For starters DA DAY DAWNS (re sunrise but tune played on New Year’s Day, in Shetland, I’ve heard). Greensleeves has alt. title "The Old Year now away is Fled, the New Year it has enter-ed". Any particular waltzes or jigs to have a knees-up at Hogmanay and N Y D (if not too much drink taken)?
Hi Susan,
Putting this out there because I know you like English and Scottish trad. The group Magpie Lane has a jig called "We Wish You a Merry New Year" (and no, it’s not just a modified title for the more common song). They play it right after the Hogmanay jig. Not sure if it’s trad or their own composition. Topic video pasted below.
https://youtu.be/6Y6fBzCk7h0
As hackneyed as they come, I know, but Auld Lang Syne is an obvious choice.
CreadorMawnOrganig : excuse me, you better play Burns chosen setting which some consider better than the familiar tune.
A Guid New Year tae Ane an A’!
I would echo Susan K’s comments above. The tune originally chosen by Burns is far superior to the one commonly sung - it sounds a lot less hackneyed. I would also put in a plea to pronounce the words ‘Auld Lang Syne’ properly: ‘auld’ not ‘old’ and ‘syne’ not ‘zyne’.
I grew up in a working class environment in Scotland in the 1960s and 70s. The songs that tended to be sung at New Year were not Auld Lang Syne, but ‘We’re No Awa to Bide Awa’ and ‘A Guid New Year to Ane an Aa’.
There is quite a collection on the site here: https://thesession.org/tunes/search?type=&mode=&q=New+Year%27s+Day&page=1
No Scottish New Year would be complete without this one….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HivJ4EosWS8
😛
Courtesy of two great Scottish musicians no longer with us, both much missed - Johnny Cunningham and Andy M. Stewart 🙂
Bill Barclay’s ‘Twelve days of Christmas’ would take you into New Year
"And a wee heavy and a half-pint"! The McCalmans also had their own (different) version of that song.
Yule songs also go into New Year: start at Solstice on the longest day in December, finishes on 2nd January. "Deck the Halls with Bows of Holly" covers this period.
