Auld Lang Syne The song Auld Lang Syne has been part an American tradition for a long time. But where did this classic song originate from? Auld Lang Syne is that song that we on New Year’s Eve everyone starts to sing, but no one knows the meaning of. The song starts out with the rhetorical question “Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot, and Auld Lang Syne?” The rest of the song then goes on to recount the good old days when these two friends spent ages together doing the things that all friends do. This makes Auld Lang Syne is a beautiful unique song that show cases the American melting pot. First to understand this song, we must also understand what exactly the phrase Auld Lang Syne means. If we want to take the most literal translation of it we find that it means Old long since, so as Handcock states that means “That means Americans sing ‘Old Long Since’ every year. Doesn't make sense literally, but the phrase ‘Auld Lang Syne’ is generally taken to mean ‘days gone by,’” It is clear that the phrase is meant to refer to the good old days long ago. The song is meant to nostalgically reflect on how the …show more content…
times have gone by, and to reflect on friends who are now long gone, either through death or just the nature of how people move on in their lives the song exemplifies human memory, how we remember those individuals who are no longer part of our lives. Perhaps that is way it is so often played at many funerals. Even if that person was not nearly part of the Scottish subculture. Next a little background on this classic. Auld Lang Syne stated out its life as a Scottish poem thought to have first been written down by Robert Burns in the 1700’s. However, the song is thought to be much older than that, Terwilliger Has in his article “The song's origins are more obscure, says Penrose Public Library reference librarian Jackie Mart. The song was first published in its present version in 1794. Some sources say the music is a traditional Scottish melody; others say it made its bow in the overture to English composer William Shield's 1783 opera ‘Rosina.’” So, it is not known when this song first came about. This is important to keep in mind when one listens to this song. Likewise, The Washington post writer Claire Prentice concurs by stating in her article, “Most experts think that "Auld Lang Syne" was created by Burns in 1788 using elements from a variety of source materials. These could date as far back as the 16th century and include works by the Scots poets Allan Ramsay, Robert Ayton and James Watson” The lyrics could very well have been passed down orally from generation to generation only to then be written down on a later date. In much the same way as the Greek stories of the odyssey and the Iliad were thought to have come about. Over the years the song having been recited by memory and passed along. Until the day Burns wrote down the song that would eventually become the beautifully unique song that we now know and love today. The most memorable part of the song is definingly the very beginning where a rhetorical question is asked to the listener. “Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot, and Auld Lang Syne?” This is basically begging the question of how one will remember old friends. One can say that question is meant to make the listener think back upon their own old acquaintances. It is interesting to see how the message of this songs has resonated with the American people for years and years. This is likely because overall the values that the song showcases are still strong values in the United States. Even if you don’t know what the song means you know that it is something important. As Terwilliger puts it in her article, “Perhaps it's just as well. Singing the venerable New Year's Eve anthem is like reading quantum physics: You sense something important is being said, but you can't quite understand it.” The fact that the song is still an American New Year’s tradition to this day shows the resilience of that song. Finially why do we as Americans sing this song on New Year’s Eve?
Handcock states in her articl that,“The tradition of singing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ on New Year's Eve started in 1929, when Lombardo and His Royal Canadians played their first gig at the Grill Room in New York's Roosevelt Hotel. The show was broadcast over radio. From that point, the tune not only became Lombardo's theme song, but also the traditional song for heralding the arrival of the New Year.” So, the songs popularity boils down to the song being well revived by the listeners of that time. It’s very interesting to see how quickly this song was picked up and accepted as the song to play on the eve of the new year. It shows how America is a melting pot of different cultures. You may not be Scottish but you can still sing and enjoy this
song. In conclusion, the song has been an important part of the American tradition new years for ages. The song Auld Lang Syne has shown how America lives up to its reputation of being a melting pot of cultures. As such the song, has been adopted by the wider American populous regardless of their original culture. It doesn’t matter if a person doesn’t directly come from the Scottish culture they can still sing that song, and be moved by it. One can Hope that more people will take the time to learn the history as well as the full meaning behind this heartfelt song so that they might fully appreciate it.
The repetitions of the song, constantly remind us of the way people celebrated Christmas in the late 1950’s. “Have a happy holidays” uses the literary device of repetition to remind us to have a safe holiday. “Rocking around the Christmas tree” uses the literary device of repetition to inform us that people danced around the Christmas tree to celebrate the holidays.
...c song. Many songs were considered for the national anthem including “Yankee Doodle,” “America the Beautiful,” “My Country! Tis of Thee’” and “Hail Columbia.” “The Star Spangled Banner” remains timeless as it does not directly mention the battle that it portrays. It also never directly mentions the United States. The entire poem is a metaphor of America and what America is all about. This year the “Star-Spangled Banner” will turn 200 and my hope is more Americans will take the time to learn more about our national anthem.
christmas hymn was the best book of the 1843 Christmas season. by Christmas it sold six thousand duplicates and it kept on being well known into the new year.
For example, one line, “Soon our pilgrimage will cease; Soon our happy hearts will quiver, with the melody of peace,” which is saying that one day we will die, and you can’t stop that. “Lay we every burden down; Grace our spirits will deliver, and provide a robe and a crown,” also reveals that you should appreciate what we’ve had, and what was given to us. This song is telling you, in every line, that you can’t live forever, but appreciate what you have, while you
It was a way for the United States to recruit soldiers to send to Europe, as the United States was short on soldiers and even passed conscription acts to draft people into the army. In addition, Americans still held anti-war sentiments, as Wilson was reelected campaigning on not going to war. This patriotic song helped ease American fears and provided confidence that US troops would be able to end the war swiftly. On a global scale, the song is tied to the American entry into World War I, an event that solidified the Allied victory, shaping the history of the world leading to World War II. On the national level, the song gave the people hope because it reflected the belief that the United States’ troops would be able to dominate Europe and come home safely. By the end, however, the death and destruction left by the war became apparent. The trust in Wilson’s grandiose ideals and the patriotism faded as the people began seeing US involvement in the war was a mistake, taking up Harding’s offer to return to “normalcy” (Brinkley, 530). As a result, this song is also firmly situated in a change of eras as the United States moved past World War I and into the Roaring
The song was written to motivate young men to join the army, idealizing soldiers as patriotic “son[s] of liberty” who would make their fathers, girlfriends, and country proud. The US soldiers are shown as the liberators of
This song reminisces about the loss of Private Rodger Young and reminds soldiers to push forward through the loss. Since death was something typically seen on the battle field Losser took this sad moment and turned it in to a rally together moment to get the job done. Loesser reflects the idea that America is tired of the war and are ready to keep progressing in life. While this song may not have been the most popular of the time period, Life magazine at the time felt like it was vital to print the music in the worlds for all to
The general point of the song “Alabama” by Neil Young is a very powerful song and has multiple meanings.The idea of racism is spoke out. The song had a negative reaction from the southerners. “Swing low Alabama” let them be equal. Get the money to do what you need to do to end segregation. Neil is hoping that the message from his song will opens people's eyes and after all of this is over Alabama will finally have peace and everyone will be equal.
...o captivating. Additionally, it does make an extensive number of appearances at various ceremonies and great events, such as the opening ceremonies of sporting events and national holidays such as Independence and Memorial Day. However, “The Star Spangled Banner” embodies a much broader and more abstruse, cryptic connotation. It illustrates America’s attitude of perseverance when facing seemingly indomitable adversities or unachievable ambitions. It represents America’s unfaltering faith, traditional values, and ethical laws that have come to characterize America’s individuality. It signifies America’s past, a historic reminder that unites the people and instills, in their hearts, a profound sense of patriotism and glory. Most of all, “The Star Spangled Banner” symbolizes the truth of what America truly means–“the land of the free and the home of the brave”.
A Christmas Carol is jubilant spiritual hymns to celebrate the birth of Christ which is sang by a group of people friends, family and anybody who wants to.
This song uses a range of different techniques to get the main message of the song across to the audience. Repetition is used in verses 2,4, and 8. “God help me, I was only nineteen”. The effect this gives is to emphasize how the composer is feeling. You feel the pain and the grieving the veterans went through whilst fighting for our country in the war. It makes you realize that some men and women were so young to go out and experience such things that no human being should go
In the opening verse of the song, the speaker discusses the need to see her childhood home at least once more before moving on with her life. She shares with the current homeowner some of her experiences while growing up in the house. For instance, she says, “I know they say you can’t go home again, but I just had to come back one last time.” This shows that the speaker realizes that returning “home” is going to be a different experience than it was when she lived there, but she cannot resist the temptation of a final visit to the “house”. The speaker says that “Up those stairs in that little back bedroom, is where I did my homework and learned to play guitar. And I bet you didn’t know, under that live oak, my favorite dog is buried in the yard.” This indicates some of the significant memories the speaker has of her time in the house, such as honing her...
The song “When It’s Sleepy Time Down South”, may possibly portray Holiday’s sadness and experience during the Great Depression. The line “Homesick, tired, all alone in a big city” can be ...
... been related to months and seasons maybe because the hidden message of the song is that love is a never-ending cycle (like the seasons). This would indicate that love will inevitably die, but be reborn again, perhaps in the form of someone else or with the same person. This then could lead to the theory that this song was written to be compatible with everything that is loved i.e. a new job, new friend etc and that it often deteriorates through familiarity. Such depth in a song compares to the depth of a poem in terms of the hidden meanings and imagery.
From the first stanza of this song, you get put into a scene. You know almost immediately that it is about someone, and it is the middle of December, but without stating the obvious, it paints a more illustrated picture for you. The first line states, “A winters day, in a deep and dark December” and I could almost immediately feel a cool breeze around me. When I normally think of a winter’s day, I think of people playing in the snow, and having a good time. This may be because I grew up in Southern California where there has been a lack of snow, but in my head, that is what I imagine. Having them state, in a deep and dark December, turns my attitudes to the more pessimistic way of looking at things. The image of children playing in the snow in my head has now turned to cold and dark emptiness. Reinstating my idea of emptiness, the next line follows with the simply statement, “I am alone”. Personally, I hate being alone. So to have the opening words place us in a deep and dark setting, and then state that you are alone, automatically puts me in a negative mindset.