Who wrote the poem associated with the song “Auld Lang Syne”?

Robert Burns wrote the poem associated with the song “Auld Lang Syne.”

Burns, Scotland’s national poet, sent a version of the words to the Scots Musical Museum in 1788. The title is a Scots phrase meaning roughly “old long since,” or more naturally, “for old times’ sake.” The lyrics ask whether old friends and memories should be forgotten, making the song especially suited to farewells and New Year gatherings.

The melody commonly used today was paired with the words later and became internationally popular during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Guy Lombardo and his orchestra helped establish it as a New Year’s Eve tradition in North America through radio broadcasts beginning in the 1920s.

Burns did not necessarily invent every line or the tune. Earlier versions of related Scots verses existed, and Burns adapted traditional material. The commonly sung refrain is also often shortened, so many people know the melody better than the complete poem.