Good Question

Jan 2, 2013 7:38 PM by John Reger

GQ: What does the song "Auld Lang Syne" mean?

If you were out two nights ago or watching TV, you probably heard a song that always gets popular on News Years Eve but leaves people asking questions: What does Auld Lang Syne mean? And how did it become a New Year's tradition? Good Questions.

The title translates into "times gone by" and the song's about not forgetting friends from the past. It's an old Scottish song first written down in 1796 by poet Robert Burns, who worked on the lyrics. A musician named Guy Lombardo heard the song sung by Scottish immigrants in his native Canada. Later, Lombardo became a famous big band leader and played it at midnight at a News Year's Eve party in 1929 at a big hotel in New York City... the tradition was born. After that, Lombardo played the song every New Year's until 1976 at celebrations at the New York's famed Waldforf Astoria, which were broadcast around the world on radio and, later, on television.

The last line of the song is: "We'll drink a cup of kindness yet for times gone by."

But it's 2013 and I want your good question. Send it to me at The only bad question is the one you don't ask.

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