The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-11-24

I
ana never brought to min?
Should aud acquaintance be forgot,
ana days o lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear.
| For aud lang syne;
Wen tax a cup O. kindness yea,
For aud lang syne
We twa hae run about the braes.
| q nj mud the aowans fine.
But we've WANDERED many a weary foot
ON aGlu lang Syne.
We twa hae paidrt i the burn
frae morning sun till dine;
but seas between US braid hae roar'd
Sin auld lang syne.
And here's a hand my trusty frien',
And gie's a hand O. thine
! And We'll TAX a right guid-willie waught
I For aud lang syne.
And surely yen be your pint-stoup,
And surely I'll be mine;
| And We'll TAX a cup O. kindness vet.
For aud lang syne.
Different Forms of Burns's Version.
1t may be noted that between the
version given to Mrs. Dunlop and
Johnson and that issued by Thompson
there is one important difference in the
sequence of the Stanzas In JohnsonS
publication the last stanza is placed
as the second. and this arrangement
was used for some years, but the
order of the StanzaS, as given above,
is obviously correct, though we fear
that there are not many people who
could repeat the song right Off much
as they rave about it. Generally
verses, the singing of the song is
abandoned, as so few know it.
AS to the meaning Of Willie
Waught" several opinions have been
offered. However. in a collection Of
Scottish songs published by Blackie &
Son in 1S43, the words 'guid' or
guide" and willie" are joined to-
gether by a hyphen, which means will
take a right goodwilling (God-be-with
and friendship. The grasping of hands
in the stanza seems pretty strong proof
that that is it's meaning. By the way,
in the Museum" the words are signed
with a." signifying that it is an
old song with additions and altera-
TONS The first, fourth and fifth
ptanzas are undeniably fragments of an
zas betray the tenderness and senti-
ment of the poet himself, and these
we are inclined to accept as reconstruct
lions.
Authorship of the Air.
And now as to the music of this fine
old song.
The original air, which Burns pro-
nouneed to be mediocre, was soon
abandoned, and one said to be from
Il feed a Lad at Michaelmas,' which,
in its turn, was. taken from a Straths-
pey dance tune called THE Miller
wedding" was used I'M its stead, but
this is mere conjecture. The tune
bears a. strong resemblance to Comm
Thro' the Rye "Oh Hey, Johnnie Lad
and For the Sake of Somebody" To
come to the point at once, the melody
to which the lyric is now sung we be-
lieve was composed by William Shield
who was born at Durham, 1I4S, and
buried in Westminster Abbey in 1922
operas, operattas, dramas and panto-
mines. and to such favorite old songs
as "Old fowler 1.-The Thorn, THE
wolf THE Heaving of the Lead, J"
! "Arethusa," '"The Post Captain ana
Aud Lang Syne." A writer in the
| Newcastle Weekly Chronicle early in
December. 1891, said:
81 have been privileged to read the
cores pondence between DR.. Bruce and
Mr.. Chappell, the learned author CT !.
Popular Musiorin the Olden Times,
ON this subject and 1 am firmly con-
WINGED that Mr.. Chappell is fully borne
out by historical facts, that the air OF
Aud Lang Syne' was first published
in the opera composed by Shield. The
opera Gin question: of 'Rosina' was first
brought out on December 81, 1882. 1t
met with great success; the overture
in which occurs the melody of Aud
Lang tSyne'-was published separately
in 1888, and the air became popular as
pianoforte piece, and being thorough
ly vocal, afforded others the opportu-
nity of setting words to it, which
Shield did not do himself.
This is the first date of the air, and
this, there is every reason to believe,
was the air which Thompson used in
his collection. No doubt other words,
as indicated above, had already been
adapted to the melody, but this would
not deter Thompson, the publisher,
from using it, for he was not above
annexing any lyric or melody that
suited his purpose. The mediocre"
air referred to by Burns would be the
one the old man sang to Allan Ram
say But Burns version of Aud Lang
Syne" first appeared in 1898. 1t was
set to different air from the one we
know it by, and different also from
present air and Burns words first
made their appearance welded to-
gether twelve years after Shields
"Rosina" was given to the world. And,
as 1 have said, Thompson issued the
song in his collection. Apart from the
fact that the dates are all in favor of
Shield, there is another point. When
Shield had occasion, in his operas, to
introduce the melodies Of other writ
ers, he was careful in every case to
studiously acknowledge his obliga-
tons. The air known as "Auld Lang
Syne" he distinctly claimed as his own
composition; therefore, as no one has
ever been able to disprove Shields
claim there is every evidence that his
statement must be accepted and he
be proclaimed the composer of this
immortal song.
In the Popular Songs and Melodies
of Scotland however, there is a quo-
tation note without the authority be-
ing named, which runs as follows:
Shield introduced it into his overture
to the opera of 'Rosina,' written by
Mr.. Brooks Query Miss Brooks?) and
acted at Covent Garden in 1888 It is
the best movement of that overture
and in imitation of Scottish bag-pipe
tune, in which the oboe is substituted
for the chanter and the bassoon for the
drone."