Auld Lang Syne
Auld Lang Syne is the Scots song sung around the world as the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve. Robert Burns sent the words to the Scots Musical Museum in 1788, saying he had taken them down from an old man's singing.
- Written by
- Robert Burns (died 1796)
- In the video
- The Tenors
- Context
- Scots song by Robert Burns (1788), sung at New Year and at partings
- Year
- 1788
- Language
- English
Auld Lang Syne lyrics
Text in Burns's Scots as printed in the 1887 edition edited by Alexander Smith. Many singers today use only the first verse and chorus.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to min'? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And days o' lang syne?
CHORUS. For auld lang syne, my dear, For auld lang syne, We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet, For auld lang syne.
We twa hae run about the braes, And pu'd the gowans fine, But we've wander'd mony a weary foot Sin auld lang syne. For auld, &c.
We twa hae paidl't i' the burn, From mornin sun till dine; But seas between us braid hae roar'd Sin auld lang syne. For auld, &c.
And here's a hand, my trusty fiere, And gie's a hand o' thine; And we'll tak a right guid willie-waught, For auld lang syne. For auld, &c.
And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp, And surely I'll be mine; And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet For auld lang syne. For auld, &c.
The story behind Auld Lang Syne
Robert Burns (1759-1796) was collecting and reworking traditional songs for James Johnson's Scots Musical Museum when he sent in Auld Lang Syne in 1788. Burns described it as an old song, and earlier poems with the same title and refrain do exist, but the verses known today are largely his.
The song was published after his death, in the fifth volume of the Museum in 1796. The melody now used is a traditional Scots tune that became attached to the words around the end of the eighteenth century.
Scottish emigrants carried the custom of singing it at Hogmanay across the world. Today it closes New Year celebrations, graduations, scout gatherings and farewells in many countries, often with the singers joining hands in a circle and crossing arms for the final verse.
What Auld Lang Syne means
"Auld lang syne" means roughly "old long since", that is, long ago or the old days. The song asks whether old friendships should be forgotten, and answers with an invitation to drink "a cup o' kindness" for the sake of times gone by.
The verses recall two friends who ran on the hillsides picking daisies and paddled in the stream as children, before wide seas came between them. The handshake in the fourth verse turns memory into reunion.
Its pull comes from that mix of nostalgia and warmth: it marks an ending, but insists that what was shared still matters.
Quick facts
- Robert Burns sent the song to the Scots Musical Museum in 1788.
- It was published in 1796, the year of Burns's death.
- "Auld lang syne" is Scots for roughly "old long since", meaning days long past.
- It is traditionally sung at Hogmanay, the Scottish New Year.