Is “Auld Lang Syne” Still the Most Popular Song for New Year’s Eve?

Most people in the English-speaking world associate “Auld Lang Syne” with New Year’s Eve celebrations, but few actually know many of the words. Most revelers just have a sip of champagne, hug the nearest person, and try to join in on the chorus. The Scots poem "Auld Lang Syne" means roughly “old long since” or “long long ago.” Robert Burns gets credit for the lyrics, and he may have written some, but he was really just the first person to write down the lyrics of an old Scottish folk song, perhaps dating to the 15th century. The British retailer Sainsbury’s took a poll in 2017 to see how many people actually know the words, and found that only 3 percent could recite them correctly.

For all the lyrics I forgot:

• Some respondents thought that the song was called “Old Land Sign,” and 42 percent of millennials polled didn’t know a single word. Sixty percent of respondents credited the lyrics to ABBA, and 40 percent chose the Beatles.
• The song is an annual reminder to remember and cherish old friendships and good deeds, and to toast for good health and goodwill in the year ahead -- for Auld Lang Syne, essentially “for the sake of old times.”
• The tune is used by the Maldives and South Korea as their national anthems. Japanese department stores play the ditty as a polite reminder for customers to leave at closing time.