Robert Burns wrote the words of the best-known version of “Auld Lang Syne,” the song widely sung at New Year's celebrations.
Burns, Scotland's national poet, sent a version of the poem to the Scots Musical Museum in 1788. He said that some of the words came from an older Scottish song and that he had supplied or reshaped other lines. The phrase “auld lang syne” means roughly “old long since,” or memories of times gone by.
The melody commonly used today was paired with the words in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century. The song became especially associated with New Year's Eve through Scottish and international social traditions, including celebrations shaped by Scottish emigrant communities.
Although it is often treated as a New Year's anthem, the song is also sung at farewells, reunions, graduations, and memorial occasions. Its broad theme is remembering old friendships rather than celebrating a particular holiday alone.