Who wrote the poem that inspired the New Year's song “Auld Lang Syne”?

Robert Burns wrote the poem that inspired the New Year’s song “Auld Lang Syne.”

Burns, Scotland’s national poet, sent a version of the words to the Scots Musical Museum in 1788. He described the song as an old one, and scholars believe he collected and reshaped earlier Scottish lines rather than inventing every element from nothing.

The title is Scots for “old long since,” commonly understood as “for old times’ sake” or “days gone by.” The song asks whether old friendships and memories should be forgotten, then celebrates them through a shared drink and clasped hands.

The melody used today became standardized through later publication and performance. It is strongly associated with midnight on December 31 in many English-speaking countries, but it is also sung at farewells, graduations, memorials, and other transitions. Burns’s authorship concerns the familiar poem version, not necessarily every older verse or the entire musical tradition.