<Li> In South Korea, the song is known as Jakbyeol (작별 / Farewell) or (less commonly) as Seokbyeol - ui Jeong (석별 의 정 / The Feeling of Farewell). From 1919 to 1945 it served as the national anthem of the Korean exile government and from 1945 to 1948, it was the melody of South Korea's national anthem . The lyrics used then are the same as the current South Korean national anthem . </Li> <P> The strong and obvious associations of the song and its melody have made it a common staple for film soundtracks from the very early days of "talking" pictures to the present--a large number of films and television series' episodes having used it for background, generally but by no means exclusively to evoke the New Year . </P> <Ul> <Li> 1939: Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians performed it in on New Year's Eve for decades until his death in 1977 . Several sources credit Lombardo with "popularising" the use of the song, at least in the United States . Lombardo's version is played in Times Square every New Year's immediately following the dropping of the ball . </Li> <Li> 1997: On 30 June, the day before Hong Kong was handed over from the UK to China, the tune was played by the silver and pipe bands from the Royal Hong Kong Police Force, at the departure of Hong Kong's 28th and last British Governor, Chris Patten, from his official residence, Government House, Hong Kong </Li> <Li> 2009: On 30 November--St. Andrew's Day--students and staff at the University of Glasgow sang the song in 41 different languages simultaneously </Li> <Li> 2015: On 25 March, the song was played with a bagpipe on the transfer of Lee Kuan Yew's body from the Istana to the Parliament House </Li> </Ul> <Li> 1939: Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians performed it in on New Year's Eve for decades until his death in 1977 . Several sources credit Lombardo with "popularising" the use of the song, at least in the United States . Lombardo's version is played in Times Square every New Year's immediately following the dropping of the ball . </Li>

The meaning of the song auld lang syne