collection of 600 Scottish songs were published in 1803. Note: Robert Burns contributed 184 songs. He wrote most of the prefaces to the six different volumes. Arrangements of the airs were prepared chiefly by Stephen Clarke. Burns “wrote” the lyrics which he heard from an unidentified old man. The first line is similar to a song written in 1711 - Old Long Syne by James Watson.

Auld Lang Syne
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 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