Why does “Auld Lang Syne” always play on New Year’s Eve?
Once the hysteria over Christmas songs dies down after Dec. 25 every year, not many New Year’s songs take their place. “Auld Lang Syne” will still play countless times on…
Once the hysteria over Christmas songs dies down after Dec. 25 every year, not many New Year’s songs take their place. “Auld Lang Syne” will still play countless times on New Year’s Eve, however, even though most people don’t know what it means, where it came from, or the basic pronunciation of the lyrics.
According to Britannica, the name is taken from a phrase written by Scottish poet Robert Burns in the late 1700s.
There is no direct connection to the turning of the calendar on New Year’s Eve, but it became associated with the holiday gradually throughout the 20th century. Canadian musician Guy Lombardo first popularized it in North America.
Why does "Auld Lang Syne" play on New Year's Eve?
Could the average person celebrating the New Year’s Eve countdown in Times Square pronounce the name of the song that plays every year when the ball drops at midnight? My guess would be no.
Can the masses of people packed into crowded bars in Center City Philadelphia after the Mummers Parade do anything besides hum the melody? Probably not.
Behind the sound of noise makers and fireworks at midnight on New Year’s Eve, you will actually hear some very interesting lyrics.
"Should old acquaintance be forgot/ And never brought to mind?/ Should old acquaintance be forgot,/And auld lang syne.
For auld lang syne, my jo,/For auld lang syne,/ We'll take a cup of kindness yet,"
The title phrase translates directly to “old long since,” which can loosely be understood as “for old time’s sake” in modern English.
The thought of sharing a drink with old friends to pay tribute to old times lines up perfectly with the mood of a very happy bar crowd in Philadelphia every January 1st.
"And surely you’ll buy your pint cup!/And surely I’ll buy mine!"
When you hear the sentimental melody this New Year's, impress your friends with a quick history instead of making it an afterthought.
We've had to say goodbye to some big names this year in the worlds of entertainment and beyond.
Scroll through the gallery below to see the musicians, celebrities and other cultural figures we've lost in 2022
Sidney Poitier
Evening Standard/Getty Images
Bob Saget
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Ronnie Spector
Jack Kay/Daily Express/Getty Images
Peter Bogdanovich
Araya Diaz/Getty Images
André Leon Talley
Cindy Ord/Getty Images
Gaspard Ulliel
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
Woodstock Music Festival co-producer Micael Lang
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
Meat Loaf
Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Louie Anderson
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Howard Hesseman
Matthew Peyton/Getty Images
Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Mark Lanegan
Mark Davis/Getty Images
Gary Brooker
Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Ivan Reitman
Theo Wargo/Getty Images
Traci Braxton
Theo Wargo/Getty Images
William Hurt
Charley Gallay/Getty Images
Scott Hall
Larry Busacca/Getty Images
Taylor Hawkins
Scott Dudelson/Getty Images
Tom Parker of The Wanted
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Gilbert Gottfried
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Robert Morse
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Madeleine Albright
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Naomi Judd
Stephen Cohen/Getty Images
Alan White, drummer for Yes
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Andy Fletcher, keyboardist/co-founder of Depeche Mode
Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images
Alec John Such, original Bon Jovi bassist
Theo Wargo/Getty Images For The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
James Caan
Matt Carr/Getty Images
Tony Sirico
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
Ivana Trump
(Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images)Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images
William Hart, Lead Singer Of The Delfonics
Don Paulsen/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Paul Sorvino
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Tony Dow
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Bill Russell
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Nichelle Nichols
(Photo by Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images)Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images
Olivia Newton-John
Cole Bennetts/Getty Images
Joe E. Tata (Nat from Beverly Hills, 90210)
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Mikhail Gorbachev
Photo by White House Photos/Getty Images
Bernard Shaw
Photo by Mark Mainz/Getty Images
Queen Elizabeth II
Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images
Ken Starr
Photo By Pool/Getty Images
Louise Fletcher (Nurse Ratched from 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest')
David Livingston/Getty Images
Coolio
Brad Barket/Getty Images
Wrestling icon Antonio Inoki
Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images
Sacheen Littlefeather
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Loretta Lynn
Terry Wyatt/Getty Images
Angela Lansbury
Evan Agostini/Getty Images
Robbie Coltrane
Ian Gavan/Getty Images
Leslie Jordan
Vivien Killilea/Getty Images
Jerry Lee Lewis
Evening Standard/Getty Images
Julie Powell
Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images
Jeff Cook of Alabama
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Kevin Conroy
Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images
Dan McCafferty of Nazareth
Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
John Aniston
Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images
Jason David Frank
Daniel Zuchnik/Getty Images
Irene Cara
United Artists/Archive Photos/Getty Images
Christine McVie
Davidson/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Wilko Johnson
Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
Gaylord Perry
Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
Brad William Henke
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
Bob McGrath of 'Sesame Street'
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
Kirstie Alley
Bryan Bedder/Getty Images
Mills Lane
Ken Levine /Allsport/Getty Images
Dorothy Pitman Hughes
Monica Schipper/Getty Images
Stephen "tWitch" Boss
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
Billie Moore
Gary Newkirk/Allsport/Getty Images
Dino Danelli
Don Paulsen/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Ray Liotta
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
Vin Scully
Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images
Terry Hall
Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images
Fighters Only World Mixed Martial Arts Awards 2011
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Pele
Xavi Torrent/Getty Images
Vivienne Westwood
Francois Durand/Getty Images
