Not the ‘Same Auld Lang Syne’

My Dad was a big Dan Fogelberg fan, he loved that whole singer-songwriter genre. I grew up listening to all of them, James Taylor, Jim Croce, even John Lennon. Fogelberg is probably best known for his ode to the Kentucky Derby, “Run for the Roses” which plays every spring when the horse race airs. This time of year, we all get a little nostalgic and the chaos of the last year has made memories of days gone by more comforting. Perhaps that is why a song, I haven’t heard in 20 years has been running through my head all morning. Allow me to introduce you to “Same Auld Lang Syne“. No, not that “Auld Lane Syne”, this one came out in 1980 and is part of the soundtrack of my life.

“Same Old Lang Syne” is a song written and sung by Dan Fogelberg released as a single in 1980. It was also included on his 1981 album The Innocent Age. The song is an autobiographical narrative ballad told in the first person and tells the story of two long-ago romantic interests meeting by chance in a grocery store on Christmas Eve.

“We drank a toast to innocence, we drank a toast to now.”

So for those of you who aren’t feeling the need to Party Like It’s 1999, maybe this song will touch you too…or maybe you’ll be making fun of me for year to come. Yolo.

Something about the haunting tone of Fogelberg’s songs mixed with the brutally honest lyrics hits me right in the heart. The uncomfortable conversation, the feeling of lost years, the passing of time, drawing on pain we all experience at some point. In “Same Auld Lang Syne“, Dan Fogelberg taps into the melancholy that sometimes accompanies all those fond memories. It’s cheesy, it’s overstated but that’s what makes it so perfect for reflecting on life through the lens of what we want to remember.

Truth is I don’t even know if this song was popular enough for people to remember it. I know it was popular in my house. Then again, “Abraham, Martin and John” was a hit in my house too, and I’m pretty sure no where else. My own husband said he’d never heard “Same Auld Lang Syne” before I played it to get it out of my head. So I’ll be curious to hear from you.

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