Auld Lang Syne lyrics, meaning: Origins of New Year’s Eve song

Auld Lang Syne is a traditional New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day song but the lyrics can get a bit lost to some, almost as much as where the song came from.

New Year’s Eve has many traditions, but among the best is the singing of “Auld Lang Syne”, the ballad that friends and family often share together as the calendar flips.

However, the lyrics to the tune and where it exactly came from can sometimes be a bit tricky.

So before you start belting out the tune, you better get all you need to prepare for that.

Auld Lang Syne meaning of New Year’s Eve song

Translated verbatim from it’s old Scottish title, the words actually mean “old long since.”

However, updating them a bit to more modern language, it can come to mean “long, long ago,” “days gone by,” or “old times.”

In terms of the song itself rather than the phrase, the line “for auld lang syne” can be taken to mean “for the sake of old times.”

Auld Lang Syne origins of New Year’s Eve song

The song originates from a poem by the great Scottish bard Robert Burns that was penned in 1788. However, some of the lyrics for the poem were “collected” from a 1711 work by James Watson, so it might be fare for them to share some credit from where the song came from.

Auld Lang Syne lyrics for New Year’s Eve song

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And days of auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear
For auld lang syne
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet
For days of auld lang syne

We twa hae run about the braes
And pu’d the gowans fine
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit
Sin days of auld lang syne

And we twa hae paidl’d I’ the burn
Frae morning sun ’til dine
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
Sin days of auld lang syne

For auld lang syne, my dear
For auld lang syne
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet
For days of 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

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere
And gie’s a hand o’ thine
And we’ll tak a right gude-willy waught
For auld lang syne

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

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