Stripe’s Song of the Day: Sufjan Stevens – Auld Lang Syne

The old Scottish standard is a fixture on New Year’s Eve for good reason

Tonight, as the curtain falls on another year, the world will pause, teetering on the brink of new beginnings.

What better time for ‘Auld Lang Syne’, that time-honoured anthem about reflection and renewal?

The classic melody, an enduring fixture of New Year's Eve celebrations, embodies the universal yearning to bid adieu to the past while embracing the promise of tomorrow.

The song’s lyrics were penned in 1788 by Scottish national poet Robert Burns, telling the story of a chance encounter between old friends who reminisce about days gone by. But it wasn’t an original. In fact, he remarked that it followed “an old song, of the olden times, and which has never been in print, nor even in manuscript until I took it down from an old man”. Little did Burns know his version would transcend the centuries and become a global ode to openings and conclusions.

‘Auld Lang Syne’ has survived countless renderings. Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Rod Stewart have their characteristic interpretations. And it even has a Bangla version in Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Purano Sei Diner Kotha’. But my favourite is a modern variation by singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens.

Stevens nurtures the essence of the original but infuses it with fresh life using a labyrinth of contemporary sounds. It evolves from gentle acoustics into an intricate ensemble of keys, harmonies and layered instrumentation into a hypnotic tune rendition that reaches the definitive. His vocals, characteristically intimate and melancholy, are amplified, made warmer and more comforting by the backing of a choir. The themes of friendship, nostalgia, and passing time fit his discography perfectly.

As the clock strikes midnight, let’s strive to bring closure to the people we were this year and embrace the hope of a newer, brighter future. I wish you, dear readers, an eventful new year filled with countless conversations between cherished friends.

This article is part of Stripe, bdnews24.com's special publication focusing on culture and society from a youth perspective.