Auld Lang Syne

songs in English-speaking countries. It is usually sung each year on New Year's Eve at midnight and signifies the start of a new year. It is jokingly referred to as "the song that nobody knows," since its popularity ensures that nobody sings the correct version, and since truthfully many people can recall the melody easily but know only a fraction of the words. It is also used as the graduation song in Taiwan.

History

Auld Lang Syne was transcribed and published by Scottish poet Robert Burns, based on earlier Scots ballads. Scots "Auld Lang Syne" is equivalent to English "old long since" and can best be translated as "times gone by".

In Scots Syne is pronounced identically to the English word sign, [saIn] (Sampa) -- not zine [zaIn] as many people do every Hogmanay.

Guy Lombardo popularized the association of the song with the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve.