Ballad · Friendship

Auld Lang Syne (Wikisource)

by Robert Burns · 1788

Reading room

1Should old acquaintance be forgot,

2and never brought to mind ?

3Should old acquaintance be forgot,

4and auld lang syne ?

5Chorus:

6For auld lang syne, my dear,

7for auld lang syne,

8we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,

9for auld lang syne.

10And surely you’ll get your pint cup !

11and surely I’ll get mine !

12And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,

13for auld lang syne.

14We two have run about the slopes,

15and picked the daisies fine ;

16But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,

17since auld lang syne.

18We two have paddled in the stream,

19from morning sun ’till dine ;

20But seas between us broad have roared

21since auld lang syne.

22And there’s a hand my trusty friend !

23and give a hand o’ thine !

24And we’ll take a right good-will draught,

25for auld lang syne.

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“Auld Lang Syne (Wikisource)” by Robert Burns — quilloak.com/poems/auld-lang-syne

Quick facts

Poem: Auld Lang Syne (Wikisource)
Poet: Robert Burns
Published: 1788
Length: 25 lines
Form: Ballad, Rhyming Poems
Themes: Friendship, Life

Craft notes

How this poem works

Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.

Shape: 25 lines · 4 stanzas of 4–13 lines
Refrains: “Should old acquaintance be forgot,”“for auld lang syne,”“for auld lang syne.”Repeated lines act as the poem's hinge or drumbeat.

The poem’s silhouette — approximate syllables per line, measured from the text above. Even bars mean a measured line; ragged bars mean the poem sets its own widths.

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Text, source & rights

A traceable edition

Full-text display is based on the cited edition and a United States term-expiry review.

Author record: Robert Burns1759–1796
Source record: WikisourceAuld Lang Syne (Wikisource) by robert-burns, Wikisource transcription
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record: 1788
Text fingerprint: SHA-256 58fb666c9e6d1707…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Ballad Rhyming Poems Friendship Life

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