what the song asks

The question it asks is clear: Should those we knew and loved be forgotten and never thought of? Should old times past be forgotten? No, says the song, they shouldn't be. We'll remember those times and those people, we'll toast them now and always, we'll keep them close. "We'll take a cup of kindness yet."
- Peggy Noonan, "Days of Auld Lang What?: The Origin of the New Year's Anthem and What it