December 31, 2014 (Wednesday)
Robert Burns wrote a poem in Scotland in 1788, and it was sung to the tune of a familiar folk song. We usually hear it on New Year’s Eve. It’s “Auld Lang Syne.” Most of us need someone to tell us what that means. The literal English translation of the Scots title is, “old long since.” Like many such phrases, it’s better to translate it into an idiom such as “long, long ago,” “days gone by” or “old times.” It seems to mean, “for the sake of old times,” which makes sense to most of us English-speaking singers.
My favorite singing of it is in the final scene of the 1946 movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life.” It’s sung by friends of the main character George Bailey after they sing, “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing.”
The song has at least five verses and a chorus. I never hear any verse sung except the first verse and chorus, and with words that resemble the original Scots version. The English translations help us understand the original words, but I’ve never heard them
sung. (If this topic interests you, you might want to read the Wikipedia article on “Auld Lang Syne.”)
Every New Year’s celebration, worship service, or party includes music. Celebration and music go together. It’s hard to have one without the other. Auld Lang Syne is a popular song for New Year’s Eve, but there are many others. I found several lists, but I confess I know neither the songs nor most of the artists. Almost any of the grand old hymns we have sung in church through the years are appropriate for New Year’s Eve. What’s your favorite? The first hymn that comes to my mind is “Count Your Blessings,” and right behind it, “Make Me A Blessing.” Name the song that comes to your mind without trying to think about it.
Aside from the music, what are your thoughts about yourself and your Lord as you come to the end of another year and prepare to enter the next?
The New Leaf
He came to my desk with quivering lip –
The lesson was done.
“Dear Teacher,I want a new leaf he said,
“I have spoiled this one.”
I took the old leaf, stained and blotted
And gave him a new one, all unspotted,
And into his sad eyes smiled;
“Do better now, my child!”
I went to the Throne with a quivering soul –
The old year was gone.
“Dear Father, hast Thou a new leaf for me?”
“I have spoiled this one.”
He took the old leaf, stained and blotted
And gave me a new one, all unspotted,
And into my sad heart smiled:
“Do better now, my child!”Helen Field Fischer