“Auld Lang Syne” is the song traditionally sung at midnight on New Year's Eve, based on a Scottish poem published by Robert Burns in 1788.
The title uses Scots words meaning roughly “old long since,” or “for old times' sake.” Burns sent a version of the poem to the Scots Musical Museum, explaining that he had taken down old words and added lines himself. The song's familiar melody was paired with the text in later musical tradition.
Its themes are friendship, memory, and shared experience, which helped it become suitable for farewells and year transitions. The song spread internationally through Scottish communities and performances, including the influence of bandleader Guy Lombardo's New Year's Eve broadcasts in North America.
The lyrics and tune have variants, so performances do not always use every verse. A common misconception is that Burns invented every word and musical element from scratch; the poem drew on older Scots material, while the melody's history is also more complicated than a single authorship claim.