0:00:01 > 0:00:02If that was the Rolling Stones, he'd have you in court, wouldn't he?
0:00:05 > 0:00:09Every December 31st, millions and millions of people
0:00:09 > 0:00:13around the world raise their voices in a chorus of Auld Lang Syne.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16# Should old acquaintance be forgot... #
0:00:16 > 0:00:19# Never BROCCHHT tae mind... #
0:00:19 > 0:00:22How did a simple Scottish folk song
0:00:22 > 0:00:25with words most people scarcely understand or get right...
0:00:25 > 0:00:27Something about a cup?
0:00:27 > 0:00:29# La-la-la... #
0:00:29 > 0:00:31..become one of the world's most popular?
0:00:40 > 0:00:42Tonight, we are going to chart
0:00:42 > 0:00:45Auld Lang Syne's rise to global dominance.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48This is a song that Scotland's given to the world.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53Hoots, man, it's Scotland, it's New Year!
0:00:53 > 0:00:55ACCORDION MUSIC PLAYS
0:00:55 > 0:00:57I'm Scottish, right?!
0:00:57 > 0:01:01We'll see how Hollywood played its part in spreading the word...
0:01:01 > 0:01:04It's so cheesy and schmaltzy, it's got to be Auld Lang Syne.
0:01:04 > 0:01:05What does this song mean?
0:01:05 > 0:01:07My whole life, I don't know what this song means.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10..and listen to its many incarnations.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14# And surely, I'll buy mine... #
0:01:14 > 0:01:16The good...
0:01:16 > 0:01:19# Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind... #
0:01:19 > 0:01:21..and the not so good.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24# Should old acquaintance be forgot... #
0:01:24 > 0:01:28# And never brought to mind... #
0:01:28 > 0:01:32We'll tackle the words... We'll tak a richt gude-willy waught.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35It's very hard to think of anything that isn't sexual.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37..and get to grips with the movements.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40There is no handholding, there is nothing done,
0:01:40 > 0:01:41don't get aff your chair!
0:01:42 > 0:01:44Is it that, or is it that?
0:01:44 > 0:01:46Wooft!
0:01:46 > 0:01:50No, not yet! It's all getting confused, what's going on?
0:01:52 > 0:01:55It's a wee thoughtful moment in a night of mayhem and enjoyment.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01But before all that, we have to get back to the very roots of this
0:02:01 > 0:02:04global phenomenon, to where it all began, the birthplace,
0:02:04 > 0:02:08the seed from which world domination would sprout.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12The fertile land that nurtured Scotland's most famous son,
0:02:12 > 0:02:17and top tatties, the golf course, the Sunshine State, Ayrshire -
0:02:17 > 0:02:19the home of Rabbie Burns.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22Because without him,
0:02:22 > 0:02:25we wouldn't have Auld Lang Syne.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28For it was the ploughman poet
0:02:28 > 0:02:30that gave us our song.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33'In this cottage at Alloway was born Robert Burns,
0:02:33 > 0:02:35'greatest of Scottish poets.'
0:02:35 > 0:02:39There is a part of the Scottish psyche and soul that is
0:02:39 > 0:02:43hugely creative and poetic, and Burns typifies that, for me.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45'His poems have bound Scotsmen together
0:02:45 > 0:02:48'all over the world, in revered admiration.'
0:02:48 > 0:02:51He obviously liked a swally and he obviously liked the birds
0:02:51 > 0:02:55and he obviously liked a party, so he seems real.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58THEY SING MERRILY
0:02:58 > 0:03:01He kind of epitomises an early rock star,
0:03:01 > 0:03:03he's touring, he's oot there
0:03:03 > 0:03:07with the birds and the booze and the boys, an' that.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10We all knew about Robert Burns, we are all very proud of Robert Burns,
0:03:10 > 0:03:13and Auld Lang Syne was probably one of the few things
0:03:13 > 0:03:16we could all recite immediately, because we'd heard it so often.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19Roy, which Scottish poet wrote the words to Old Lang Syne?
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Robbie Burns. Correct.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24People know about Burns,
0:03:24 > 0:03:26but what do they really know about Auld Lang Syne?
0:03:26 > 0:03:29Perhaps we should confine our casual conversation to
0:03:29 > 0:03:32the subject of your recent poem, Auld Lang Zyne.
0:03:32 > 0:03:33Syne. Syne.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37Genuinely, I thought Auld Lang Syne was referring to a person
0:03:37 > 0:03:40called Syne, who was old and tall.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42In music, the title of which seasonal song
0:03:42 > 0:03:44is Scottish dialect for "Old long since"?
0:03:44 > 0:03:48Maybe at New Year, this old man called Lang Syne
0:03:48 > 0:03:52lived on his own, and you took a cup of kindness round to him.
0:03:52 > 0:03:57"We'll take a cup of kindness yet" is a recurring line in which song?
0:04:01 > 0:04:04It's like a recipe for tablet or the taste for Irn Bru,
0:04:04 > 0:04:08it's sort of buried deep within our kind of DNA.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10I know it's maybe not nice to say this,
0:04:10 > 0:04:13but I think it's a bit of a dirge.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17BELL TOLLS
0:04:18 > 0:04:21HE PLAYS AULD LANG SYNE ON THE VIOLIN
0:04:23 > 0:04:25Poor Burns - no royalties, no nothing!
0:04:25 > 0:04:27Everybody is singing his songs!
0:04:27 > 0:04:30If that was the Rolling Stones, he'd have you in court, wouldn't he?
0:04:30 > 0:04:34'As officers linked arms, struggling to keep the gateway clear,
0:04:34 > 0:04:37'the pickets' response was witty and mocking.'
0:04:37 > 0:04:42# For auld lang syne, my dear... #
0:04:42 > 0:04:47Er...I think I'm going to go for Early One Morning.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51Auld Lang Syne means the party's over, it's time to go home.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55'Cheer up, Fred! How about some music?
0:04:55 > 0:04:58'To take over the world, a song needs to have a good tune.'
0:04:58 > 0:05:02# For auld lang syne, my jo
0:05:02 > 0:05:05# For auld lang syne... #
0:05:05 > 0:05:08This is the original Burns Auld Lang Syne,
0:05:08 > 0:05:11performed beautifully by Mairi Campbell.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14The Clintons and Sean Connery approve,
0:05:14 > 0:05:18but Burns didn't care for the music, describing it as "mediocre".
0:05:18 > 0:05:22And therefore, the song quite literally changed its tune.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27To take over the world, as Sir Sean perfectly illustrates,
0:05:27 > 0:05:29you need a bit of a crowd-pleasing number.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32Get the masses on their feet and get them singing!
0:05:32 > 0:05:37Join me with 75,000 people here in Edinburgh, and thousands more
0:05:37 > 0:05:42across the country, for our own song of friendship, Auld Lang Syne.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45# Should old acquaintance be forgot... #
0:05:45 > 0:05:48It was three years after Burns' death that
0:05:48 > 0:05:52Auld Lang Syne as we know it appears in print for the first time.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54George Thomson, an Edinburgh-based publisher,
0:05:54 > 0:05:56brought the words and music together
0:05:56 > 0:06:01in his Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs of 1799.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,
0:06:05 > 0:06:07and for Auld Lang Syne,
0:06:07 > 0:06:11there have been hundreds upon hundreds of covers and variations.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13Cue the music.
0:06:13 > 0:06:18# Should old acquaintance... #
0:06:18 > 0:06:20# Be forgot... #
0:06:20 > 0:06:25# And never brought to mind... #
0:06:25 > 0:06:29# Should old acquaintance be forgot... #
0:06:29 > 0:06:33# And days of auld lang syne... #
0:06:33 > 0:06:37It's such a simple tune, it is ultimately very adaptable.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41# Should auld acquaintance be forgot
0:06:41 > 0:06:44# And never brought to mind... # Oh!
0:06:44 > 0:06:49It's probably the most covered song of all time, and it's
0:06:49 > 0:06:53probably had some of the most atrocious versions ever done of it.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56I've got a sneaking regard for Chas and Dave.
0:06:56 > 0:07:02# Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind... #
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Huge Chas and Dave fan.
0:07:05 > 0:07:06That's a lie.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12It gives absolutely no quarter to the sentimental side,
0:07:12 > 0:07:16it's just knees up, here we go, let's have a bloody good time!
0:07:19 > 0:07:20It's quite rousing.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24I could feel myself kind of thinking,
0:07:24 > 0:07:26"Will I do the Lambeth Walk to this?
0:07:28 > 0:07:29"Will I eat jellied eels?
0:07:30 > 0:07:31"Or just turn it off?"
0:07:33 > 0:07:34I turned it off.
0:07:34 > 0:07:40# Should old acquaintance be forgot... #
0:07:40 > 0:07:42When you see, like, Mariah Carey...
0:07:42 > 0:07:46# And never brought to mind... #
0:07:46 > 0:07:48Scottish people just go, "Aagh!"
0:07:48 > 0:07:51# Five, four, three, two... #
0:07:51 > 0:07:53We don't like it being messed with.
0:07:53 > 0:08:01# Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind... #
0:08:01 > 0:08:03I think, when it's a classic song like that,
0:08:03 > 0:08:07unless you can do something really, really wonderful with it...
0:08:07 > 0:08:12# For old lang syne, my dear... #
0:08:12 > 0:08:14..then leave it alone!
0:08:14 > 0:08:17Happy New Year!
0:08:19 > 0:08:22As far as I'm concerned, Cliff Richard can do whatever he wants.
0:08:22 > 0:08:27# Our Father, who art in heaven
0:08:27 > 0:08:29# Hallowed be thy name... #
0:08:29 > 0:08:31Yes, yes, I think you could see Cliff as a pioneer,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34boldly going where no singer had gone before.
0:08:34 > 0:08:40# Our Father, who art in heaven
0:08:40 > 0:08:44# Hallowed be thy name... #
0:08:44 > 0:08:49It's amazing to me that no-one ever thought of putting other
0:08:49 > 0:08:52lyrics to that, to that melody.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54Mind you, I hadn't thought of it.
0:08:55 > 0:09:00And then he sang it, and the world knew why no-one had done it before.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03I don't know why, then, he didn't, you know,
0:09:03 > 0:09:05take Stairway To Heaven and sing it to the tune of EastEnders,
0:09:05 > 0:09:08because that would work just as well, wouldn't it?
0:09:09 > 0:09:12It doesn't fit. It doesn't properly fit the tune.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14# Our Father... #
0:09:14 > 0:09:18# Our Father, who art in h'en... #
0:09:18 > 0:09:22# Hallowed be thy name... #
0:09:22 > 0:09:26You're left with one leg up in the air, or one arm up in the air at the end of that line,
0:09:26 > 0:09:28and he's got to squeeze a couple of words in,
0:09:28 > 0:09:30it's too hard to get them in, it doesn't quite work for me.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35# Amen, amen, amen... #
0:09:35 > 0:09:36People found it offensive!
0:09:36 > 0:09:38Thank you, but it's not over!
0:09:38 > 0:09:39# Amen, amen... #
0:09:39 > 0:09:43DJs seemed to find it so controversial that some of them refused to play it.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46# Amen, amen, amen... #
0:09:46 > 0:09:47INTERVIEWER: Did you play it?
0:09:47 > 0:09:50No. HE LAUGHS
0:09:54 > 0:09:57'It made it all the sweeter for me that in spite of the opposition,'
0:09:57 > 0:09:58we did it.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05Me and Auld Lang Syne, we got on really well!
0:10:06 > 0:10:08# Sing amen... #
0:10:08 > 0:10:11I'd do it again. Is there another old, traditional
0:10:11 > 0:10:13Scottish song that I can do something with? I don't know.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16# ..I'll buy mine
0:10:16 > 0:10:21# We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet... #
0:10:21 > 0:10:25What I love is when somebody really, really understands the lyric
0:10:25 > 0:10:27and understands what they are singing about.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29And the one person that I think is
0:10:29 > 0:10:33the best in the world at singing Auld Lang Syne is Eddi Reader.
0:10:33 > 0:10:38# It's got to be-e-e-e-e perfect... #
0:10:39 > 0:10:43'Well, Tom, funnily enough, that's exactly who I'm off to see.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46'Hitting the right note, Eddi's version taps into the very
0:10:46 > 0:10:49'essence of Auld Lang Syne's universal appeal.'
0:10:49 > 0:10:53I think it is actually impossible to kind of listen to this song,
0:10:53 > 0:10:56or to sing this song, without getting some of the emotion.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00I'm a middle-aged Scottish man, I'm emotionally, you know, bereft,
0:11:00 > 0:11:02but when this song comes on, it kind of turns the key
0:11:02 > 0:11:06and opens up the floodgates, you know? Yeah, why does it do that?
0:11:06 > 0:11:09But your version is the one that absolutely...
0:11:09 > 0:11:10That kills you, does it?
0:11:10 > 0:11:13Oh, yeah. The key goes in the lock, and it's like...
0:11:13 > 0:11:15In fact, at this point, I'm just going to stop!
0:11:15 > 0:11:17# Should auld... #
0:11:17 > 0:11:19So, it stops there.
0:11:19 > 0:11:24# Should auld acquaintance be forgot
0:11:24 > 0:11:28# And never brought tae mind
0:11:28 > 0:11:31# Should auld acquaintance... #
0:11:31 > 0:11:32You're still up there...
0:11:32 > 0:11:34# ..Be forgot
0:11:34 > 0:11:40# And the days of auld lang syne... #
0:11:40 > 0:11:42And I think with that one, you're just...
0:11:42 > 0:11:46you're left in that hanging kind of place, with that.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49Whereas, the other one gives you a little bit of comfort,
0:11:49 > 0:11:51a little bit of a hand on your shoulder.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54That version, it stays in the melancholic place, you know,
0:11:54 > 0:11:57it's all about the days gone by, it's all about the people
0:11:57 > 0:12:02gone by, and it stays there and it kind of celebrates that.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05The most important thing about the song, for me,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08anyway, apart from where it came from or the different versions,
0:12:08 > 0:12:13is that the verse, "Here's a hand, my trusty fiere" - my friend -
0:12:13 > 0:12:16"And gies a haund o' thine" - or give us a hand of thine -
0:12:16 > 0:12:18I sometimes sing, "Gies a HAUD o' thine,"
0:12:18 > 0:12:21because I like that, it's like grabbing somebody.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24Yeah, and all about the importance of friendship and belonging
0:12:24 > 0:12:25and fellowship and all that thing.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29Yeah, but the actual physical act of going, "Gimme yer haund!" Exactly.
0:12:29 > 0:12:30And then, everybody does it.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34And I don't know one song on the whole planet
0:12:34 > 0:12:36that makes people do that.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40I actually hadn't thought about that bit, I hadn't thought about a song that makes you...
0:12:40 > 0:12:42Hold each other. Hold each other.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45Phil Cunningham says to me, "Did you hear about the Scotsman
0:12:45 > 0:12:47"who loved his wife so much, he nearly telt her?"
0:12:47 > 0:12:51So it's quite a difficult thing for us to do that, to hold each other.
0:12:51 > 0:12:56Yeah, it is. And that song made us do it. Clever man!
0:12:56 > 0:12:59'Yes, I did have a tear in my eye.'
0:12:59 > 0:13:00I cannae handle it!
0:13:00 > 0:13:02'OK, enough already.'
0:13:02 > 0:13:06# Should auld acquaintance be forgot
0:13:06 > 0:13:09# And never brought... #
0:13:09 > 0:13:11Now, for Auld Lang Syne to take over the world,
0:13:11 > 0:13:13we know it needs a catchy tune.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17But it also needs to have lyrics that everyone knows, right?
0:13:17 > 0:13:19Well, yes and no.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24I don't think you could find anybody that could sing more than the first verse.
0:13:24 > 0:13:29# Should old acquaintance be forgot
0:13:29 > 0:13:34# And never... Something, something, something... #
0:13:34 > 0:13:38# Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind...
0:13:38 > 0:13:42# Da-da-da-da-da... For auld lang syne! #
0:13:42 > 0:13:46Should auld acquaintance be forgot and auld lang syne...
0:13:48 > 0:13:52So, here's a... Oh, no.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54We twa...
0:13:55 > 0:13:57Oh, no!
0:13:57 > 0:14:01# For auld lang syne... #
0:14:01 > 0:14:04It's usually two or three lines that we keep repeating, isn't it?
0:14:04 > 0:14:07# For auld lang syne... #
0:14:07 > 0:14:09What does auld lang syne mean?
0:14:09 > 0:14:12"Lang", maybe long. "Syne", time?
0:14:12 > 0:14:15Long time, old long times, don't know.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18# And auld lang syne... #
0:14:18 > 0:14:22Then you've got the argument, because it should be, "For auld lang syne."
0:14:22 > 0:14:25But people sing, "For THE SAKE OF..." and you get dirty looks if you do that.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27# For the sake of auld lang syne. #
0:14:27 > 0:14:30STEPHEN FRY: Full points, spot-on!
0:14:30 > 0:14:33If you're a Burns aficionado, which I'm not,
0:14:33 > 0:14:35apparently they'll shoot you if you do that.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39# For auld lang syne... #
0:14:39 > 0:14:43My grandfather used to get incandescent with rage
0:14:43 > 0:14:47if anybody on TV said "zyne" instead of "syne".
0:14:47 > 0:14:50Auld lang zyne. Syne. Syne.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53It really annoys me. And it shouldn't, but I don't like it.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56As long as you hit auld lang "zyne", you'll be fine.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59# Auld lang zyne... #
0:14:59 > 0:15:01Something also about Burns saying,
0:15:01 > 0:15:04"You'll buy your pint and I'll buy mine"?
0:15:04 > 0:15:09# And surely I'll buy mine... #
0:15:09 > 0:15:12"Aye, we'll get together... You can buy your own drink, by the way!"
0:15:12 > 0:15:17# We twa hae run aboot the braes... #
0:15:17 > 0:15:21"Twa" sounds like "three" to me, cos it's like French, right?
0:15:21 > 0:15:24"We twa," then it's like, why's there three people cutting about?
0:15:24 > 0:15:26What are they up to, doon at the braes?
0:15:26 > 0:15:30# And here's a hand, my trusty fiere... #
0:15:30 > 0:15:33"Here's a haun, my trusty fiere, and gies a haun o' thine,"
0:15:33 > 0:15:37it does something, you can actually feel it in here.
0:15:37 > 0:15:42# We'll tak a right gude-willy waught, for auld lang syne. #
0:15:42 > 0:15:45"We'll tak a right gude-willy waught, for auld lang syne."
0:15:45 > 0:15:46Er...
0:15:46 > 0:15:48What is that?
0:15:48 > 0:15:52That "willy waught", that was funny, when we were at school.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55"Gude-willy waught"...
0:15:55 > 0:15:58It's very hard to think of anything that isn't sexual.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01A willy waught is a decent drink.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04It could be whisky, it could be just a pint, it could be...
0:16:04 > 0:16:08A good old drink, for the sake of auld lang syne.
0:16:08 > 0:16:13# But we've wandered mony a weary foot, sin auld lang syne... #
0:16:13 > 0:16:16When you look at the lines and you read them properly,
0:16:16 > 0:16:19it just brings the colour of the song and the words just come
0:16:19 > 0:16:22to life in your mind, and it's a good thing to do.
0:16:22 > 0:16:27OK, so we've got the music and the lyrics, but as any band
0:16:27 > 0:16:30will know, to get a hit, you've got to take your song on the road.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33And for Auld Lang Syne, it was no different.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39The Scots have a long history of leaving home for pastures new, and
0:16:39 > 0:16:42from the end of the 18th century, Auld Lang Syne travelled with them.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46The song's sentiment of friendship, family
0:16:46 > 0:16:49and a good dose of melancholy stayed in the hearts of the Scottish
0:16:49 > 0:16:52diaspora, becoming stronger and more rooted as they became
0:16:52 > 0:16:55part of the fabric of the countries they settled in.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02One destination vital to our song's global domination was
0:17:02 > 0:17:03the good old US of A.
0:17:03 > 0:17:09ROCK GUITAR SOLO TO TUNE OF AULD LANG SYNE
0:17:13 > 0:17:16The Scots just couldn't get enough of the Land of the Free.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19They played their part in its establishment -
0:17:19 > 0:17:22half the signatories of the Declaration of Independence
0:17:22 > 0:17:24were Scottish, or of Scottish descent -
0:17:24 > 0:17:29the Scots fought in its wars, and with them came their music.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37Well, I've come to New York to meet a couple of fellas,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40to get an insight into what impact our Celtic contingent,
0:17:40 > 0:17:43and that song, had on America.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45Taxi!
0:17:45 > 0:17:49One example of Auld Lang Syne's influence in America is
0:17:49 > 0:17:51through its role in times of conflict.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55Military historian Bobby Wintermute has some fascinating insights.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58Tell me a bit about the importance
0:17:58 > 0:18:00of Auld Lang Syne during the Civil War.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03Because that was a song that was, as I understand it, around
0:18:03 > 0:18:06very much at that time and very much on the conscience of people.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08Oh, yes, very much so.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12And the Union tries to discourage, if not outright ban, the song.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16Because, of course, the sentiments of returning home,
0:18:16 > 0:18:19of reconciliation, were very sensitive.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21So, they banned Auld Lang Syne?
0:18:21 > 0:18:23They tried to restrain it, they tried to restrict it.
0:18:23 > 0:18:28But then, conversely, after the signing of the surrender terms,
0:18:28 > 0:18:32General Grant orders the band to play Auld Lang Syne,
0:18:32 > 0:18:36recognising that the country, and that they themselves,
0:18:36 > 0:18:38had been through a tremendous upheaval,
0:18:38 > 0:18:41and that now was the time for healing.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45It's incredible he would choose that song, though... Oh, yes.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48..given that there were plenty of other songs around at that time.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51Many others, but Auld Lang Syne had become, by this point,
0:18:51 > 0:18:54almost part of the American songbook.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56It's extraordinary. It is. It really is.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04Next up, Central Park and Burns scholar Thomas Keith,
0:19:04 > 0:19:08for a chat under the watchful eye of Rabbie Burns' very own statue.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14Why did that song in particular become such an important thing here?
0:19:14 > 0:19:19There is something of a friendship and family feeling about it,
0:19:19 > 0:19:21that was immediately understood.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24And I think it has something to do with that melody... Uh-huh.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26As well as the Burns lyrics,
0:19:26 > 0:19:30because the Burns lyrics are sometimes known and sometimes not.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33Now, give us a sense of just how important it was,
0:19:33 > 0:19:34that phrase, as well.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37Because it was really taken on board by the Americans in a way
0:19:37 > 0:19:40that perhaps wasn't by the Scots back home.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44Yeah, I think it had, er, multiple meanings. I mean, it, it, er...
0:19:46 > 0:19:51It, of course, was a song of reunion, not a song of parting,
0:19:51 > 0:19:52as we think of it now.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56You find, starting in the 1880s, all kinds of greetings cards.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59You had Auld Lang Syne for every occasion,
0:19:59 > 0:20:02perhaps except New Year, there were a few New Year's cards,
0:20:02 > 0:20:06but you had Auld Lang Syne for Valentine's Day, Auld Lang Syne
0:20:06 > 0:20:09for the Fourth of July, Auld Lang Syne for Easter, Auld Lang Syne
0:20:09 > 0:20:14for Halloween, Auld Lang Syne for St Patrick's Day. Really?
0:20:14 > 0:20:17Auld Lang Syne for secular Christmas,
0:20:17 > 0:20:19Auld Lang Syne for religious Christmas.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23It was an understood phrase among Americans.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33Auld Lang Syne has had a truly remarkable impact on America,
0:20:33 > 0:20:38part of the soundtrack to which America's history has played out...
0:20:38 > 0:20:40Oh, Scotland!
0:20:40 > 0:20:42..resonating outwards from the early homesteads,
0:20:42 > 0:20:45all the way to the White House.
0:20:45 > 0:20:50In 1936, on accepting the Democratic nomination for a second election,
0:20:50 > 0:20:54a jubilant President Roosevelt wanted to hear it after his speech.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57Get the band to play Auld Lang Syne again.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59Auld Lang Syne!
0:20:59 > 0:21:03BAND STARTS TO PLAY AULD LANG SYNE
0:21:06 > 0:21:08I think the band was going to play something...
0:21:08 > 0:21:11LAUGHTER
0:21:11 > 0:21:12And it...
0:21:12 > 0:21:14BAND STARTS TO PLAY AULD LANG SYNE
0:21:14 > 0:21:17And in 1989, it was the song that Ronald and Nancy Reagan sang
0:21:17 > 0:21:21as they prepared to depart the White House for the last time.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25# ..Brought to mind
0:21:25 > 0:21:33# Should old acquaintance be forgot... #
0:21:38 > 0:21:42OK, time to check out a few modern-day Scots
0:21:42 > 0:21:43who've followed in the tradition
0:21:43 > 0:21:47and established themselves a new life in the New World.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52First up, Aberfeldy-born star of stage and screen, Alan Cumming...
0:21:52 > 0:21:53Let's see the teeth.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57OK, job's yours.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00..who swapped Scotland for the high life of New York.
0:22:00 > 0:22:01Well, that was clumsy.
0:22:03 > 0:22:08Dougie! How are you, Alan? You'll have had your tea! I've had my tea!
0:22:08 > 0:22:09Good to see you. You too.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12So, do you think people who come across and start living,
0:22:12 > 0:22:14especially Scottish people coming across and live,
0:22:14 > 0:22:18particularly in America, that they become even more patriotic?
0:22:18 > 0:22:24Um, well, I think you can go very much of the haggis and heather way.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27And I mean, people here are very encouraging of that, like,
0:22:27 > 0:22:30practically every day of my life, I get people going,
0:22:30 > 0:22:32"Alan, I'm Scottish!"
0:22:32 > 0:22:36And you go, "Oh, really? Where from?" "I don't know."
0:22:36 > 0:22:39And, you know, that's the whisky in the blood side of things.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44'Time to chap up Elgin's very own star of Grey's Anatomy,
0:22:44 > 0:22:47'actor and director Kevin McKidd...'
0:22:47 > 0:22:50We've got an ATB accident two minutes out. Here we go.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52'..who now calls LA home.'
0:22:52 > 0:22:56Kevin, how are you? Hey! How are you doing? Good to see you. Do you want to have a blether?
0:22:56 > 0:22:58'He doesn't actually live in a caravan!'
0:22:58 > 0:23:01So, Hogmanay here in Los Angeles, slightly
0:23:01 > 0:23:06different from back in Elgin? It is, it is, it doesn't cut it, really.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09I almost feel now, there's no point if you're not in Scotland. Really?
0:23:09 > 0:23:11Not that there's no point, but it's just not the same.
0:23:11 > 0:23:16I don't find it to be the same, you know? I like to be on my home turf.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19I get kind of depressed when I'm not in Scotland for Hogmanay.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21Right, really? I get kind of...
0:23:21 > 0:23:23"Pfff! Right, I'm going to my bed," you know,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26whereas if I'm in Scotland, I'm like, I'm the guy...
0:23:26 > 0:23:30I'm the guy up until six in the morning, you know.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33Seeing what's left of all the empty bottles!
0:23:35 > 0:23:38Also in LA, celebrity reporter Ross King...
0:23:38 > 0:23:41Written by Tim Rice and the two boys from ABBA, Elaine Paige
0:23:41 > 0:23:43and Barbara Dickson and I Know Him So Well...
0:23:43 > 0:23:46..who traded a view of the Clyde for the Hollywood sign...
0:23:46 > 0:23:49The movie comes out right at the end of the year... ..in his back yard!
0:23:49 > 0:23:51We got together - chaos.
0:23:51 > 0:23:56Ross! Dougie! How are you? How did you get past security? I don't know!
0:23:56 > 0:23:59Now, of course, you are a showbiz reporter,
0:23:59 > 0:24:03you must have been with some serious big stars and sung Auld Lang Syne from time to time, have you?
0:24:03 > 0:24:07Actually, yes. Um...
0:24:07 > 0:24:09I do remember singing
0:24:09 > 0:24:13Auld Lang Syne round a piano
0:24:13 > 0:24:15at Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas's wedding,
0:24:15 > 0:24:19with Catherine belting it out, and Mick Hucknall from Simply Red.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21And they actually got the words right.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24I remember singing it with Vinnie Jones,
0:24:24 > 0:24:26who got the words completely wrong.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29COCKNEY ACCENT: # For the sake of old lang syne... #
0:24:29 > 0:24:34Did you tell him? Didn't say a word. "Bravo, Vinnie!" I went. "That was beautiful!"
0:24:34 > 0:24:37Auld Lang Syne as a song, is that something that you have,
0:24:37 > 0:24:41in the past, been known to drink a few drinks and sing?
0:24:41 > 0:24:44You know, I can do it like everyone, I can do the first verse,
0:24:44 > 0:24:47but it's one of these songs that I think, it's like, you know,
0:24:47 > 0:24:52how you imagine if you were kind of programmed as a child spy in
0:24:52 > 0:24:57Russia, and then 25 years later, some song will play and you'll be like...
0:24:57 > 0:25:01"I must kill!" You know, I think that's what Auld Lang Syne is like.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03Because it's sort of, whenever you hear it,
0:25:03 > 0:25:08it just kind of sparks this emotional outpouring in you.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11One of the verses I love most is... What is it?
0:25:11 > 0:25:18"We twa hae paidl'd in the burn, from morning time till dine,
0:25:18 > 0:25:22"But seas between us braid hae roar'd till auld lang syne."
0:25:22 > 0:25:24The verse kind of says to me,
0:25:24 > 0:25:27it's about these two pals, you know, from the same town,
0:25:27 > 0:25:29but now there is a huge sea between them,
0:25:29 > 0:25:33they live apart, one of them lives probably back in the home town,
0:25:33 > 0:25:35and one of them has done what I have kind of done
0:25:35 > 0:25:38and gotten far away, physically, from that place.
0:25:38 > 0:25:44But there is a yearning there, you know, for that connection
0:25:44 > 0:25:48and that camaraderie and that brotherhood.
0:25:48 > 0:25:53So, I just think there's something about the words in that song
0:25:53 > 0:25:55that really, um, get you.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57The song Auld Lang Syne, is that important to you?
0:25:57 > 0:26:00And has it become more important since coming over here?
0:26:00 > 0:26:02Um, it leaves me quite emotional.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05Even just now, thinking about it, whenever I hear it here,
0:26:05 > 0:26:07it does make me think of home.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10And whenever I hear it, I'm just proud.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13And you're getting upset now, obviously... Yeah, very.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15Just thinking about it.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19To sing it, does it unlock lots of emotions in you that perhaps,
0:26:19 > 0:26:21as Scottish people,
0:26:21 > 0:26:25we maybe are not in touch with as much as we could be, perhaps?
0:26:25 > 0:26:27I will always think of my mum playing the piano.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33And, um... Yeah.
0:26:33 > 0:26:34You know, just...
0:26:34 > 0:26:40She would just, at the end of even a family party, she would play it.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42And, um, that's a special one.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46Absolutely, the most special. Yeah.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48So, let's get a sense now of how much Ross King has
0:26:48 > 0:26:50settled into life in Los Angeles.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53I saw this earlier on, this is incredible. Look at this!
0:26:53 > 0:26:57There we are. You can take the boy out of, but...
0:26:57 > 0:27:00You've got to have your tablet! Amazing I've still got my own teeth!
0:27:00 > 0:27:02Well, almost.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05Macaroon bars, Tunnock's Caramel Wafers, Tea Cakes,
0:27:05 > 0:27:07and Broon's Scottish Fudge!
0:27:07 > 0:27:09In my concert, I wanted to sing something Scottish,
0:27:09 > 0:27:14so I sang a song from The Steamie, and it's set on New Year's Eve,
0:27:14 > 0:27:19so I sang that song, and I did it with a cello,
0:27:19 > 0:27:23my cellist played it, so at the end, the cellist went...
0:27:23 > 0:27:29HE HUMS AULD LANG SYNE
0:27:29 > 0:27:31Not a dry eye in the house. Fantastic.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34Totally, just like, everyone weeping. Whenever I've done it.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38Even, you know, even abroad!
0:27:38 > 0:27:42You're exploiting it, as well! Totally exploiting it. For purely sentimental reasons.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46But it has done it itself, for centuries, so... Absolutely.
0:27:49 > 0:27:54# For auld lang syne, my dear... #
0:27:54 > 0:27:56A song can be embraced around the globe,
0:27:56 > 0:27:58but to remain popular for centuries,
0:27:58 > 0:28:02it needs to have more than just a good tune and a catchy chorus.
0:28:02 > 0:28:08Auld Lang Syne has at its heart a sentiment that has proved universal.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11That song will bring me to tears every time,
0:28:11 > 0:28:14not actual floods of tears, not like...
0:28:14 > 0:28:17But I will get just a little pricking behind the eyes.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21Because it does make you think of times gone by.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27I think when you're singing Auld Lang Syne, you can
0:28:27 > 0:28:30almost feel your ancestry bearing down on you.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34You remember grannies, aunties, uncles that aren't there any more,
0:28:34 > 0:28:37and that's what the song is about, it's about remembering
0:28:37 > 0:28:39people from your past and raising a glass to them.
0:28:41 > 0:28:46That song means different things on different levels,
0:28:46 > 0:28:50the older you get, and that's the sign of a really good song.
0:28:50 > 0:28:55# We two have paddled in the stream... #
0:28:55 > 0:28:59It's about remembering old friends, so if you're six, what are you reminiscing about?
0:28:59 > 0:29:03The guy that you haven't seen for a week? "Remember Derek? What happened to him?"
0:29:03 > 0:29:05"You're seeing him tomorrow." "Oh, right enough."
0:29:08 > 0:29:12The way I think about it, it's thinking about pals and family you've not seen for a while.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14And that thing that Scottish people love doing,
0:29:14 > 0:29:18singing about being far away from Scotland, which is
0:29:18 > 0:29:21probably why it has spread round the world,
0:29:21 > 0:29:23because Scottish people have spread round the world.
0:29:23 > 0:29:27'Not a word has been printed or spoken about their departure,
0:29:27 > 0:29:30'but there is a small crowd there to join in Old Lang Syne.'
0:29:30 > 0:29:34Auld Lang Syne, with its popular tune and themes of friendship
0:29:34 > 0:29:36and remembrance, has had real resonance
0:29:36 > 0:29:39and special meaning in times of conflict.
0:29:39 > 0:29:44# For the sake of old lang syne... #
0:29:44 > 0:29:48And not just for Scottish soldiers.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52There is no question, this is a song with friendship
0:29:52 > 0:29:55and sentiment at its heart, taking on a huge significance
0:29:55 > 0:29:58during the Christmas truce of World War I.
0:29:58 > 0:30:02The truce was a series of unofficial ceasefires
0:30:02 > 0:30:06that took place along the Western Front in 1914.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10The guns fell silent as troops from both sides celebrated
0:30:10 > 0:30:15man's humanity through friendship and, of course, song.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18A letter written by Captain Sir Edward Hamilton Westrow Hulse
0:30:18 > 0:30:23of the Scots Guards to his mother describes the remarkable events.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28'My dearest mother, just returned to billets again after the most
0:30:28 > 0:30:32'extraordinary Christmas in the trenches you could possibly imagine.
0:30:32 > 0:30:36'Words fail me completely in trying to describe it.
0:30:36 > 0:30:40'Scots and Huns were fraternising in the most genuine possible manner.
0:30:40 > 0:30:43'Every sort of souvenir was exchanged.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48'And so we went on, singing everything
0:30:48 > 0:30:51'from Good King Wenceslas to the Tommies' Song,
0:30:51 > 0:30:55'and ended up with Auld Lang Syne, which we all,
0:30:55 > 0:30:59'English, Scots, Irish, Prussian and Wurttembergers, joined in.
0:30:59 > 0:31:04'It was absolutely astounding, and if I had seen it
0:31:04 > 0:31:08'on a cinematograph film, I should have sworn that it was faked.'
0:31:14 > 0:31:16In the early part of the 20th century,
0:31:16 > 0:31:19a new industry was emerging in America, one that would bring
0:31:19 > 0:31:24Auld Lang Syne to an even greater audience around the world.
0:31:24 > 0:31:28The influence of Tinseltown on the success of Auld Lang Syne
0:31:28 > 0:31:30cannot be underestimated.
0:31:30 > 0:31:32Right from the very first clapperboard,
0:31:32 > 0:31:36Hollywood knew a good song when it heard one.
0:31:36 > 0:31:41I think Hollywood probably has played a part in remarketing
0:31:41 > 0:31:45and rebranding a song that you were never sure
0:31:45 > 0:31:48if it was really brilliant or actually just a bit naff.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52The song was and is the perfect soundtrack for those
0:31:52 > 0:31:56key emotional moments so beloved by the movies.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59It presses nice wee emotional buttons, Auld Lang Syne,
0:31:59 > 0:32:00because it makes you reminisce.
0:32:00 > 0:32:04Goodbye, pal! So long!
0:32:04 > 0:32:06So it's used craftily, I think, by directors,
0:32:06 > 0:32:09to just turn the tears on, let's get them greetin'!
0:32:09 > 0:32:13Lassie...will ye...
0:32:15 > 0:32:16..sing me...
0:32:18 > 0:32:20..a song once more?
0:32:20 > 0:32:23I'm sure I've watched a few things which have made me
0:32:23 > 0:32:28want to physically heave, the sentiments being so thickly laid on.
0:32:28 > 0:32:33# Should old acquaintance be forgot
0:32:33 > 0:32:37# And never brought to mind... #
0:32:37 > 0:32:40And I kind of have a really vivid memory of being a wee girl
0:32:40 > 0:32:42and seeing Shirley Temple sing that song,
0:32:42 > 0:32:44and it made me think,
0:32:44 > 0:32:47"The whole world knows about Auld Lang Syne."
0:32:47 > 0:32:52We called wee lassies like that, at school, wee grannies.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54Like, "Look at that wee granny,
0:32:54 > 0:32:56"singing. What are you doing'?
0:32:56 > 0:33:00"Why are you comforting a soldier? Why are YOU comforting a soldier?
0:33:00 > 0:33:04"You're supposed to be out playing, why are you in there, you wee granny?"
0:33:04 > 0:33:07# We'll take a cup o' kindness yet... #
0:33:07 > 0:33:11I do like it if somebody tries, like Shirley Temple, tries to sing,
0:33:11 > 0:33:14"gie us", it's really quite sweet!
0:33:14 > 0:33:18# And gie us a hand o' thine... #
0:33:18 > 0:33:20She's getting a wee bit gallus there.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22"Gie us a hand o' thine."
0:33:22 > 0:33:24Good effort, well done.
0:33:24 > 0:33:30# For the days of auld lang syne. #
0:33:30 > 0:33:32ROBERT FLORENCE: See if I was on my deathbed
0:33:32 > 0:33:35and the ghost of Shirley Temple started singing at me?
0:33:35 > 0:33:37I probably would get a bit emotional.
0:33:37 > 0:33:41Terrified as well, but emotional, I think, thinking about Scotland
0:33:41 > 0:33:44and, you know, thinking about all the...
0:33:44 > 0:33:48the hills and all that, the stuff I'm never going to see.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51Ssh! He's asleep.
0:33:51 > 0:33:56Aww! And, across the decades, Auld Lang Syne has continued
0:33:56 > 0:33:59to feature in some of Hollywood's biggest hits.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03I love that scene in When Harry Met Sally
0:34:03 > 0:34:06when he tells her he loves her and all the reasons he loves her.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09I came here tonight because when you realise you want to spend the rest
0:34:09 > 0:34:13of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.
0:34:13 > 0:34:17And Auld Lang Syne is playing and Meg Ryan, pre-surgery...
0:34:17 > 0:34:19(What a different woman, wasn't she?)
0:34:19 > 0:34:21..has got all that,
0:34:21 > 0:34:25you know, that glistening tear, then he goes into questioning the song.
0:34:25 > 0:34:26What does this song mean?
0:34:26 > 0:34:28My whole life, I don't know what this song means.
0:34:28 > 0:34:30Should old acquaintance be forgot -
0:34:30 > 0:34:33does that mean we should forget old acquaintances?
0:34:33 > 0:34:35Or if we forget them, we should remember them?
0:34:35 > 0:34:37Which is not possible, we already forgot them!
0:34:37 > 0:34:39I just love it, it still makes me laugh when I see it,
0:34:39 > 0:34:43because I thought, "Yeah, that's the way we all feel! What is it?"
0:34:43 > 0:34:46I think, actually, it was culturally important that Harry
0:34:46 > 0:34:48broke down the lyrics of Auld Lang Syne
0:34:48 > 0:34:51for an international audience. It's important.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53Well, maybe it just means that
0:34:53 > 0:34:55we should remember that we forgot them, or something.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58Whether they ever come up with an answer, I don't know, but
0:34:58 > 0:35:00they get off with each other, and that's what we are interested in.
0:35:06 > 0:35:08Is it in Sex And The City?
0:35:11 > 0:35:15They choose, I think, a lovely way of doing Auld Lang Syne,
0:35:15 > 0:35:17with Mairi Campbell singing it.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21I got a call from the production team for Sex And The City,
0:35:21 > 0:35:24to say that Sarah Jessica Parker requested that this song was
0:35:24 > 0:35:26the one they used in the New Year's scene.
0:35:26 > 0:35:31# Should auld acquaintance be forgot... #
0:35:31 > 0:35:36And I went, "Oh, jeepers! I'm going to have to go and see this movie."
0:35:36 > 0:35:40# Should auld acquaintance be forgot... #
0:35:40 > 0:35:46I like the way they used it in the film, I was quite taken aback.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49The focus leaves the shoes and the dresses
0:35:49 > 0:35:52and moves into forgiveness and compassion.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56# For auld lang syne... #
0:35:56 > 0:35:58If anybody had ever told me
0:35:58 > 0:36:01that I would well up watching Sex And The City,
0:36:01 > 0:36:06I would have said you were crazy, but I doff my hat to that moment.
0:36:06 > 0:36:10# For auld lang syne. #
0:36:11 > 0:36:15I think the first time I realised that it was being sung
0:36:15 > 0:36:17elsewhere was when I saw It's a Wonderful Life.
0:36:17 > 0:36:22Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas, George.
0:36:22 > 0:36:24I don't know about anybody else,
0:36:24 > 0:36:26but I start crying as soon as that movie starts.
0:36:26 > 0:36:28Oh, George!
0:36:28 > 0:36:33Everyone does love that film, and the end is just so happy,
0:36:33 > 0:36:35and it's so cheesy and schmaltzy
0:36:35 > 0:36:37that if you're going to have any song in it,
0:36:37 > 0:36:39it's got to be Auld Lang Syne, it just ticks all the boxes.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42To my big brother, George, the richest man in town!
0:36:44 > 0:36:46You're already in tears, you're like,
0:36:46 > 0:36:48"I cannae bear this, this is too beautiful."
0:36:48 > 0:36:51# Should old acquaintance be forgot... #
0:36:51 > 0:36:53Then you hear THAT starting, you're like,
0:36:53 > 0:36:56"No' that an' all, for God's sake! Gies a chance here!"
0:36:56 > 0:37:01# For old lang syne, my dear
0:37:01 > 0:37:05# For old lang syne... #
0:37:05 > 0:37:06It's the perfect combination,
0:37:06 > 0:37:10it shows exactly what the power of Auld Lang Syne is,
0:37:10 > 0:37:14that you're feeling sorry, you're feeling a wee bit better,
0:37:14 > 0:37:16then you're feeling delighted by the end of it.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20# For old lang syne. #
0:37:20 > 0:37:22It's perfect, isn't it?
0:37:22 > 0:37:24Just absolutely perfect.
0:37:28 > 0:37:32Auld Lang Syne's appeal isn't just confined to the movies,
0:37:32 > 0:37:34or Scots, for that matter.
0:37:34 > 0:37:38The song's sentiments struck a chord with all who heard it.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41Embraced and adapted into native languages across the globe,
0:37:41 > 0:37:42the words are often changed,
0:37:42 > 0:37:46but the very core of the song's message remains.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50HE SINGS IN BENGALI
0:37:50 > 0:37:53In India and Bangladesh, you have the Bengali song,
0:37:53 > 0:37:56Memory Of The Good Old Days, Purano Shei Diner Kotha.
0:38:02 > 0:38:08From 1919 until 1948, the lyrics of Korea's national anthem were sung
0:38:08 > 0:38:12to the tune that was introduced to the country by Western missionaries.
0:38:13 > 0:38:17A novelty clock whose chime was Auld Lang Syne gave Muhammad Jameel Didi
0:38:17 > 0:38:22of the Maldives the music to which their national anthem was set.
0:38:23 > 0:38:27Its popularity in Russia results from an admiration
0:38:27 > 0:38:29of the people's poet, Robert Burns.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32The USSR were the first to honour him
0:38:32 > 0:38:36with a commemorative stamp, in 1956.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41In China, Auld Lang Syne is so long established,
0:38:41 > 0:38:44many people assume it is a native song.
0:38:49 > 0:38:52It is popular at farewell parties in Mexico...
0:38:54 > 0:38:59And closer to home, it's the tune to many European Scouting gatherings.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01HE SINGS IN DANISH
0:39:01 > 0:39:04The Danes have it as a folk song.
0:39:06 > 0:39:10THEY SING IN DUTCH
0:39:10 > 0:39:14And the Dutch use Auld Lang Syne for their football song,
0:39:14 > 0:39:16We Love Orange.
0:39:21 > 0:39:24Auld Lang Syne has certainly popped up in some surprising
0:39:24 > 0:39:28and unusual places around the globe, none more so than right here,
0:39:28 > 0:39:32the Land of the Rising Sun, Japan.
0:39:32 > 0:39:36MUSIC: "Turning Japanese" by The Vapors
0:39:36 > 0:39:41The Japanese got their hands on Auld Lang Syne in the 1890s,
0:39:41 > 0:39:43when it was introduced into the school curriculum by
0:39:43 > 0:39:48an American teacher, Luther Whiting Mason, in a wave of westernisation.
0:39:48 > 0:39:51The Japanese, like others, played with the words,
0:39:51 > 0:39:54making it their own, but the heart remains.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57It sings of remembrance, nostalgia and friendship,
0:39:57 > 0:40:01The Light Of The Fireflies - Hotaru No Hikari.
0:40:01 > 0:40:05As the song has become something of a Japanese school anthem,
0:40:05 > 0:40:07time to go back to the classroom, I reckon.
0:40:12 > 0:40:16THEY SING IN JAPANESE
0:40:25 > 0:40:28Coincidentally, Auld Lang Syne fits perfectly into the Japanese
0:40:28 > 0:40:33musical five-note scale, and the girls of
0:40:33 > 0:40:36Ochanomizu High School Chorus Club certainly do the song proud.
0:40:44 > 0:40:46Different words, different language,
0:40:46 > 0:40:50and still that tune gets you right here! Amazing.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54Tell me about that song, what does it mean?
0:40:54 > 0:40:58We sing this song
0:40:58 > 0:41:01when we graduate from school.
0:41:01 > 0:41:07And, yes, I have many memories about this song.
0:41:07 > 0:41:12THEY CHATTER IN JAPANESE
0:41:12 > 0:41:15That's amazing. I just asked, "What is the song about?"
0:41:15 > 0:41:18It's caused a massive amount of debate.
0:41:18 > 0:41:22SHE SPEAKS IN JAPANESE
0:41:26 > 0:41:28I guess it means different things to different people.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30Just like Auld Lang Syne!
0:41:31 > 0:41:34'Time to bring Hotaru No Hikari up to date.
0:41:34 > 0:41:36'Many businesses in Japan use it
0:41:36 > 0:41:39'to let customers know it's closing time.
0:41:39 > 0:41:44'DJ and TV host Kaoru Kanazawa has promised to show me this in action.'
0:41:44 > 0:41:47This is one shop? Yes! Look at the size of it!
0:41:47 > 0:41:48'So, we're off to the shops.'
0:41:54 > 0:41:58TUNE OF AULD LANG SYNE PLAYS OVER PA
0:42:03 > 0:42:06That was the song, I heard the song there! Mm-hm.
0:42:06 > 0:42:08Can you recognise this song?
0:42:08 > 0:42:09Yeah, yeah, it's, well,
0:42:09 > 0:42:12to the tune of Auld Lang Syne as I would recognise it, but...
0:42:12 > 0:42:17Exactly. Hotaru No Hikari... In Japanese, yeah. Wow!
0:42:17 > 0:42:19My goodness.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25We all know we have to leave.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28It's quite strange for me, I have to say, hearing it,
0:42:28 > 0:42:30but it's nice, actually, it's lovely.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33So, everyone is leaving, I think we are the last ones here!
0:42:33 > 0:42:36So, where are we going now? Do you want a drink?
0:42:36 > 0:42:39Yes, I do, very good idea. Very good idea indeed. Let's go, then.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43Let's go. We are getting hurried out now! My goodness.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46'I thought she'd never ask. It's not only shops that use the song.
0:42:46 > 0:42:50'Everything from restaurants to Disneyland Tokyo end their day
0:42:50 > 0:42:52'with a gentle "sling your hook",
0:42:52 > 0:42:56'all to the strains of Auld Lang Syne. Brilliant!'
0:42:56 > 0:42:58# You're big in Japan tonight
0:42:58 > 0:43:00# Big in Japan... #
0:43:00 > 0:43:05Hotaru No Hikari, this song, reminds us about good times of school.
0:43:05 > 0:43:11So, when we hear this at the shop, or at the department store,
0:43:11 > 0:43:15to get that we have to leave this place, you don't feel that bad.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19Like Irish pubs, or British pub, or maybe Scottish pub as well,
0:43:19 > 0:43:22maybe they say, "Folks, get out! Party's over!
0:43:22 > 0:43:26"Drink it and just go!" Exactly. We don't say that. No.
0:43:26 > 0:43:28I guess we are polite people. Much more gentle.
0:43:31 > 0:43:33Anyway, how are you enjoying that Scottish whisky?
0:43:33 > 0:43:38It is so nice, smooth and kind of a little bit of sweetness in it.
0:43:38 > 0:43:40It's nice. Nice, like you!
0:43:40 > 0:43:43HE LAUGHS Bless you! Cheers. Sweet.
0:43:43 > 0:43:46You look quite similar in colour. Yeah.
0:43:46 > 0:43:51HE SINGS HOTARU NO HIKARI IN JAPANESE
0:43:55 > 0:43:58There it is, the song, which means, very politely, we are
0:43:58 > 0:44:01being thrown out of this bar! Exactly, but in a beautiful way.
0:44:01 > 0:44:03It's a very nice way.
0:44:03 > 0:44:06So, that's the end of my trip to Japan, it's all over.
0:44:06 > 0:44:10No, no, there is one more thing that you have to do when you're in Japan.
0:44:10 > 0:44:13OK...
0:44:13 > 0:44:21DOUGIE AND KAORU SING IN JAPANESE
0:44:24 > 0:44:26Thank you for coming to Japan! It was a pleasure.
0:44:26 > 0:44:30An absolute pleasure. And thank you for not singing that last verse and leaving me
0:44:30 > 0:44:33to do it on my own! It's very kind of you.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39Yes indeed, Tokyo, thank you very much indeed, good night!
0:44:43 > 0:44:46Auld Lang Syne certainly proved a little challenging in Japanese.
0:44:46 > 0:44:49But that's nothing compared to how the world got to grips -
0:44:49 > 0:44:54quite literally - with the Scottish etiquette of when to "gie a hand".
0:44:56 > 0:44:59The dance that comes with the song and the crossing of the arms,
0:44:59 > 0:45:02it's mind-boggling.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04I've got no idea what you do with your hands.
0:45:06 > 0:45:10And I still don't know, actually, when the arms cross over the other way.
0:45:10 > 0:45:14Is it that, or is it that? Or does it matter? Can it be either?
0:45:14 > 0:45:16I think it's this.
0:45:16 > 0:45:18I don't think it's ever this.
0:45:20 > 0:45:22But I might be wrong.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25There is always a bit of stramash, with people going,
0:45:25 > 0:45:27"No, it's not now, when do we move forward, when do we not?
0:45:27 > 0:45:31"When do we do this?" And you really are fudging it, looking at people.
0:45:32 > 0:45:37Really, anything I do in a touching sense, anything involving any
0:45:37 > 0:45:40physical contact, I let the other person take the lead.
0:45:41 > 0:45:45I really just wait and feel what the mood's like in the room.
0:45:46 > 0:45:48I always make sure to ask them afterwards
0:45:48 > 0:45:50if it was a pleasant experience for them, as well.
0:45:50 > 0:45:55# For auld lang syne. #
0:45:55 > 0:45:58I've not had any complaints so far.
0:45:58 > 0:46:00# ..a cup o' kindness yet... #
0:46:00 > 0:46:01What used to bother me
0:46:01 > 0:46:05about Auld Lang Syne were the kind of hand fascists.
0:46:05 > 0:46:07# And here's a hand... #
0:46:07 > 0:46:10And the hand crosses over - "Here's a haund, my trusty fiere,"
0:46:10 > 0:46:15the person on this side, "and gies a haund o' thine."
0:46:15 > 0:46:17That's how it's done.
0:46:19 > 0:46:24I think there is a notion that Scottish males aren't very tactile.
0:46:24 > 0:46:28You needed to kind of manly up by, for some reason,
0:46:28 > 0:46:33making a saltire with your arms. Maybe that's a bit more butch.
0:46:35 > 0:46:38I do get really annoyed when people cross hands right at the start.
0:46:38 > 0:46:40I'm like, "No, not yet!"
0:46:43 > 0:46:45That matters to me.
0:46:45 > 0:46:47You might just be going "deedle-eedle"
0:46:47 > 0:46:50in the background, but, you know, do the movements, darling!
0:46:50 > 0:46:53Didn't somebody make the Queen do it? Tony Blair or somebody?
0:46:53 > 0:46:56You're not supposed to touch Her Majesty the Queen,
0:46:56 > 0:47:00that's very bad form, but it's the one time when you can "gie a hand".
0:47:02 > 0:47:04I don't know if she runs forward.
0:47:06 > 0:47:08I can't see it, myself.
0:47:08 > 0:47:12But you will certainly get a "haund" of Her Majesty the Queen.
0:47:14 > 0:47:18At the end, there is the massive crush, as well,
0:47:18 > 0:47:23the in and out, it's a bit like an extreme form of the Hokey Cokey.
0:47:25 > 0:47:27It's all getting confused! What's going on?
0:47:29 > 0:47:31If you end up in the middle
0:47:31 > 0:47:35and you've not expected it the first time, and waves of cross-armed
0:47:35 > 0:47:36people are coming at you,
0:47:36 > 0:47:39shouting about having willy waughts and... Och!
0:47:41 > 0:47:43It's scary.
0:47:43 > 0:47:46# For auld lang syne. #
0:47:49 > 0:47:53Auld Lang Syne has been used to mark the end of many an occasion
0:47:53 > 0:47:58over the years. But this is the one we most associate with our song.
0:47:59 > 0:48:03New Year is very, very important to Scottish people, much more so than
0:48:03 > 0:48:06Christmas or Easter or birthdays or any of that kind of thing.
0:48:08 > 0:48:1231st of December, the countdown to midnight.
0:48:12 > 0:48:13CHEERING
0:48:13 > 0:48:15BELL CHIMES
0:48:17 > 0:48:22Fireworks, friends and family.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27There is that expectation of New Year, it has to be a great time!
0:48:29 > 0:48:33So, sometimes, you're singing the song, thinking, "Come on! This is the one!"
0:48:33 > 0:48:36At Hogmanay, you are allowed to be as Scottish as you like,
0:48:36 > 0:48:38which usually means steamin', over the back of the telly.
0:48:38 > 0:48:40That's why you don't know what I'm saying just now,
0:48:40 > 0:48:43cos you're steamin', over the back of the telly!
0:48:43 > 0:48:46You know, if there is ever a threat of something changing a little bit
0:48:46 > 0:48:48at Hogmanay - raging!
0:48:48 > 0:48:51Putting Jools Holland on BBC One in Scotland - no!
0:48:51 > 0:48:54Excuse me, I want shortbread and I want Jackie Bird
0:48:54 > 0:48:56and all the nonsense, and I want to moan about it as well,
0:48:56 > 0:48:58but don't dare change it!
0:48:58 > 0:49:02We've been singing Auld Lang Syne in Scotland to mark
0:49:02 > 0:49:04Hogmanay for many a year.
0:49:04 > 0:49:06But its association with
0:49:06 > 0:49:09New Year's Eve in the rest of the world is crucial to
0:49:09 > 0:49:13its success in becoming one of the most recognised songs on the planet.
0:49:13 > 0:49:18And to see that on a grand scale, we need to go back to America.
0:49:18 > 0:49:22Now, this is where Auld Lang Syne really establishes itself
0:49:22 > 0:49:27as the New Year song of the modern era. New York's Times Square.
0:49:27 > 0:49:30An estimated one million people take to the streets here,
0:49:30 > 0:49:32with a further TV audience of a billion,
0:49:32 > 0:49:36to celebrate the passing of the old and usher in the new.
0:49:36 > 0:49:41Can you imagine a million people, right here? It'd be incredible!
0:49:42 > 0:49:46CHEERING
0:49:46 > 0:49:50Times Square may be where it's at for the Big Apple's New Years -
0:49:50 > 0:49:53that's American for Hogmanay - but the root to Auld Lang Syne's
0:49:53 > 0:49:59involvement goes back over 85 years, to the hotel a few blocks away.
0:49:59 > 0:50:03'Here is Mr New Year's Eve himself, Guy Lombardo!'
0:50:03 > 0:50:05BAND PLAYS INTRO
0:50:05 > 0:50:08CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:50:13 > 0:50:15Well, thank you, George Bryan, and, ladies and gentlemen,
0:50:15 > 0:50:18it's certainly wonderful having you all here to help celebrate
0:50:18 > 0:50:20New Year's Eve at the Roosevelt Grill.
0:50:20 > 0:50:24"Mr New Year" is no understatement.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadian Big Band were
0:50:27 > 0:50:34instrumental in cementing Auld Lang Syne as America's New Year's anthem.
0:50:34 > 0:50:36At the stroke of midnight, when you see 12 o'clock,
0:50:36 > 0:50:40we're going to hear Auld Lang Syne played for the Roosevelt Grill...
0:50:40 > 0:50:43Guy heard the song being sung by Scottish
0:50:43 > 0:50:46immigrants in Canada in his youth.
0:50:46 > 0:50:51From 1929 to his death in 1977, Guy's show was beamed directly
0:50:51 > 0:50:54to US homes, firstly on radio,
0:50:54 > 0:50:58then TV, reaching an audience of millions.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01In fact, so accustomed to hearing Guy conduct Auld Lang Syne,
0:51:01 > 0:51:04most Americans thought HE had written it.
0:51:04 > 0:51:07And where it all began - the Roosevelt Hotel,
0:51:07 > 0:51:12to meet Guy's godson and one-time drumming band member, Joe Van Blerck.
0:51:12 > 0:51:16So, how did it come about that Auld Lang Syne was the tune that
0:51:16 > 0:51:19was played by the band, at the bewitching hour?
0:51:19 > 0:51:22Well, when they were playing on radio, of course,
0:51:22 > 0:51:24they played on the CBS network
0:51:24 > 0:51:26before midnight on New Year's Eve,
0:51:26 > 0:51:31they played on the NBC network after midnight, and right around midnight,
0:51:31 > 0:51:34they needed music to bridge the gap between the two broadcasts.
0:51:34 > 0:51:37And that's when they decided that Auld Lang Syne would be
0:51:37 > 0:51:39the perfect song to play.
0:51:39 > 0:51:43And the sponsor of their show was Robert Burns cigars.
0:51:43 > 0:51:49This is the Robert Burns panatela, an especially wonderful cigar.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52And that's how it became associated with New Year's Eve,
0:51:52 > 0:51:55and of course became Guy Lombardo's theme song and became
0:51:55 > 0:52:00associated with him, and he, of course, became Mr New Year's Eve.
0:52:00 > 0:52:04BAND PLAYS AULD LANG SYNE
0:52:07 > 0:52:10It was almost as if the New Year couldn't start
0:52:10 > 0:52:13until Auld Lang Syne had finished. That's right, it couldn't start
0:52:13 > 0:52:16until Guy Lombardo said it was the New Year.
0:52:16 > 0:52:18That's a lot of power! It is.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21Happy New Year, everybody, a very happy New Year!
0:52:21 > 0:52:26Especially from all of us, and especially from Clairol...
0:52:28 > 0:52:32Well, there you go, that's how it took over the world.
0:52:32 > 0:52:35So, come midnight on Hogmanay, no matter where you are or who
0:52:35 > 0:52:40you're with, spare a thought to Auld Lang Syne and raise your voices.
0:52:40 > 0:52:43But for goodness' sake, try and get the words right, would you?
0:52:44 > 0:52:48# Should auld acquaintance... #
0:52:48 > 0:52:50Friendship is human to human.
0:52:50 > 0:52:55Any race, any people, understand that human sentiment.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00This is a song that Scotland's given to the world,
0:53:00 > 0:53:01it's an international anthem.
0:53:03 > 0:53:05I'm sure they sing it on Jupiter at Hogmanay!
0:53:08 > 0:53:12Auld Lang Syne is about humans loving each other
0:53:12 > 0:53:14and wishing each other well.
0:53:14 > 0:53:17And, you know, long may this last, you're thinking!
0:53:19 > 0:53:23It should be the Scottish national anthem, really.
0:53:23 > 0:53:28And no matter what, when the bells go, you're up on your feet
0:53:28 > 0:53:30and singing that song.
0:53:30 > 0:53:32Or should I say, bluffing your way through it!
0:53:35 > 0:53:39You couldnae dae that with Rocking Around the Christmas Tree.
0:53:41 > 0:53:42I wish I'd written it!
0:53:48 > 0:53:51"Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind,
0:53:51 > 0:53:54"Should auld acquaintance be forgot, for auld lang syne."
0:53:54 > 0:53:55I mean...
0:53:55 > 0:53:58I rest my case, Your Honour.
0:54:04 > 0:54:08# For auld lang syne, my dear
0:54:08 > 0:54:11# For auld lang syne
0:54:11 > 0:54:16# We'll take a cup of kindness yet
0:54:16 > 0:54:21# For auld lang syne. #