苏格兰民歌《友谊地久天长》（Auld Lang Syne）实际上已成为庆祝新年的同义词。

苏格兰民歌《友谊地久天长》（Auld Lang Syne）实际上已成为庆祝新年的同义词。在全世界范围内，这首歌可能是除“生日快乐”（Happy Birthday）以外最为人耳熟能详的歌曲。这是一首歌苏格兰歌曲，歌名大意是“很久很久以前”，从苏格兰低地为源头，跨越各种文化传播到世界各地。这首歌的歌词经18世纪苏格兰诗人罗伯特·彭斯（Robert Burns）之手广为人知，彭斯的朋友乔治·汤普森（George Thompson）为歌词谱上了曲子。今天，《友谊地久天长》已经有各种不同的版本。世界各大洲凡有人居住的地方都能听到这首歌。

多年来，或许因为这首歌的歌名是苏格兰语，也可能是因为人们往往只传唱其中的第一句，歌词表达的长相思的意境和期待重逢的含义已变得模糊不清，即使对以英语为母语的人们来说也是如此。这首歌除了在庆祝新年时被经常传唱，还成为一首最常见的送别歌曲在全世界广为流传。此外，在毕业典礼或葬礼上也能听到《友谊地久天长》。这首歌的旋律还被用于一首橄榄球歌曲，以往有两首国歌也曾采用同样的旋律。

在一个网络展览会上（http://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/exhibition.asp?id=55），纽约的摩根图书和博物馆（Morgan Library and Museum）这样描述《友谊地久天长》这首歌：“发源于古老的苏格兰诗歌，演变成全球共同表达友谊和希望的歌曲”。

The 18th century Scottish song “Auld Lang Syne” has managed to find a home on every continent.

The song “Auld Lang Syne” is practically synonymous with New Year’s celebrations, and it may be the most well-known tune around the world after “Happy Birthday.” The song, whose Scots-language title roughly means “long long ago,” has made a remarkable cross-cultural journey from its traditional Lowland roots. It was popularized in the 18th century by Scottish poet Robert Burns, and Burns’ friend George Thompson wrote the music. Today, there are versions of “Auld Lang Syne” being sung on every inhabited continent.

Over the years, because of its Scots title and perhaps because only the first verse usually is sung, its message of nostalgia over the passage of time and the looking forward to reunions has become unclear even to some native English speakers. Along with being used at New Year’s celebrations, it has been widely sung around the world as a general farewell song. “Auld Lang Syne” has been heard at both graduation ceremonies and funerals, and the melody has also been used for a football song and two former national anthems.

In an online exhibition, the New York-based Morgan Library and Museum has described “Auld Lang Syne” as “a song that began as an old Scots poem and air and evolved into a globally shared expression of friendship and longing.”