Auld Lang Syne

Notes

“Auld Lang Syne” is perhaps the most globally recognized song of friendship, nostalgia, and transition. While the world knows it as the anthem for New Year’s Eve, its roots are deeply embedded in the soil of 18th-century Scotland. The lyrics were famously set down by the poet Robert Burns in 1788, who claimed he took them from “an old man’s singing,” though the melody we associate with it today—a traditional Scottish strathspey or air—became the standard in the late 1700s.

The title translates literally from Scots as “old long since,” or more colloquially, “for old times’ sake.”

• The Scale: The melody is famously pentatonic (using only five notes), which is what gives it that universal, ancient, and “homely” quality. It feels familiar even to those hearing it for the first time.

• The Feel: While often sung as a slow, sentimental anthem, in the fiddle tradition, it is sometimes played as a more rhythmic air or even a moderate-tempo march. It carries a sense of “bittersweet” joy—honoring the past while looking toward the future.

• The Structure: It features a call-and-response pattern between the verse and the chorus, perfectly designed for a room full of people to join in, crossing arms and holding hands.

Region: Scotland

*Notes: Often played in G major but also in various keys to suit singers’ voices, as in the above video sung in A major. Robert Burns wrote Lowland Scots lyrics for this old tune in 1788. Here are lyrics in English:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld 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.

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.

Chorus:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

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.

CHORUS

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pou’d the gowans fine;
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit,
Sin’ auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae paidl’d in the burn,
Frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
Sin’ auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand, my trusty fere!
And gie’s a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll tak a right gude-willie waught,
For auld lang syne.