“Reliving in our eloquence, another old lang syne” is one of those masterful lines from Dan Fogelberg’s “Same Old Lang Syne”. The song is one of the most well-known of Fogelberg’s is the central piece of his 2-album song cycle The Innocent Age (1981).
Dan Fogelberg (b 1951, Peoria, Ill) is a singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist who had his greatest success in the 1970’s, 80’s and early 90’s. Though born in Illinois, he is often grouped with the “Califonia rock” scene in the 1970’s alongside The Eagles, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, JD Souther, and others. Fogelberg came to California with manager and friend Irving Azoff (manager of REO Speedwagon, the Eagles, and others). Azoff saw him perform at local Illinois club and loved what he heard. First signed to Columbia, then to Epic, Fogelberg crafted a unique niche as musician, singer and songwriter. His lyrics were stories of love, loss, and life’s travels melded with melodic instrumentation. Throughout his career he has managed to stay true to his musical vision, sometimes directly going against what the pop trends of the day were.
In the midst of punk and new wave, Fogelberg conceived The Innocent Age; a sprawling 2-album set which would become the high watermark of his career. Beautifully conceived, it explores the idea of life as we grow and mature moving from childhood to adulthood. Each song is a piece of art. Released in 1980 during the height of punk, pop, and New Wave, the song cycle hearkens back many years to when songcraft seemed more cherished. Each song is great, but the album begs a complete listen start-to-finish. Fogelberg had four of the most successful tunes of his career from this one creative milestone: “Leader of the Band” “Same Old Lang Syne” “Run for the Roses” and “Hard To Say”. This album put Dan over the top so to speak as one of the preeminent musical voices of his generation. Each song on this album is laced with passionate insight about growing old in an uncertain world.
“Nexus” is the first song on the album, and it as about the overall journey of life and the troubles we face. So wealthy the spirit that knows its own flight. Stealthy the hunter who slays his own fright. Blessed the traveler who journeys the length of the light. (Note: fellow songwriter Joni Mitchell sings the descant portion of this tune).
“The Innocent Age” sets the tone for the album. Here the author shares the struggles of finding yourself not old, but not young any more. A certain part of us always aims to recapture our youth, but the fact is that we can’t go back in time to do that so many of us resort to other, sometime desperate means. Fretful horizons, worrisome skiesTearful misgivings burning your eyes Yearnings unanswered, reckon the wage you pay to recapture the innocent age” is just one of the wonderfully poignant lines that appear throughout this entire cycle.
“The Sand and the Foam” is an achingly beautiful tribute to the innocence of youth, and how fleeting that innocence is. One day we’re running through the fields of flowers or through the waters of the ocean as they cascade around our feet, only to awaken the next day and find that we’re older. The realization that those times are here and gone leads to heartache for many; that emotion is powerfully stated here.
“In The Passage” speaks the continuum of life and time that we find ourselves living in “from the cradle to the grave”. Are the questions and needs and wants we’re born with any different than the ones we have once we reach the end of our lives? Maybe not…maybe we’re “Rushing headlong through the crashing of the days”
“Lost In The Sun” is another take on this idea of the life journey we all take. The faster we run, the further away the dreams that we chase become” is the key phrase here.
Run For The Roses” is a piece originally written by Dan for use in the Kentucky Derby (DF is a horse enthusiast and rancher, for the record). His use of metaphor is so sublime here: this song is about a horse for crying out loud! ? Yet in an epic, Jimmy Webb kind of moment, Fogelberg turns a phrase in the chorus: It’s the chance of a lifetime in a lifetime of chance.”
Probably Fogelberg’s greatest song is “Leader of the Band. This song is dedicated to his father who was a band director in the Peoria IL school system. He noted in interviews later that his father and he had great love for each other, but like many “Midwestern” males found themselves having difficulty relating on a father/son emotional level. This song is the result. This is something that all kids want to be able to say to their dad, but time and circumstances all too easily get in the way. This song is Dan’s biggest hit, and ironically came out in a time when music was becoming heavily commercialized and processed. The song features one acoustic guitars, a lead vocal with two harmonies, and a small organ part. A lesson in simplicity, songcraft, and love that all of us would do well to learn from.
Other than the previously mentioned “Leader of the Band”, Fogelberg is most known for “Same Old Lang Syne”. This tune began its life as an inconsequential meeting between Dan and an ex-girlfriend over Christmas Eve at a local convenience story (DF says this is a true story). As the two lost lovers meet and talk, they discover what the years took away…innocence…love….friendship….time. It is so poignant to note how the song starts so inconsequentially and develops into such a beautifully sad piece. Dan wrote the music by turning Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” on it’s ear and playing with a vi-minor chord with a Nashville feel. Listen to the melody again, you’ll see what I mean. The tag at the end features a jazz improvisation on “Auld Lang Syne” by saxophonist Michael Brecker. One of the great holiday love songs.
“Stolen Moments” leads off disc 2. This song is about living in the moment, and trying to pursue true love in spite of what gets thrown at us. The chorus is a defining statement for relationships: “And in the time it takes us to look beyond the lies we could be sailing through each other’s eyes And in those stolen moments when love is caught off guard we see it never had to be this hard”
“The Lion’s Share” is a poignant song about longing, regret, and decision-making: “the day holds a costly bargain”, “Torn between the blessing and the curse”. So many of us struggle with longing and regret; it especially gets more problematic the older we get, because we begin to realize how short life really is, and we look back and see decisions we could have all made differently. We all have this inner drive that many of us take a lifetime to try and understand, but most of us never really get there – “You may stop the hunger but you’ll never slake the thirst for the nectar you remember but you’ll never taste again”.
Emmylou Harris joins Dan for the next track – “Only The Heart May Know”. This is a beautiful and poignant song about the innocence of youth and love lost. Silent sea, tell this to me: Where are the children that we used to be?” This song is filled with the simplicity, wistfulness, and longing of youth. Sometimes there seems to be a disconnect between what our mind “knows” and what our heart “feels”. Indeed, only the heart may know.
Fans of Fogelberg know that some of his best songs are not necessarily the singles. “The Reach” is one of those classic songs. Dan has long been a sailing enthusiast, and it is widely known that one of his homes is up in Maine. “The Reach” perfectly captures the vista of the New England coast as a metaphor for home, family, love and tradition. “Aireshire Lament” provides a nice coda at the end of this song.
One of the harder-edged songs on the album and in Fogelberg’s entire output is “Times Like These”. A little cynical at times, but straight on nonetheless, the song perfectly captures what a heart feels like when its confused about which direction to go. “Over a barrel, under the spell. Money’s the demon that drives you. Limping through heaven or running through hell. Happiness smiles but denies you.”
One of Dan’s most poignant and underrated songs is “Hard To Say”. The song features Glenn Frey of the Eagles on background vocals (listen again to the chorus). The song makes some keen insights into relationships that all of us have felt at one time or another. “You face the future with a weary past. Those dreams you banked upon are fading fast.
You know you love her but it may not last you fear. It’s never easy and it’s never clear who’s to navigate and who’s to steer. And so you flounder drifting ever near the rocks” It is hard to say sometimes what’s happening in a relationship, and this song speaks powerfully to that.
Empty Cages” is another look at living life in the face of impending failures, as we grow up and learn that the world is not quite as rosy as we yearned for it to be in our youths. The unfortunate state of our existence, depends largely on our outlook, and whether we can change, adapt, believe and hope, or become self-defeated. As always, Dan draws excellent metaphors with lines like “Long before we come of age we yearn to leave the garden and wrestle with a myth the hand of fate has faintly drawn. But somewhere on the way we feel our hearts begin to harden. And see just as we learn to turn around, the garden is gone”.
Dan ends the entire song cycle in fine fashion the epic “Ghosts”. Starting with a haunting piano line in C-minor, Fogelberg begins the story in a dream-state where “Silently the past comes stealing like the taste of some forbidden sweet”. The song speaks to those things we thought were buried in our past, that continue to affect our lives from to time to time. We all have them; we wouldn’t be human if we didn’t have brokenness, pain, doubt, and regret. What we do with that and whether it takes too great a hold of our future is important to consider.
The Innocent Age is commonly held as the pinnacle of Dan’s career. (The period from Netherlands through Windows and Walls is his successful period). It is interesting to note that this ambitious song cycle came out in the midst of a completely different musical climate; it’s a marvel that it was successful as it was. Or perhaps not…the cycle speaks to an issue that is central to many of our hearts: living. What happens with the innocence of youth gives way to the cynicism of old age? Can one truly live a fruitful life and have hope in spite of one’s past? Is the adage “those who don’t learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them” really true? How do we answer the deepest questions of our heart? Is the answer ours to give? How trustworthy is the human heart? These are all threads in The Innocent Age. Take a moment soon and revisit this wonderful piece of musical storytelling.
Reference:
- Fogelberg, Dan. The Innocent Age. Epic Records, 1981. Zollo, Paul. Songwriters on Songwriting. Cincinatti: Da Capo Press, 2003 Hutchinson, Lynda. “Dan Fogelberg” Performing Songwriter, Jan/Feb 1995. www.danfogelberg.com www.thelivinglegacy.net
