The Parting Glass The Parting Glass "The Parting Glass" is a Scottish traditional song, often sung at the end of a gathering of friends. It was purportedly the most popular parting song sung in Scotland before Robert Burns wrote "Auld Lang Syne". The "parting glass", or "stirrup cup", or "coupe d'etrier" was the final hospitality offered to a departing guest. Once they had mounted, they were presented one final drink to fortify them for their travels. The custom was practiced in Saxony and in several continental countries. The earliest known printed version was as a broadside in the 1770s and it first appeared
Eugene Lang (author) Eugene Lang (author) Eugene Lang was a former chief of staff to two of Canada’s Liberal ministers of defence from 2002 to 2006. He co-authored with Janice Gross Stein a book "The Unexpected War: Canada in Kandahar" (Penguin, 2007) The Liberal Party, after dominating Canadian politics since the 1920s, has been in decline in the 21st century. As Lang (2010) concludes, they lost their majority in Parliament in the 2004 election, were defeated in 2006, and in 2008 became little more than a rump, falling to their lowest seat count and popular vote since the 1980s. Furthermore, says Lang, its