Research by Sainsbury’s shows the majority can belt out the chorus and first few lines at best but 42 per cent of millennials do not know a single word.

It also found more than half do not know Robert Burns wrote the words – and three per cent thought Mariah Carey did.

Sainsbury’s has now put together a songsheet online in an effort to revive the tradition. 

A spokesman for the supermarket said: “We want everyone to have a great New Year’s Eve and singing Auld Lang Syne – or Old Land Sign as some people thought – is as much a part of our celebrations as a glass of fizz at midnight.”

When presented with lyrics from the song, 54 per cent of younger people couldn’t identify the chorus, despite it featuring the words Auld Lang Syne.

Further errors included believing lyrics from The Beatles (40 per cent), Abba (60 per cent), Taylor Swift (34 per cent) and Little Mix (30 per cent) were lines from the 18th-century poem.

Snoop Dogg’s lyrics to his song New Year’s Eve – “And every time I see you shine, It’s like the lights of midnight, On New Year’s Eve” – were thought to be part of the song by 45 per cent of Brits.

Scots did not fare much better – just seven per cent said they knew all the lyrics.

However, eight out of 10 people north of the Border correctly identified Burns as the writer.