“Auld Lang Syne” is certainly one of the oldest songs Bruce has covered: in poem form, it dates back to at least 1788 (when Robert Burns wrote it down) and as far back as 1711 for the first verse.
Scholars have traced and interpreted its lyrics for generations; luckily for me, I don’t have to concern myself with the lyrics, because Bruce and the E Street Band have only covered it instrumentally. That’s probably because most Americans are familiar with the song through Guy Lombardo’s 1939 instrumental version, played during the Times Square ball-dropping ceremony on New Years Eve for decades.
Bruce and the band covered “Auld Lang Syne” one time only, on December 31, 1980, back in the days when they would work on New Years Eve.
They’d flirted with the song before, playing a snippet on New Years Eve 1978, and joining Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes at the tail end of the song the year prior, but this performance from Nassau Coliseum is the band’s only full run-through of it, coming late in the night of one of their most memorable (and officially released) concerts.
Their arrangement is not exactly traditional, though—listen and enjoy.
Happy new year to you, your family, and your community. Thanks for reading, and I hope you stay with us through 2019!
Auld Lang Syne
First performed: December 31, 1978 (Richfield, OH)
Last performed: December 31, 1980 (Uniondale, NY)
