Why We Sing “Auld Lang Syne” on New Year's—and What It Really Means
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The clock strikes twelve marking the arrival of 2024, and we all know what comes next—that most popular of all New Year’s songs, "Auld Lang Syne." You might hum along as you try to remember the lyrics—or perhaps create a diversion by raising your champagne cocktail for a toast or bestowing New Year wishes upon everyone.
It’s not only at New Year’s Eve parties that we hear the song. In film, from our favorite Meg Ryan movies (When Harry Met Sally) to classic Christmas flicks (It’s a Wonderful Life, Elf), "Auld Lang Syne" sets the tone for iconic scenes. Its theme—a fond reflection on the past—also makes it a traditional song for graduations and funerals, occasions that, like the new year, mark an end and a beginning.
The song is Scottish, which is fitting when you consider that in Scotland the New Year's celebration known as Hogmanay is of outsize importance (in Edinburgh, the festivities last days!). This cultural standard can be traced to the Scottish Reformation era, when early Puritans and Presbyterians restricted Christmas festivities, deemed extravagant and superstitious, to a bare minimum, making way for Hogmanay to take centerstage as the main winter event.
But what is the meaning of the “Auld Lang Syne” song, and are you even singing the right lyrics? Here's everything you need to know about this New Year's tradition, including its origin how did it became so popular beyond Scotland.
What does "Auld Lang Syne" mean?
"Auld Lang Syne" is a Scots phrase that literally translates to "old long since," but has taken on a more fluid definition along the lines of "for old time's sake" or "the olden days." Often misclassified as an English dialect, Scots is a West Germanic language unique to Scotland, with a literary tradition that dates back to the early Middle Ages.
Where does "Auld Lang Syne" come from?
The "Auld Lang Syne" song lyrics we know (or pretend to know) today are derived from a late-18th century poem by Scottish bard Robert Burns (1759–1796). The song reflects upon old friendships that have stood the test of time, and begins with a rhetorical question, "Should auld acquaintance be forgot?" (No, of course not, we can assume as the sentimental song continues.) Traces of the original Scots language are still there, but today's lyrics are comparatively easy to decipher:
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my jo,
for auld lang syne,
we'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
And surely ye’ll be your pint-stoup!
and surely I’ll be mine!
And we’ll tak' a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
In his letters, Burns indicated that he simply put to paper an old Scottish song. In 1788, he wrote to a friend about the “exceedingly expressive” Scotch phrase “Auld lang syne,” adding that he was enclosing the verses to “an old song and tune which has often thrilled through my soul." The verses he sent are the earliest written version of the song we sing today.
Later, Burns wrote to publisher George Thomson that the poem was an “old Song of the olden times, and which has never been in print, nor even in manuscript, until I took it down from an old man’s singing.”
Burns's story of the song is a bit of a historical puzzle. It's true that the lyrics "Auld lang syne" and “Should auld acquaintance be forgot” appear in earlier poems and songs, which Burns would have known. But those examples "were not on the same theme as Burns’s song, so it is debatable if they could be considered ‘the same song’ sung to Burns by the old man,” wrote Stephen Winick, PhD, a folklorist at the Library of Congress. At least two verses of the song are believed to be Burns’s creation.
What does a "cup o' kindness" symbolize?
Pretty much exactly what it sounds like, the term "cup o' kindness" refers to the tradition of sharing a beverage among friends, or performing a toast to invoke good spirits, prosperity, kindness, and good will.
Where did the music for "Auld Lang Syne" come from?
Little known fact: Burns’s "Auld Lang Syne" is associated with two different melodies. James Johnson paired it with one Scottish tune for the song's original publication in Scots Musical Museum in 1796. However, the tune most of us are familiar with comes from Thomson's A Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs (1799), which includes a slightly different version of Burns's song.
You must listen closely to hear it, but the tune of "Auld Lang Syne" in Thomson's collection is loosely based on "The Miller's Wedding" from Robert Bremner's Collection of Scots Reels or Country Dances.
How did "Auld Lang Syne" get so popular?
Countless artists and composers (including Beethoven!) have created their own version of "Auld Lang Syne" through the centuries. But as far as 20th century and modern versions go, we have Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians to thank for the widespread popularity of the song.
Before Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve television special ascended to its place of domination on the airwaves, a radio broadcast show featuring Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians was the centerpiece of most families' New Year's Eve traditions. From 1929 through the mid-1970s, Lombardo closed each show with "Auld Lang Syne," which increased the song's familiarity among American households.
Today, New Year's revelers can take their pick versions of "Auld Lang Syne" by Bing Crosby, Bobby Womack, James Taylor, Ingrid Michaelson, Leslie Odom Jr., Rod Stewart, Mariah Carey, and so many more.
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