Our old friend Bob Dylan has cited Scottish poet and songwriter, Robert Burns, as his major influence.
The Lychen singers, give us a lusty rendering of the most famous song in the world - Auld Lang Syne… written by Robert Burns. Why is it the most famous song in the world? Because on Millenium Night, Year 2000, it was sung, nation by nation, all the way across the planet, in a massive, twelve hour Mexican wave. When will that happen again? And, yes, I am totally biased.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!
Chorus: For auld lang syne, my jo,
For auld lang syne, We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet
For auld lang syne.
And surely you’ll be your pint stoup,
And surely I’ll be mine,
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet
For auld lang syne!
Chorus
We twa hae ran about the braes,
And pou’d the gowans fine,
But we’ve wander’d monie a weary fit
Sin’ auld lang syne.
Chorus
We twa hae paidl’d in the burn
Frae morning sun til dine,
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
Sin’ auld lang syne.
Chorus
And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere,
And gie’s a hand o’ thine,
And we’ll tak a right gude willie waught
For auld lang syne!
Chorus
Meaning of unusual words:
Auld lang syne = Old long since (old time’s sake)
jo = dear
stoup = tankard
gowans = daisies
braid = broad
Gude willie waught = a friendly drink and blether
Harpist Sussex – Weddings, Ceilidh & School Programmes
Enchanting Celtic songs & melodies for your wedding or special event…
“One of the most entertaining nights I’ve had for a long time! Alan immediately puts the audience at ease as he commands the show with wit and authority. He is very skilled at public performance.It was a delightful varied evening”
Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountain side
The summer’s gone, and all the roses falling
‘Tis you, ’tis you must go and I must bide.
But come ye back when summer’s in the meadow
Or when the valley’s hushed and white with snow
‘Tis I’ll be here in sunshine or in shadow
Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so.
But when ye come, and all the flowers are dying
If I am dead, as dead I well may be
You’ll come and find the place where I am lying
And kneel and say an “Ave” there for me.
And I shall hear, tho’ soft you tread above me
And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be
For ye shall bend and tell me that you love me
And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me.
Starting with the actual tune Robert Burns originally set “Auld Lang Syne” to and finishing with the comtemporary tune we all know. Camilla Mars on voice. Alan Mars on harp / clarsach and voice. Brighton Early Music Consort on chorus. Robin Brownsell on camera.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!
Chorus: For auld lang syne, my jo,
For auld lang syne, We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet
For auld lang syne.
And surely you’ll be your pint stoup,
And surely I’ll be mine,
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet
For auld lang syne!
Chorus
We twa hae ran about the braes,
And pou’d the gowans fine,
But we’ve wander’d monie a weary fit
Sin’ auld lang syne.
Chorus
We twa hae paidl’d in the burn
Frae morning sun til dine,
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
Sin’ auld lang syne.
Chorus
And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere,
And gie’s a hand o’ thine,
And we’ll tak a right gude willie waught
For auld lang syne!
Chorus
Meaning of unusual words:
Auld lang syne = Old long since (old time’s sake)
jo = dear
stoup = tankard
gowans = daisies
braid = broad
Gude willie waught = a friendly drink and blether
Oh all the money that ere I had, I spent it in good company.
And all the harm that ere I’ve done, alas it was to none but me.
And all I’ve done for want of wit, to memory now I shant recall.
So fill me to the parting glass. Goodnight and joy be with you all.
Oh all the friends that ere I had, they are sorry for my going away,
And all the sweethearts ere I loved , they wish me one more day to stay,
But since it falls unto my lot that I should part and you should not,
I gently rise and softly I call, “Goodnight and joy be with you all!”
On the Nativity of Christ. A poem by William Dunbar
William Dunbar (c 1460 – c 1520) was a Franciscan friar and also a “Makar” ie a Poet. He was court poet to James IV of Scotland. The video features Alan and Camilla Mars performing a selection of verses from this poem. The poem was performed as a part of the Brighton Early Music Consorts Christmas concert 2008. At the concert itself the verses were interspersed with songs and stories -which have been edited out for this video. There is a full text under the video and also a translation of the verses performed.
On the Nativity of Christ
Rorate, celi, desuper!
Hevins distill your balmy schouris,
For now is rissin the brycht day ster
Fro the ros Mary, flour of flouris.
The cleir sone quhome no clud devouris,
Surminting Phebus in the est
Is cumin of His hevinly touris;
Et nobis puer natus est.
Archangellis, angellis, and dompnationis,
Tronis, potestatis, and marteiris seir,
And all ye hevinly operationis,
Ster, planeit, firmament, and speir,
Fyre, erd, air, and watter cleir,
To Him gife loving, most and lest,
That come into so meik maneir;
Et nobis puer natus est.
Synnaris be glaid and pennance do,
And thank your Makar hairtfully,
For He that ye mycht nocht cum to,
To yow is cumin full humly,
Your saulis with His blud to by,
And lous yow of the feindis arrest,
And only of His awin mercy;
Pro nobis puer natus est.
All clergy do to him inclyne,
And bow unto that barne benyng,
And do your observance devyne
To Him that is of kingis King;
Ensence His altar, reid and sing
In haly kirk, with mynd degest,
Him honouring attour all thing,
Qui nobis puer natus est.
Celestiall fowlis in the are,
Sing with your nottis upoun hicht;
In firthis and in forrestis fair
Be myrthfull now at all your mycht,
For passit is your dully nycht.
Aurora hes the cluddis perst,
The son is rissin with glaidsum lycht,
Et nobis puer natus est.
Now spring up, flouris, fra the rute,
Revert yow upwart naturaly,
In honour of the blissit frute
That rais up fro the rose Mary.
Lay out your levis lustely,
Fro deid tak lyfe now at the lest
In wirschip of that Prince wirthy,
Qui nobis puer natus est.
Syng, hevin imperiall, most of hicht,
Regions of air mak armony;
All fische in flud and foull of flicht
Be myrthfull and mak melody.
All Gloria in excelsis cry -
Hevin, erd, se, man, bird, and best -
He that is crownit abone the sky
Pro nobis puer natus est.
On the Nativity of Christ – a translation
Rorate, celi, desuper!
Heavens distill your balmy showers,
For now is risen the bright day star
From the rose Mary, flower of flowers.
The clear Son/sun whom no cloud devours,
Surmounting Phebus in the east
Is coming of His heavenly towers;
Et nobis puer natus est.
Archangels, angels, and dominations,
Thrones, powers, and martyrs many,
And all your heavenly operations,
Star, planet, firmament, and sphere,
Fire, earth, air, and water clear,
To Him give loving, most and least,
That come into so meek manner;
Et nobis puer natus est.
Sinners be glad and pennance do,
And thank your Maker heartfully,
For He that ye might not come to,
To you is coming full humbly,
Your souls with His blood to buy,
And lose you of the feinds arrest,
And only of His own mercy;
Pro nobis puer natus est.
All clergy do to him incline,
And bow unto that bairn bening,
And do your observance divine
To Him that is of kings King;
Ensence His altar, read and sing
In holy church, with sober mind,
Him honouring above all thing,
Qui nobis puer natus est.
Celestiall fowls(birds) in the air,
Sing with your notes upon high;
In firths and in forests fair
Be mirthful now at all your might,
For passed is your dull night.
Aurora has the clouds pierced,
The son is risen with gladsome light,
Et nobis puer natus est.
Now spring up, flowers, from the root,
Revert you upward naturally,
In honour of the blessed fruit
That rose up from the rose Mary.
Lay out your leaves lustily,
From death take life now at the least
In worship of that Prince worthy,
Qui nobis puer natus est.
Sing, heavin imperial, most of high,
Regions of air make harmony;
All fish in flood and fowl of flight
Be mirthful and make melody.
All Gloria in excelsis cry -
Heavin, earth, sea, man, bird, and beast -
He that is crowned above the sky
Pro nobis puer natus est.
There was this king nodding
In his garden all alane
When his brither in his ear dropped
A wee tait of henbane
Then he stole his brother's crown
And his money and his widow
But the dead king walked and got his son
And said,"Now listen, kiddo
I've been killed and it's your duty
To take revenge on Claudius
Kill him quick and clean and show
The nation what a fraud he is
The boy says, "Right, I'll do it
But I'll have to play it crafty
So that nobody will suspect me
I'll kid on that I'm a dafty
So wi all except Horatio
(and he trusts him as a friend)
Hamlet - that's the kid
He kids on he's round the bend
And because he's not yet willing
For obligatory killing
He tried to make his uncle think
He's tuppence off the shilling
Took the mickey oot Polonius
Treated poor Ophelia vile
And told Rosencrantz and Gildenstern
that Denmark's blooded bile
Then a troup of traveling actors
Like the 784
Arrived to do a special one night
Gig in Elsinore
Hamlet, Hamlet, acting balmy
Hamlet, Hamlet, loves his mommy
Hamlet, Hamlet, hesitating
Wonders if the ghost's a fake
And that is why he's waiting
Then Hamlet wrote a scene for
The players to enact
While Horatio and him would watch
To see if Claudius cracked
The play was called "the Mousetrap"
(not the one that's running noo)
And sure enough, the King walked out
Before the scene was through.
So Hamlet's got the proof that Claudius
Gived his dad the dose
The only problem being now that
Claudius knows he knows
So while Hamlet tells his ma that her
New husband's not a fit man
Uncle Claud puts out a contract with
The English king as hit man
Then when Hamlet killed Polonius
The concealed corpus delecti
Was the King's excuse to send for
An English hempen necktie
With Rosencrantz and Gildenstern
To make sure he got there
But Hamlet jumped the boat and put
The finger straight on that pair
Meanwhile Laertes heard his dad had been
Stabbed thru the arras
He came racing back to Elsinore
Toute-suite, Hot foot from Paris
And Ophelia with her dad killed by
The man she wished to marry
After saying it with flowers
She commited hari-kari
Hamlet, Hamlet, there's no messin'
Hamlet, Hamlet, Learned his lesson
Hamlet, Hamlet, Yorick's crust
Convinced him that men, good or bad,
At last must come to dust
Then Laertes lost the place and was
Demanding retribution
But the king said, keep the head and
I'll provide you a solution
And he arranged a sword-fight with
The interested parties
With a blunted sword for Hamlet and
A sharp sword for Laertes
And to make things double sure
The old belt and braces line
He fixed up a poison sword tip and
A poisoned cup of wine
And the poisoned sword got Hamlet
But Laertes went and muffed it
Cause he got stabbed himself and he
Confessed before he snuffed it
Then Hamlet's mummy drank the wine and
As her face turned blue
Hamlet says, "I quite believe
The King's a baddy through and through
Incestuous, treacherous, damned Dane
He said, to be precise,
And made up for hesitating by
Killing Claudius twice
He stabbed him with the sword and forced
The wine between his lips
Then he said, the rest is silence
And he cashed in all his chips
They fired a volley over him that
Shook the topmost rafter
And then Fortinbras, knee-deep in Danes
Lived happily ever after
Hamlet, Hamlet, end of story
Hamlet, Hamlet, very gory
Hamlet, Hamlet, I'm away
If you think this is boring
You should read the bloody play
Short humorous autobiography of Adam McNaughton:-
I, Adam McNaughtan, being of sound mind...continued here
Mp3 sampleof Adam McNaughton singing "Oor Hamlet"
http://www.codamusic.co.uk/mp3/1026_000100010033.mp3
From the album:-
The Words I Used to Know
Scotland featuring 
