Days Gone By

At midnight we will sing  ”Auld Lang Syne.”   What the heck does that mean, anyway?   The song’s title can be translated into “days gone by.”   It comes from a sad Scottish poem written by Robert Burns in 1788, set to the tune of a folk song.  And so, on the Eve of the New Year, we sing  about toasting an old friend and lamenting days gone by.   Here is a loose translation:

For days gone by, my dear, for days gone by,
Let’s take a drink for days gone by.

Surely you’ll bring your big cup and surely I’ll be mine,
And we’ll drink a drink to kindess for days gone by.

The two of us have run about the hills and picked fine daisies
But we’ve wondered many weary miles since days gone by.

The two of us have paddled in the sream from morning till night
But broad seas have roared between us since days gone by.

Here’s my hand in yours my trusty friend.  Let’s take a drink of good will,
for days gone by.

The song is a downer.  Shouldn’t we be singing, “Let’s take a drink for the good that is yet to come?”