“Auld Lang Syne,” with words published by Robert Burns in 1788, is widely sung at New Year's Eve midnight.
The title is Scots for “old long since,” commonly understood as referring to times long past or old friendships. Burns sent a version of the poem to the Scots Musical Museum, explaining that he had obtained it from an older man and considered it an old song.
The familiar melody became associated with farewell occasions and eventually with New Year's celebrations. Its popularity spread internationally through Scottish communities, recordings, radio, and public events. People often join hands in a circle during the final verse.
Burns is frequently described as the song's sole author, but that simplifies its history. He shaped and preserved the best-known words from older material, while the melody also has earlier variants. Even so, the Burns-associated version is the canonical answer for the New Year's Eve song.