What traditional New Year's Eve song became famous through Guy Lombardo's broadcasts?

Auld Lang Syne became famous as a New Year's Eve song in the United States through Guy Lombardo's broadcasts.

The song uses words associated with the Scottish poet Robert Burns, who wrote down and adapted verses in 1788. Its Scots title means roughly “old long since” or “for old times' sake.” The lyrics ask whether old friends and past experiences should be remembered, which helped make the song suitable for a year-end farewell.

Canadian bandleader Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians played the song in their New Year's Eve radio broadcasts beginning in the 1920s. Their widely heard performances helped establish it as a standard at midnight in North America, even though the song had older Scottish roots.

Auld Lang Syne is often treated as a Christmas carol, but it is not specifically a Christmas song. It also has many melodies and arrangements, and listeners may know only the refrain. The words can vary because Burns's text was assembled from traditional material rather than created entirely from scratch.