Same Old Lang Syne

1980

Dan Fogelberg

I'm going to finish off my Christmas Song posts with a modern classic from a certain Mr Fogelberg...a song that I've always thought of as more of a New Years song than a Christmas song, somehow, even if it is set on Christmas Eve. I've also heard it referred to as 'The Saddest Christmas Song Ever Recorded, which I have to agree with.

But I still love the song, as do a few million other Dan Fogelberg fans world-wide. That classic piano intro tells you you're getting ready to listen to something special...but many people have no idea that, when they hear that classic intro, they're getting ready to hear a musical telling of a true story. That's right...the story Dan tells in 'The Same Old Lang Syne' really happened.

Dan Fogelberg grew up in Peoria, Illinois, and was a member of Woodruff High School's class of '69, as was a girl named Jill Anderson. The two of them dated in high school, then went to different colleges after graduation, then after college Jill got married and went to Chicago, Dan when to Colorado to pursue his passion for music.

Christmas Eve several years down the road. Both of them were back in Peoria to visit their families for Christmas, both were sent on errands. Jill was sent for eggnog, Dan headed out to find whipped cream to make Irish Coffee. Remember this was back in the Seventies, when the concept of everything staying open on Christmas Eve Night (And many convenience stores staying open on Christmas Day) was all but unheard of. There was exactly one store open in Peoria that snowy Christmas Eve, and it was at Frye Ave and Abington Rd, at the top of Prospect Hill. Being Peoriaites, both of them knew this was where they'd have to go to get the required items, and to the joy of Fogelberg fans everywhere, they fell up in there at the same time. And from there, the lyrics of the song, and the story just about parallel each other. They did indeed grab a six-pack and sat in her car talking about their lives and old times for about two hours.

Jill actually gave an interview after Dan's death in 2007, and she said that there were only two inaccuracies in the song. Her eyes are actually green (Blue was probably substituted because it fit with the lyrics and melody better) and her hubby was a Phys Ed teacher and not an architect. She heard the song about five years later and probably couldn't help but smile. And she didn't reveal her identity or the fact that the song was indeed based on a true story because she didn't want to cause problems with Dan's marriage.

Interestingly enough, 'Same Old Lang Syne' wasn't actually released as a Christmas song, it was released as a mainstream single...even though it was released in mid-December of 198, and was set during Christmas The song didn't peak until three months later, when it cracked the Billboard Hot 100's Top 10 to land at #9. It'd stay on the charts for another four weeks

'Same Old Lang Syne' would show up on playlists again when Christmas '81 rolled around, and continue to do so for the following thirty-two or so Christmases. It became a Christmas Classic, but an interesting thing about this one...while you usually hear it around Christmas, when the Oldies and Easy Listening stations switch over to Christmas Music 24-7, you just might hear it in Mid-July, probably the only Christmas-themed song you can say that about.

I have a feeling that our kids and grandkids...and their kids and grandkids...will be hearing that classic piano intro, and listening to Dan Fogelberg's story of a Christmas Eve reunion with an old high school sweetheart long after we're gone. And that's a good thing!

So Enjoy...Dan Fogelberg's musical tale of running into his old girlfriend. Same Old Lang Syne.

I found two videos that I really liked///one with Lyrics on screen, and one without, and coudn't decide which i wanted to use...so I decide to include both. So as a bonus, Video the Second...this one with the lyrics on-screen.

 

 

Gotta throw a couple of interesting facts about Dan Fogelberg's Christmas classic in!
 Dan had some help making this into the classic that it became. That classic Sax solo at the end of the song? That was Smooth Jazz Mega-artist Michael Brecker. Sadly, Dan and Michael both left us too early, both loosing their battle with cancer the same year...2007. Dan was 56, Michael Brecker was 57.

A stretch of Abington Rd...the road that the convenience store where the events that inspired 'Same Old Lang Syne is located...was renamed Fogelberg Parkway in 2008. The store is still in business.