Same Old Lang Syne

"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.[3] The song peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and is now frequently played during the holiday season and alongside traditional Christmas songs. It is commonly played on radio stations during the Christmas season in Canada and the United States.

"Same Old Lang Syne"
Picture sleeve for the U.S. vinyl release
Single by Dan Fogelberg
from the album The Innocent Age
B-side"Hearts and Crafts"
ReleasedNovember 1980[1]
GenreSoft rock[2]
Length5:18
LabelFull Moon
Songwriter(s)Dan Fogelberg
Producer(s)Dan Fogelberg, Marty Lewis
Dan Fogelberg singles chronology
"Heart Hotels"
(1980)		 "Same Old Lang Syne"
(1980)		 "Hard to Say"
(1981)

Content

The narrator is reunited with an old flame at a grocery store on a snowy Christmas Eve. She does not recognize him at first glance and when the two reach to embrace, she drops her purse causing them to laugh until they cry. They eventually decide to have a drink somewhere, but are unable to find an open bar. Settling on a six-pack purchased at a liquor store, they proceed to drink it in her car while they talk.[3]

The pair toast innocence of the past as well as the present. The subsequent verse describes the two pushing through their initial awkwardness and discussing their current lives. The lover went on to marry an architect and is seemingly content with her life, though she married for security instead of love. The narrator then says that as a musician he loves performing but hates touring.[3]

After consuming all of the beer, they exchange their goodbyes and the woman kisses him before he gets out of the car and she drives away. He flashes back to school and the pain of their previous breakup; as he turns toward home, the falling snow turns into rain.

The melody is based on the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky[4] and ends with a tenor saxophone solo by Michael Brecker based on the melody from the original "Auld Lang Syne".

Origins

As Fogelberg said on his official website, the song was autobiographical.[4] He was visiting family back home in Peoria, Illinois in the mid-1970s when he ran into an old girlfriend from Woodruff High School, the former Jill Anderson [5] at the "Convenient Food Mart" (now a convenience store) on Abington Street Hill Fogelberg stated in interviews that he did not recall precisely whether the chance meeting with his ex-girlfriend was in 1975 or 1976, though he leaned toward 1975.

After Fogelberg's death from prostate cancer in 2007, the woman in the song, Jill Anderson Greulich, came forward with her story. Greulich told of how she and Fogelberg dated in high school. As she explained to the Peoria Journal Star in an article dated December 22, 2007, the pair knew each other in Peoria, Illinois as part of the Woodruff High School class of 1969. After graduation, each attended different colleges. Following college, Greulich married and moved to Chicago, while Fogelberg moved to Colorado to pursue a music career. While back in Peoria visiting their respective families for Christmas in 1975, Fogelberg and Greulich ran into each other on Christmas Eve at a convenience store located at 1302 East Frye Avenue in the Abington Hill district. Greulich confirmed that together, they bought a six pack of beer and drank it in her car for two hours while they talked. Five years later,[6] after the song was released, Greulich heard the song on the radio for the first time while driving to work, but kept quiet about it, as Fogelberg also refused to disclose her identity. She stated that her reason for remaining quiet about her involvement in the song's narrative was that coming forward might have disrupted Fogelberg's marriage.[7]

Greulich noted that Fogelberg had taken artistic license with two details of the story: her eyes are green, not blue, and her husband was a physical education teacher, not an architect. In regard to the line, "She would have liked to say she loved the man, but she didn't like to lie," Greulich will not talk about it, but by the time of the song's release in 1980, she and her husband had divorced.

In 2008, the City of Peoria gave Abington Drive the honorary designation of "Fogelberg Parkway"[5]

Association with Christmas

"Same Old Lang Syne" is frequently played on radio stations during the North American holiday season. The song's opening lyrics reveal that the narrative takes place on a snowy Christmas Eve and they end with a second acknowledgment of snow. Since the song's release, these references and the musical quote of "Auld Lang Syne", a song traditionally sung on New Year's Eve, have increased the song's popularity during the month of December.[8] The song debuted on the Hot 100's top 40, at #37, on 27 December 1980, between Christmas and New Year's Eve.

Musicians
  • Dan Fogelberg: Piano, bass, electric piano, lead and background vocals
  • Glen Spreen: orchestral arrangements
  • Russ Kunkel: Drums
  • Michael Brecker: Tenor saxophone

Chart performance

References
  1. "Same Old Lang Syne". 45cat. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  2. Weil, Martin. "Dan Fogelberg; Soft-Rock Star Penned 'Same Old Lang Syne'". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  3. "Dan Fogelberg – Same Old Lang Syne Lyrics".
  4. "Frequently Asked Questions". Dan Fogelberg. 2003. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  5. Luciano, Phil. "The story behind Dan Fogelberg and his holiday hit 'Same Old Lang Syne'". Peoria Journal Star. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
  6. http://www.pjstar.com/x1101623574/Luciano-Its-a-memory-that-I-cherish
  7. Luciano, Phil (2007-12-22). "'It's a memory that I cherish'". Journal Star. Peoria, Illinois. Archived from the original on 2013-05-18. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  8. Zaleski, Annie. "Why melancholy holiday songs like 'Last Christmas,' 'Same Old Lang Syne' endure". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  9. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Same Old Lang Syne". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  10. "The official NZ Music Charts 03 MAY 1981".
  11. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002
  12. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 89.
  13. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles". Archived from the original on 2017-02-13. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
  14. "Top 100 Hits of 1981/Top 100 Songs of 1981".
  15. "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1981". Archived from the original on 2016-10-22. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
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