Yup, you named that tune on the first note…by pure accident, I came upon a version of the song done recently on YouTube by Kate Taylor and her brother Livingston. Back in 2002 she released an album (yes, that’s what we called them then, and I still do…) called Beautiful Road where she did this song backed by brother James. I fell in love with it when I heard it and always find the need to play it today, so when I saw the youtube version it started the wheels of thought turning and here I sit, again bathing in the stream of consciousness that I so frequently float in.

Auld Lang Syne…some background:

The poem’s Scots title may be translated into standard English as “old long since” or, less literally, “long long ago”,^[“days gone by”, or “old times”. Consequently, “For auld lang syne”, as it appears in the first line of the chorus, might be loosely translated as “for the sake of old times”.

The phrase “Auld Lang Syne” is also used in older folk songs predating Burns. Matthew Fitt uses the phrase “in the days of auld lang syne” as the equivalent of “once upon a time” in his retelling of fairy tales in the Scots language.

The first sound of it evokes, at least in me, a look back and a look forward. It represents for me, saying goodbye to what has happened, both recently and over a longer time, but taking that cup of kindness and looking ahead to better days and times.

If you’ve been following along you know I have a huge amount to be grateful for this year and for many years past, and have great hope for even more to come. If you’re reading for the first time, I won’t trouble you with a lot of it (feel free to check out past posts).

Sometime today, take a quiet moment, fill your glass, raise it up and join me across the virtual plane with that cup of kindness for auld lang syne.

Cheers, Sláinte, salute, Happy New Year!