Robert Burns is credited with writing the best-known 1788 version of “Auld Lang Syne.”
Burns, Scotland's national poet, sent a version of the poem to the Scots Musical Museum in 1788. The title means roughly “old long since,” or “for old times' sake,” and the lyrics ask whether old friendships and memories should be forgotten.
The words were later paired with a traditional Scottish melody. The song became especially associated with New Year's Eve through the work of bandleader Guy Lombardo, whose broadcasts helped popularize it across North America during the 20th century.
Burns did not necessarily invent every line or the melody. He collected and reshaped older Scots material, a normal practice in the preservation of traditional songs. English-language versions also vary in wording, but the New Year's Eve association remains remarkably consistent in many countries.