Robert Burns wrote the words of “Auld Lang Syne,” the song widely sung at New Year's Eve celebrations.
Burns, Scotland's national poet, sent a version of the lyrics to a friend in 1788 and described the song as an old one. The phrase “auld lang syne” is Scots for “old long since,” or more naturally, memories of times gone by. Its themes of friendship, remembrance, and shared experience suit a celebration looking both backward and forward.
The melody used today became standardized through later musical arrangements and printings. It spread internationally during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, helped by Scottish communities, popular entertainment, and broadcasts of midnight celebrations.
Burns is sometimes credited with composing both the words and the melody, but that is too simple. He adapted older Scottish material and supplied the best-known lyric version, while the tune has a complicated history. The song is also used at farewells, graduations, and other endings.