Auld Lang something: Poll finds most people don’t know the words to classic poem

December 30th, 2011

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

Poll found that some 37 per cent do not know a single line of Robert Burns’s piece, written in 1788

By
Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 11:50 PM on 29th December 2011

One in ten under-25s think Elvis Presley or Paul McCartney wrote the words instead of Robert Burns, pictured

It happens every year. We get 12 months to learn the lyrics – but hardly anyone bothers.

Now three-quarters admit they will mime or make up the words when the clock strikes midnight tomorrow . . . and the time comes for Auld Lang Syne.

A poll found that some 37 per cent do not know a single line of Robert Burns’s piece, written in 1788.

Its provenance is equally mysterious to some, especially when it comes to the younger revellers.

One in ten under-25s think Elvis Presley or Paul McCartney wrote the words – whatever they may be.

In terms of tactics, 37 per cent of all those surveyed said they hum loudly when their musical knowledge lets them down.

Others prefer a more physical performance: a fifth attempt to prevent people from discovering their ignorance by distracting them with some vigorous arm-shaking while linking limbs during the seasonal sing-song.

Now three-quarters of respondents to a poll admitted they will mime or make up the words when the time comes to sing Auld Lang Syne on New Year's Eve

Now three-quarters of respondents to a poll admitted they will mime or make up the words when the time comes to sing Auld Lang Syne on New Year’s Eve

Almost two-thirds were also stumped over the meaning of the song’s title, which roughly translates as ‘Times Gone By’.

The survey, to mark the release of Warner Bros’ ensemble comedy New Year’s Eve, found 10 per cent typically gaze upwards through the duration of the song to avoid being detected.

A cowardly 5 per cent actually leave the room altogether.

Rather fittingly, the most commonly misremembered lyric was: ‘Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?’

Some scamps replace the line with: ‘Should old acquaintance be forgot, and something else that rhymes.’

In total, 2,105 adults responded to the poll commissioned to promote the Hollywood film, which features a string of stars including Halle Berry, Michelle Pfeiffer, Zac Efron and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Here’s what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts,
or debate this issue live on our message boards.

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My mother’s uncle, Robert FIddes, bought the original Burns manuscript of Auld Lang Syne when it was up for auction, and gifted it to Burns cottage in Alloway so it would remain in Scotland. It drives me MAD when people sing ‘for the SAKE of Auld Lang Syne’. Arrrrggggghhhhh – that is SO wrong. It’s just ‘for Auld Lang Syne’. Get it right people!

– Lulu Baker, Doha, Qatar, 30/12/2011 05:56

Burns experts believe that he only wrote the last 2 verses of the complete poem. The other verses and the chorus are thought to date from the middle of the 16th century, if not before. In a letter to a Mrs Dunlop, in which he enclosed a copy of “Auld Lang Syne, Burns wrote: “Light be the turf on breast of the heaven-inspired poet who composed this glorious fragment! .”

– NC, Alba, 30/12/2011 05:39

Just a thought. Saw the headline and expected the lines to be published. A disappointment, rather like 2011.

– Terry McCarthy, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 30/12/2011 05:28

Ahh, Burns, what a brilliant poet.
– Toby, Calgary, Canada, 30/12/2011 01:56———–The Poet! Greetings my dear Calgarian friend a happy new year to you and that wonderful place Calgary,

– Bob, The Pen, 30/12/2011 04:55

Shid ald akwentans bee firgot,
an nivir brocht ti mynd?
Shid ald akwentans bee firgot,
an ald lang syn*?————–ye’ll ken fine noo then, aye?

– Bill, Venta Belgarum, 30/12/2011 04:51

Not only do few people actually know the words but many persist in singing “Auld Lang Zine” when it should be “Auld Lang Syne” – derived from “since” As a Scot I find it irritating but have had to learn to live with it.

– bluejay, Jersey, 30/12/2011 03:08

Ahh, Burns, what a brilliant poet.

– Toby, Calgary, Canada, 30/12/2011 01:56

“A poll found that some 37 per cent do not know a single line of Robert Burns’s piece, written in 1788.” Robert Burns didn’t write it. He submitted it to his publisher claiming that he’d “heard it from an old man”. Even those who insist that they know the song are often incorrect, as Burns’ publisher mistakenly put the verses in the wrong order.

– General Monck, Portsmouth, UK, 30/12/2011 01:51

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