Auld Lang Syne Choral Text

A friend here on the island asked me to render Burn's poem Auld Lang Syne as a beat style poem for an event at which she and three others are performing.

This odd little number is my variation on that theme...

Auld Lang Syne

A Choral Text For 4 Voices

Key: Bold = Indicates stress
- = Mark the beat
/ = Follow on immediately, almost overlapping.
[p] = Softly

Notes: I think it likely that standing still in a particular configuration, perhaps like pins in a bowling alley, may help the audience’s interpretation of this piece. The final part of the last section, H, should possibly be said in a very straight way, as if returning to normality.

[Prologue]

1: Forgot.

2: Forgot.

All 4: Forgot.

2: Wandered

3: Wandered

4: Forgot.

4: Forgot

1: Forgot

All 4: - - - Seas.

2: Acquaintance

1: Wandered

3: - - - Forgot.

[A]

1: Should old acquaintance

2: Be for-got

3: And

4: Never

All 4: Brought- to- mind

2: Should

1&4: Auld – Acquaintance

3: Be - - - forgot

4: And - - -

1: Auld/

2: Lang/

3: Syne.

[B]

1&3: Tak a cup o’/ Tak a cup o’/ Tak a cup’o/ Tak a cup o’

2: For auld lang syne,
my jo,

4: For auld- lang -syne,
we’ll

All 4: Tak a cup o’ kindness - yet

1: - - - For

2: Auld/

3: Lang/

1: Syne - - -

[C]

2: We twa hae run/

1 & 3: Aboot the braes

4: And pu’d the gowans/

1 & 3: Fine

2: But - - -

3: We’ve wander’d mony a weary/

1: Foot,

4: - - - Sin auld lang syne - - -

[D]

2&3: Tak a cup o’/

1&4: Kind

2&3: Tak a cup o’/

1&4: Kind

2&3: Tak a cup o’/

1&4: Kind

2&3: Tak a cup o’/

1&4: Kind

1: For auld lang syne,
my jo,

2&3: For auld- lang -syne,

4: We’ll

All 4: Tak a cup o’ – kindness - yet

3: For

1: Auld/

2: Lang/

3: Syne.

[E]

4: We twa hae paidl’d

1&3: I' the burn,

2: Frae morning sun

2&4: Till dine

3: But seas between us braid

1: Hae

All4: Roar’d

1 & 3: [p] - - - Sin auld lang syne.

[F]

2&3: Tak a cup o’/

1&4: Kind/

2&3: Ness/

1&4: Tak a cup o’/

2&3: Kind/

1&4: Ness/

2&3: Tak a cup o’/

1&4: Kind/

2&3: Ness/

1&3&4: For auld lang syne,

2: My jo,

1&3: For auld- lang -syne,

2: We’ll

All 4: Tak a cup o’ – kindness – yet

3: For

1&2: Auld Lang/

4: Syne.

[G]

3: And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere!

1&2&4: And gie's a hand o’ thine !

1: And we’ll tak a right gude-willy waught/

2: And we’ll tak a right gude-willy waught/

3: And we’ll tak a right gude-willy waught/

4: And we’ll tak a right gude-willy waught

1: [p] For auld lang syne.

[H]

2&3: Tak a cup o’/

1&4: Kind/

2&3: Ness/

1: Yet

1&4: Tak a cup o’/

2&3: Kind/

1&4: Ness/

3: Yet

2&3: Tak a cup o’/

1&4: Kind/

2&3: Ness/

4: For auld lang syne,

2: My jo,

3: [p] For auld- lang -syne,

1: We’ll

All 4: Tak a cup o’ kindness yet

2: - - - For

All 4: Auld Lang Syne.