原是蘇格蘭民間歌曲，即蘇格蘭蓋爾語：Auld Lang Syne，這是一首非常有名的詩歌，直譯為逝去已久的日子，在中國各地普遍稱為《友誼地久天長》。在許多的西方國家，這首歌通常會在平安夜時演唱，象徵送走舊年而迎接新的一年的來臨。祝大家新年快樂！
The stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve usually sounds like this: This is Auld Lang Syne, a song that represents the emotional conclusion to another year.
在除夕夜的午夜聽到的鐘聲通常是這樣的：這是《友誼地久天長》，這首歌代表了對過去一年的情感總結。
But it might surprise you to know, it's also a soccer anthem in the Netherlands.
但你可能會驚訝地發現，這也是荷蘭的足球國歌。
Or in Japan, it's a traditional song about fireflies.
或者在日本，這是一首關於螢火蟲的傳統歌曲。
And the original was written centuries ago, as a Scottish celebration song.
原作寫於幾個世紀前，是蘇格蘭的一首慶祝歌曲。
So how did this song, that's managed to spread across the world, become the song we sing when the ball drops?
那麼，這首歌是如何傳播到全世界，變成了水晶球降落（紐約時代廣場的跨年傳統）時我們吟唱的歌曲呢？
What does this song mean?
這首歌是什麼意思？
My whole life, I don't know what this song means.
我一輩子都不知道這首歌是什麼意思。
A lot of people share this confusion about Auld Lang Syne, because the lyrics are sort of hard to figure out.
很多人都對《友誼地久天長》感到困惑，因為歌詞有點難以理解。
Let's start with the title.
讓我們從標題開始。
Auld Lang Syne.
Individually these words mean "Old Long Since", which taken together, translate to something like "For old time's sake."
這幾個詞單獨對應的意思是「舊的、很久、自從」，它們合起來，可以翻譯成「為了那舊時光」。
It's written in Scots, a language spoken by about a million people in Scotland today.
它是用蘇格蘭語寫的，蘇格蘭現在有大約一百萬人說這種語言。
The rest of the lyrics are a mix of English and Scots words, like "And there's a hand, my trusty feire, And we'll tak' a right gude-willie waught,".
歌詞的其餘部分是英語和蘇格蘭語單詞的混合體，例如「還有一隻手，我可信賴的朋友，我們同飲友情的酒。」
What is that?
那是什麼意思？
So "feire" means friend.
這裡「feire」是朋友的意思。
"Tak' a right gude-willie waught," so, a waught related to the word "draft," in English, would be a good pint of beer I imagine.
"Tak' a right gude-willie waught,"中waught是"咕咚咕咚地大口喝"的意思，在英語中，我想應該是一品脫啤酒。
This song asks you to remember people from your past and raise a toast to them, which made it a popular song to sing at New Year's and other celebrations.
這首歌讓你記住舊時的朋友，並為他們敬酒，這使它成為在新年和其他慶祝活動中傳唱的一首流行歌曲。
And that line about taking your friend's hand?
還有一句歌詞是說牽著你朋友的手？
That's related to a traditional dance British people still do today.
這與英國人至今仍在跳的傳統舞蹈有關。
The guy who popularized this song was one of Scotland's most famous exports: Robert Burns.
推廣這首歌的是蘇格蘭最著名的思想輸出者：羅伯特·彭斯。
Burns was a poet writing in the 1700's, just after Scotland and England unified to create the kingdom of Great Britain.
彭斯是17世紀的一位詩人，當時蘇格蘭和英格蘭剛剛統一，建立了大不列顛王國。
He witnessed the decline of traditional Scottish culture in favor of English norms.
他目睹了蘇格蘭傳統文化的衰落，人們轉而支持英式傳統。
So he devoted the end of his life to preserving this dying culture, by traveling the country to collect traditional poetry and songs to get them published.
因此，他在生命的最後一刻致力於保護這一垂死的文化，他週遊全國，收集傳統詩歌和歌曲並進行出版。
Auld Lang Syne was one of those songs.
《友誼地久天長》就是其中之一。
In a 1793 letter to his music publisher George Thomson, Burns claimed he wrote down the lyrics after hearing an old man singing it.
他在1793年寫給音樂出版商喬治·湯姆森的一封信中，彭斯聲稱，他是在聽到一位老人演唱後寫下的歌詞。
He called Auld Lang Syne "an old song about the olden times."
他把《友誼地久天長》稱為「一首關於古老時代的老歌」。
And he made sure Thomson kept the Scots words in the song, arguing "There is a naievete, a pastoral simplicity, in a slight intermixture of Scots words and phraseology."
他還讓湯姆森在歌中保留了蘇格蘭語的歌詞，他認為「蘇格蘭語歌詞中的詞和詞組有一點混雜，有一種樸素的田園風格。」
And this song, Auld Lang Syne, is doing a great job of tying in with the original idea of collecting folk songs, preserving heritage, celebrating heritage.
而這首歌《友誼地久天長》在與收集民歌、保護遺產、慶祝傳統節日的原創理念上非常契合。
Auld Lang Syne was republished in countless song books worldwide over the centuries and because of Burns, the Scots words are still in there.
幾個世紀以來，《友誼地久天長》在全世界無數的歌謠書籍中再版，由於彭斯的緣故，蘇格蘭語至今仍在歌詞之中。
And even if you don't know the history behind them, you can still sort of figure out what the song is saying.
即使你不知道這首歌背後的歷史，你仍然可以理解這首歌在說什麼。
Anyway, it's about old friends.
無論如何，它是關於老朋友的。
Why has a song that people don't really understand become so widespread?
為什麼一首人們不太懂的歌變得如此流行？
For starters, the melody of Auld Lang Syne is simple, making it easy to sing along to and easy to adapt into other musical styles.
對於初學者來說，《友誼地久天長》的旋律很簡單，很容易跟著唱，也很容易適應其他音樂風格。
Which is why it can become a soul song, or a bluegrass song, or rock 'n roll.
這就是為什麼它可以成為靈歌、藍草之歌、或者搖滾樂。
And because it's uncomplicated and melodic, the song was easy to put with different lyrics.
因為這首歌簡單，旋律優美，很容易用不同的歌詞來表達。
Like in the US in the Civil War era, it became a song about a wish for the war to end.
就像在內戰時期的美國，它成了一首表達希望戰爭結束的歌。
And it was also a popular anti-slavery ballad.
這也是一首受歡迎的反奴隸制民謠。
It took on new meanings in languages in other parts of the world, which is why it's in places you might not expect, like that soccer anthem in the Netherlands.
它在世界其他地方的語言中有了新的含義，這就是為什麼它出現在你可能想不到的地方，比如荷蘭的足球國歌。
Or a graduation song in parts of Asia.
或是亞洲部分地區的畢業歌曲。
And it was South Korea's national anthem until 1948.
到1948年，它成為了韓國的國歌。
No matter what the language or lyrics are, Auld Lang Syne's popularity also has something to do with its nostalgic feeling.
無論語言或歌詞是什麼，《友誼地久天長》的流行也與它的懷舊情懷有關。
The song itself is often used in the popular context in an even more overtly sad way.
這首歌本身經常以一種更加鮮明悲傷的方式呈現在流行的背景下。
If you look at the words, it's quite nostalgic as a song and that's its attraction.
如果你看看這些歌詞，它就像一首歌一樣讓人懷念，這就是它的吸引力。
Which is why it started showing up in countless classic movies, usually to mark an emotional scene.
這就是為什麼它開始出現在無數經典電影中的原因，通常是為了紀念一個激動人心的場景。
Like in this 1937 Shirley Temple movie, when her character consoles a dying soldier by singing Auld Lang Syne.
就像1937年雪莉·鄧波兒的電影中，她的角色通過唱《友誼地久天長》來安慰一個垂死的士兵。
And the director Frank Capra used it for sentimental moments in at least 3 of his films.
導演弗蘭克·卡普拉至少在他的三部電影中用它來表達情感。
But in the US, the song is best known for one thing: "Happy New Year."
但是在美國，與這首歌被熟知相關的一句話是：「新年快樂」。
And for that, we can thank Mr. New Year's Eve himself, Guy Lombardo.
為此，我們要感謝除夕先生本人，蓋伊·倫巴多。
In 1928, Lombardo and his orchestra, The Royal Canadians, started a popular New Year's Eve radio show, broadcast from the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan.
1928年，倫巴多和他的管弦樂隊——皇家加拿大人開始了一個受歡迎的新年夜廣播節目，是在曼哈頓的羅斯福酒店播出的。
This meant that Americans all over the country tuned in from their home radios to listen to the same music on New Year's Eve.
這意味著全國各地的美國人在除夕夜從家裡的收音機會收聽到相同的音樂。
And at the stroke of midnight, Lombardo played their version of Auld Lang Syne.
午夜鐘聲敲響時，倫巴多演奏了屬於他們版本的《友誼地久天長》。
Lombardo continued that tradition for nearly 50 years and when Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve started on TV in 1973, he would play Auld Lang Syne at midnight too.
倫巴多將這一傳統延續了近50年，1973年迪克·克拉克的新年搖滾之夜開始在電視上播出時，他也會在午夜演奏《友誼地久天長》。
And after Clark, Ryan Seacrest did the same.
在克拉克之後，瑞安·西克雷斯特也做了同樣的事。
So now at midnight, right after the ball drops, this is what you hear.
所以現在午夜，在水晶球降落後，這首歌就是你聽到的。
It's still Lombardo's version.
依然是倫巴多的版本。
And this is why, for many, the song is so singularly associated with the nostalgia of another year past.
這就是對於許多人來說，這首歌與過去一年的懷舊之情如此奇特地聯繫在一起的原因。
So when this new year rolls around, even if you don't know all the words, sing along anyway.
所以當新年來臨的時候，即使你不知道所有的歌詞，也要跟著唱。
You won't be alone.
你不會是孤單一人。