Robert Burns wrote the lyrics of “Auld Lang Syne,” the traditional song widely sung at New Year's Eve celebrations.
Burns, Scotland's best-known national poet, sent a version of the song to the Scots Musical Museum in 1788. He described it as an old song, so he is generally credited with preserving and shaping the familiar lyrics rather than inventing every line from nothing.
The title is Scots for “old long since,” commonly understood as “for old times' sake.” Its themes of friendship, shared memories, and parting made it especially suitable for the turn of the year. The tune used today became internationally familiar through later musical arrangements.
A common mix-up is identifying Guy Lombardo as the song's author. Lombardo and his Royal Canadians popularized the New Year's Eve broadcast tradition in North America, but Burns wrote the famous words. The song is also used at farewells, graduations, and other endings.