ToastBuddy
Back to the library
Historical lessonFriendshipWarm

Auld Lang Syne

Robert Burns’s version of a traditional song turns shared memory into a small, present act of friendship.

Speaking time
12 sec
Words on this page
21

A sourced excerpt

Read it like a speaker

Make cue cards

01

Friendship refrain excerpt

Bring a toast back from memories to the people sharing the room now.

For auld lang syne, my dear, For auld lang syne. We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet, For auld lang syne.

Say it: Speak it warmly and slowly. If the Scots wording is unfamiliar, introduce it as a cup of kindness for old times’ sake.

Speaker’s notebook

Why it works

  1. 1The refrain gives everyone a shared destination after different memories and experiences.
  2. 2The cup turns an intangible feeling into a gesture that suits a toast.
  3. 3“My dear” keeps the large ritual personal, as if the speaker were addressing one friend.

Details to notice

The speech’s center

Speaker or role
Robert Burns
Room
Friends remembering old times together
Ideas
FriendshipReunionMemoryKindness

Keep reading

Nearby examples

See the full library

Friendship · Original

A Friendship with Several Zip Codes

An original friendship toast with a fictional voice message that makes long-distance care feel personal and practical.

Friendship · Original

Meeting Each Other as We Are Now

A reunion host welcomes longtime friends with an old prediction, a shared plan that went awry, and an invitation to learn about each other's lives now.

Friendship · Archive

The Arrow and the Song

Longfellow ends a poem about things sent into the world by discovering that a friend has carried the song all along.