The Scottish poet Robert Burns is the most regarded source for the words to the “'auld lang syne” song we hear every year. But Burns' version builds on earlier works. The phrase refers to a long time ago, perhaps closely to the “once upon a time” we have in our current culture.
But another version, the earliest that contains a form of the 'auld lang syne' phrase, is attributed to poet Sir Robert Ayton (1570-1638). I think these words are more appropriate for me on this day:
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never thought upon,
The flames of love extinguished,
And freely past and gone?
Is thy kind heart now grown so cold
In that loving breast of thine,
That thou canst never once reflect
On old-long-syne?
May the blessings of God carry you through 2011.
