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Instrumentation: SATB chorus + solo + audience
Duration: 3’11”
text:
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days o’ lang syne!
For auld lang syne, my Dear,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
We two have run about the hills,
And pulled the daisies fine;
But we’ve wander’d many a weary foot,
Since auld lang syne.
We two have paddled in the brook,
From mornin’ sun till dine:
But seas between us broad have roar’d,
Since auld lang syne.
We’re here because we’re here because
we’re here because we’re here.
We’re here because we’re here because
we’re here because we’re here.
– Robert Burns, adapted by composer
about this work:
I have a deeply rooted obsession with this song—perhaps because of the circumstances in which we so often encounter it. We typically celebrate the passing of another year with loved ones, and our instinct is to sing this song. Many reflect on the year just lived and search for hidden meanings: What led us to this moment? Have I done enough?
John Green tells the story of British soldiers singing Auld Lang Syne in the trenches during World War II, but with notably altered lyrics: “We’re here because we’re here because we’re here because we’re here.” He goes on to suggest that maybe this is the whole point—we are here together, not alone.
“And it’s also a statement that we are, that we exist. And it’s a statement that we are here, that a series of astonishing unlikelihoods has made us possible and here possible. We might never know why we are here, but we can still proclaim in hope that we are here.”
—John Green, The Anthropocene Reviewed
Choirs should encourage their audience to sing along in the final section of the piece. Below is an excerpt with the melody notated and lyrics provided for inclusion in programs or projections.
cristian larios | composer 