Monday, January 1, 2018

And God Bless You and Send You a Happy New Year

Here's a hearty farewell to last year, and an even heartier welcome to the New One! As per custom, I stayed up until midnight, and went out to welcome the new year in with pipes. My habit is to play an Italian Christmas song - Canzone di Zampognari - followed by a Scottish and Irish tune - Scotland the Brave and Minstral Boy, not so much because they are particular favourites, but because they are reasonably well known - and finishing up with a traditional Christmas carol - by preference, Adeste Fideles, although this year, for some reason, I transitioned to The Little Drummer Boy instead. Then, of course, one has to play Auld Lang Syne, so I did, and went in for a bit of whisky... and as these festivities occurred at my sisters' house, and they being a bit more early-to-bed than I am myself, we all bid each other a good night and made for our beds.

Here is a New Year's carol from Orkney. I vacillated for a while over which version to post. Nowell Sing We Clear do the longer version and I like it very well indeed. However, this shorter, live version amuses me, and I really like the idea the people still hang about pubs and sing like this, so you this one instead:


And since I am enough of a historian (albeit, a very amateur one) that I like to give sources for my posts, whenever possible, I am also posting this little account of the collection of the song:


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