Robert Burns wrote the lyrics most closely associated with “Auld Lang Syne,” the song widely sung at New Year’s celebrations.
Burns, Scotland’s national poet, sent a version of the poem to the Scots Musical Museum in 1788. He said that the words came partly from an older traditional song, so he did not invent every element from scratch. The phrase “auld lang syne” means something like “old long since” or “days gone by.”
The melody now commonly used became established through later musical arrangements. The song’s themes of friendship, remembrance, and shared history helped it spread far beyond Scotland.
Although it is strongly associated with midnight on December 31, the song is also used at reunions, farewells, graduations, and other moments of transition. Different countries sing different translations or adaptations, but Burns’s name remains attached to the best-known English-language lyrics.