Has "Auld Lang Syne" Been Stolen?

[PostmanPat]

Im very curious. Roughly simultaneous to the playing of the Thai National Anthem at 8am and 6pm each day on TV, they have been playing another song, with the symbol of the "current government" shown on screen, but the song is sung to the tune of Auld Lang Syne. So does anyone know, has arguably the second most famous song in the world after happy birthday been hijacked and set to new words, or is it a faithful rendition but sung in Thai?!

Any thoughts or knowledge appreciated!

[mick220675]

I have asked my wife and daughter the same question, they just look at me like I'm a fool and tell me to stop talking as there soap opera is starting.

[JaiMaai]

_{It's not a new thing as far as I'm aware. The Thai lyrics set to the melody of Auld Lang Syne has been around for many many years already as far as I'm aware. The Thai version of the song is "Together in Unity".}

[CharlieH]

In non-English-speaking countries[edit]

Auld Lang Syne has been translated into many languages, and the song is widely sung all over the world. The song's pentatonic scale matches scales used in Korea, Japan, India, China and other East Asian countries, which has facilitated its "nationalisation" in the East. The following particular examples mostly detail things that are special or unusual about the use of the song in a particular country.

• In India and Bangladesh, the melody was the direct inspiration for the popular Bengali folk song ^[19][20] "Purano shei diner kotha" (Memories of the Good Old Days) composed by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore,^[21] and forms one of the more recognisable tunes in Rabindra Sangeet (Rabindra's Songs), a body of work of 2,230 songs and lyrical poems that form the backbone of Bengali music.
• In Denmark, the song was translated in 1927 by the famous Danish poet Jeppe Aakjær. Much like Robert Burns' use of dialect, Aakjær translated the song into the Danish dialect sallingbomål, a dialect from the northern part of western Jutland, south of the Limfjord, often hard for other Danes to understand. The song "Skuld gammel venskab rejn forgo", is an integral part of the Danish Højskole tradition, and often associated with more rural areas and old traditions. Also, the former Danish rock group Gasolin modernised the melody in 1974 with their pop ballad Stakkels Jim ("Poor Jim").
• Before 1972, it was the tune for the Gaumii salaam anthem of The Maldives (with the current words).
• In the Netherlands, the melody is best known as the Dutch football song "Wij houden van Oranje" (We love Orange) performed by André Hazes.
• In Thailand, the song "Samakkhi Chumnum" ("สามัคคีชุมนุม", "Together in unity"), which is set to the familiar melody, is sung after sporting fixtures, and at the end of Boy Scout jamborees, as well as for the New Year. The Thai lyrics are about the King and national unity, and many Thais are not aware of the song's "Western" origin.
• In Japan, although the original song is not unknown, people usually associate the melody with Hotaru no Hikari, which sets completely different lyrics to the familiar tune. Hotaru no Hikari is played at some school graduation ceremonies, and the closing of the New Year's Eve show NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen. It is played as a background music in various establishments such as bars, restaurants, or department stores in Japan to let the customers know that the establishment is closing soon.
• In South Korea, the song is known as Jakpyeol (작별 / Farewell) or (less commonly) as Seokbyeol I Jeong (석별의 정 / The Affection of Farewell). From 1918 to 1943, it was also the melody of Korea's national anthem. The lyrics were the same as today's South Korean anthem. Syngman Rhee commissioned Ahn Eak-tai to write the melody currently used for the anthem in 1948.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auld_Lang_Syne

[Haso]

Try to tell the Thais that the lyrics are from a western song.. Good luck

[PostmanPat]

Thank you for the information! Just wondered if The Robbie Burns Society were entitled to claim royalties from Thailand!

Really had no idea that the song had found its way into the folklore of so many countries!

[lungbing]

You mean the west has stolen this well-known Thai tune?

[Filer]

It's perhaps like telling Americans that their national anthem uses the melody of an old English upper-class drinking song (To Anacreon in Heaven) and that the melody is neither American nor 'theirs'. The Anachreon drinking song, written in England about 1775, was was well known and popular with combattants in the British-American War of 1812 and so its melody was a natural choice for the patriotic song that Francis Scott Key wrote in 1814 (much later to become the US national anthem).

[TuskegeeBen]

Indeed, the world now plays "Golf", as well. Regarding Asia, only! The only Asia country where you're apt to find genuine originality anymore, is Japan. Otherwise, everything is a copied "knock-off" of western originals. Is that really surprising to you? Indeed, the Robert Burns Society is definitely entitled to "royalty" payments, for the musical score, at least.

[TuskegeeBen]

It's perhaps like telling Americans that their national anthem uses the melody of an old English upper-class drinking song (To Anacreon in Heaven) and that the melody is neither American nor 'theirs'. The Anachreon drinking song, written in England about 1775, was was well known and popular with combattants in the British-American War of 1812 and so its melody was a natural choice for the patriotic song that Francis Scott Key wrote in 1814 (much later to become the US national anthem).

Hey thanks for those details. However, more than just a few Yanks are aware of the fact, of that melody originated with the British, during the War of 1812.