A Michael Acoustic New Year's Eve Classic (mostly) Repost

Yeah, it's not exactly a New Year's Eve Song by the lyrics, but of course it really is...

Dec 31, 2024

The original post is from 29 December 2023, so yeah….also I added some stuff and deleted some stuff:

The song “Same Old Lang Syne” was written by Dan Fogelberg, and released as a single in November 1980. The song is Track 8 on the album “The Innocent Age” released in 1981. Produced by Marty Lewis & Dan Fogelberg.

Ed. I still don’t care that the lyrics refer to a Christmas Eve - Those were Mr. Fogelberg’s memories and reminiscence, his “Anamnesis” if you will - listeners who love the song are free to interpret it any way (we) want…anamnesis is an elegant word from ancient Greek via Latin that describes the idea of remembering, and reminiscing…

Ed. From 29 December 2023, more or less…

Ed. My Favorite New Year’s Eve Song (and yes, I know the lyrics refer to Christmas Eve, I don’t care…). I’ve always heard it as a New Year’s Eve song because it speaks so eloquently to the idea of remembering, but then letting go of, the past and moving on - in a sorta “snow turned into rain” kinda way - your mileage may vary. (Ed. See the song analysis below for why it’s a NYE song to me!)

“Daniel Grayling Fogelberg^[1] (August 13, 1951 – December 16, 2007) was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is primarily known for his 1970s and 1980s soft rock hits, including "Longer" (1979), "Same Old Lang Syne" (1980), and "Leader of the Band" (1981).” Credit: Wikipedia Link: Dan Fogelberg

A Song To Play:

"Fogelberg wrote this song based on an incident in 1975 when he bumped into an old girlfriend from high school, Jill Anderson Greulich, at a convenience store in Peoria, Illinois on Christmas Eve. The two shared a six-pack of beer and reminisced for a couple of hours before parting ways.

Fogelberg never identified the woman in the song, and Greulich only came forward after Fogelberg’s death in 2007.

Greulich has identified two inaccuracies in the song: 1) her eyes are not blue, and 2) her husband (at the time) was not an architect."

Credit Genius Link: Lyrics “Same Auld Lang Syne”

4/4 common time, Key of CMaj, the live version below says 97 BPM tempo, the album version - same key and time - is listed as 107 BPM.

[Verse 1]
Met my old lover in the grocery store
The snow was falling Christmas Eve
I stole behind her in the frozen foods
And I touched her on the sleeve

[Verse 2]
She didn't recognize the face at first
But then her eyes flew open wide
She went to hug me and she spilled her purse
And we laughed until we cried

[Verse 3]
We took her groceries to the checkout stand
The food was totaled up and bagged
We stood there lost in our embarrassment
As the conversation dragged

[Verse 4]
Went to have ourselves a drink or two
But couldn't find an open bar
We bought a six-pack at the liquor store
And we drank it in her car

[Chorus]
We drank a toast to innocence
We drank a toast to now
And tried to reach beyond the emptiness
But neither one knew how

[Verse 5]
She said she'd married her an architect
Who kept her warm and safe and dry
She would have liked to say she loved the man
But she didn't like to lie

[Verse 6]
I said the years had been a friend to her
And that her eyes were still as blue
But in those eyes I wasn't sure if I
Saw doubt or gratitude

[Verse 7]
She said she saw me in the record stores
And that I must be doing well
I said the audience was heavenly
But the traveling was hell

[Chorus]
We drank a toast to innocence
We drank a toast to now
And tried to reach beyond the emptiness
But neither one knew how
We drank a toast to innocence
We drank a toast to time
Reliving in our eloquence
Another "auld lang syne"

[Verse 8]
The beer was empty and our tongues were tired
And running out of things to say
She gave a kiss to me as I got out
And I watched her drive away

[Verse 9]
Just for a moment I was back at school
And felt that old familiar pain
And as I turned to make my way back home
The snow turned into rain...

[Saxophone Solo]

Ed: Very interesting songwriting, especially considering (or maybe because…) the lyrics recall a real life event. Nine(!) verses, each ABCB in rhyme structure. No bridge. Two choruses, which only appear in the body of the song, with additional lyrics in the second. The rhyme structure of both is ABAB, even the additional lines in the second chorus. At the conclusion of the last verse, the song transitions into a jazz influenced instrumental outro of the traditional New Year’s Eve song, “Auld Lang Syne” (Ed. - told ya!…) directly from Verse 9 rather than from a final chorus.

(Ed. “The words auld lang syne literally mean “old long since,” though in practice it means “old times, especially times fondly remembered,” as well as an “old or long friendship.””) Credit: Dictionary.com

31 December 2024

Ed. This is probably going to be my yearly New Year’s Eve post from now on. “Die Hard” is a Christmas movie, and this is a New Year’s Eve song. Your mileage may vary…just sayin….