Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne?
The title of this Scottish song translates to “times gone by” and is about remembering old friends from the past and not letting them be forgotten. The song has been immortalized in countless movies and TV shows.
In “When Harry Met Sally,” Billy Crystal’s Harry wonders, “What does this song mean? My whole life, I don’t know what this song means. I mean, “should old acquaintances be forgot? Does that mean that we should forget old acquaintances. Or does it mean that if we happen to forget them, should we remember them, which is not possible because we already forgot them?”
“Well maybe it means that we should remember that we forgot them or something,” Sally says. “Anyway, it’s about old friends.”
Despite it’s association with New Years Eve, “Auld Lang Syne,” written by Robert Burns in the 1700’s, was never intended to be a holiday song. Guy Lombardo is credited with popularizing the song when his band played it during a New Years Eve performance at the Roosevelt Hotel in 1929, and a New Years Tradition was born.
So it is basically a call to remember old friends, good deeds, and toast health and good will for the year ahead, as time marches on.