Album: The Innocent Age (1981)

Charted: 9

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• Met my old lover in the grocery store
  The snow was falling Christmas Eve
  I stood behind her in the frozen foods
  And I touched her on the sleeve
  
  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
  
  We took her groceries to the check out stand
  The food was totaled up and bagged
  We stood there lost in our embarrassment
  As the conversation lagged
  
  We 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
  
  We drank a toast to innocence
  We drank a toast to now
  We tried to reach beyond the emptiness
  But neither one knew how
  
  She said she's 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
  
  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
  
  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
  
  We drank a toast to innocence
  We drank a toast to now
  We 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"
  
  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
  
  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 Writer/s: Dan Fogelberg
  Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 70

• Phil from Auckland, New ZealandA great song has fantastic lyrics & a beautiful melody. Singer/songwriters like Dan & Don McLean are the best. This song is heart-breaking & so wonderful.
• Armin from Dallas/fort WorthI saw Dan in 1997 and when he introduced this song he said that people ask if it really happened. His answer to them was that he believed it happened to someone, somewhere. After reading the story about the song I see that he was obviously being coy about its origin. He, like his ex-girlfriend, was protecting their privacy. I'm quite amazed that his ex, Jill, kept the story to herself for so many years, instead of claiming her 15 minutes of fame, like so many others shamelessly do.
• Fong from Californiai saw an interview with dan, he said that the "snow turned into rain" is what actually happened at the time
  of course there are many ways to interpret this beyond the reality of it. just wanted to share that he described what literally happened
• Bruce S. Stewart from Currently Evansville, In.Interestingly, Pawtucket West Class of 1969, so a contemporary of both Jill and Dan. There are few songs in this world that will make me cry just about every time I hear it. This is one. Perhaps it is memories of that one live that didn't last, but perhaps ...
• Mickey from New Orleans My all time favorite song. This song means a lot to me as well. My first love when I was in school n a chance meeting. The words are perfect! It is a true story and it is about his heart love, Jill. Dan never did like to bring his friends into the limelight. He was a very private man as well. This song makes me cry, but also, I just can relate to this song. Dan was such a smart n gifted writer and artist. Gone way too soon. Ty for sharing your songs n talents w us. Fly high Dan the man. Oh and to me... the end represents tears..beautiful snow to rain. Deff tears!!!
• Tim from TexasI always interpreted the last verse as his world feeling like it was a little warmer place having seen her and reminiscing about their relationship. Just my $0.02
• Ca from Boston, MaWell I would hear this song at Christmas time. It now has meaning to me. I did run into my love in a different place a hospital and it had been years since we saw one another. He was a patent and I was his therapist. We both did not acknowledge each other due to fear of being uncomfortable. Well he had been through so much. He talked about the years. He had been through a rough divorce and was going though medical problems. I took care of him daily and we would talk daily. He really had only a few people in his lime. Well at the end of the hospital stay, I could not handle it and told him who I was. He knew the whole time and told me his heart was smiling on the inside. He had a tear in his eye when he told me he was happy to have someone in his corner. He had a tear in his eye and I almost cried. I told him he has always been a lifelong friend. My heart almost cried. My heart is so happy and this song will now melt my heart.
• Jimmyc from Californiawhen I hear this song it reminds me of my very first love that lasted about 4yrs with an engagement.... We were young in our late teens early 20's. She was everything to me... But as we grow up. Our opportunities in life change as well as what we like to do...Oh! We had very common interests. Unfortunately the things we loved weren't really aligned... She being the Baby in here Family and the love of an older parental couple that had in total 4 children that ranged from mid 40's to my love of the age of 17.... She could do anything she wanted. Athletic Softball to her all over with tournaments all over southern Wisconsin.. Her making new friends and doing her thing vs us making wedding plans... We Unfortunately grew apart, and to this day! I would not trade moment we had... I still love her and now 40yrs later... I crave that one day we'll bump into each other in the grocery store and have the same moment. DMB in Jefferson County Wisconsin... Know that I still love you and would love to be a closer friend,,,
• Cs From Lynn from Lynn, Ma KT,
  I was wondering if the snow turning to rain meant his magical moment with his lost love was over, and the rain represented he was back to reality. The tears are a great analogy!
• Kat from NyIt's a song about drinking and driving.
• Cat from ArizonaI remember reading an interview with Dan saying that this song was never written about a particular person, that is represented that old feeling you had in high school, your first love. Dan was a brilliant songwriter with such beautiful lyrics.
• Kt from NashvilleFirst time I ever thought to see if the song had any relevance and it’s all true. I can’t think of any song so beautiful so telling I think I married my first true love and this song tells me they both should have stayed together it’s a sad song Dan had the melancholy voice anyways my friend loved him he passed this past year I can’t believe it’s a true song and I was thinking of my friends love for Fogelberg and I came upon these excellent interpretations. The snow turns into rain could be tears that seems more as to what he was saying.
• David From Ny from YonkersSo, please, no one get me wrong...I LOVE DF, and this song is one of the best, EVER. But in listening to it for perhaps the 853rd time tonight I noted to my wife that "doubt" and "gratitude" are two very different facial expressions. I asked her to try both (she is an actress) and they looked very different. So I'm just say'n, it's an odd lyric, still great, but odd. My wife just told me to get a life...Glad to see you all on this site. Dan F forever!!!
• "loophole" - A Call Sign from Silverthorne, ColoradoFogelberg is still unsurpassed as a song writer about love. The phrase "the snow turned into rain", l believe ties to another song "Hard to Say" in which he asks the question of his love "why when it snows you cry". Fogelberg is simply saying as he turned "to find his way back home", he felt "that old familiar pain" and he cried. An incredible song writer with such depth of feeling...and incredible use of lyrics. He was taken from us much to soon.
• Mary from Yuma, AzMany people have commented about the last part, 'the snow turned into rain'. No one really knows what this means, but I have speculated that it could mean how beautiful snow is and eventually, it's just water. Just like his lost love, it was beautiful at first, but eventually, it is what it is, and you can't go backwards, only forwards.
• Andrewj from CanadaCamille's comments are quite apt: The song is about a nostalgic-filled moment that appears to promise hope but ultimately delivers "that ol' familiar pain," of the (perhaps, necessity) of young heartbreak. It's very bittersweet because the song is so beautifully done. Yet, a caution: if you are thinking of contacting a youthful lover (note Fogelberg's choice of "lover," not "girlfriend," as Camille points out), seriously reconsider.
  
  After about 30 years, I returned home and looked up the guy who broke my heart when I was 18 (and he was about 23). Being out was new to me, and it was obviously (from my now mature perspective) a very deep infatuation. Yet even at that, I was deeply affected. I wanted to know why he ended it. Yeah, kinda dumb -- but I had never forgotten the hurt. So I called him and we made plans. I went over to his place, to pick him up and go out for a drink, catch up on old times, and who knows, right? Wrong. Here was a man who used to be athletic, handsome, on his game, smart and funny, with this honest-for-real twinkle in his eye, who was now somewhere lost in the midst of this old man I stood before. It was the first time in my life I was actually stunned beyond words. But I gathered myself together and we went out; and his was a tale of sadness and, from what I could tell, a slow road to physical and emotional dead ends. That twinkle in his eye flashed now and then, and it only made it all the more sad. As in the song, we ran out of things to say; and yet, still, I felt "that old familiar pain." I never did ask him why he left; and I realized it wasn't important to know. Moreover, I should have left well enough alone. Same old lange syne, indeed.
• Rich from Redlands, CaSame old Lang Syne.
  
  I have long loved this song about lost loves and of paths not taken. I must admit that it almost brings me to tears every time I hear it because it strikes so close to home. This beautifully sad story is one most everyone can relate to and find tucked away in the most protected part of our hearts. Will there ever be a love as strong or as ultimately painful as our "first love"? I've always believed that one way you can tell real friends from mere acquaintances is that the second you see them, it's like your conversation picks up almost right where it left off, even though there may have been decades in between. It just feels natural and comfortable, like coming home.
  
  That indeed seems to be the case with these two former lovers, meeting by chance at a convenience store. They talk naturally and comfortably for hours. Then, as the last verse describes him suddenly being "back at school", feeling "that old familiar pain", and the snow turning "into rain" suggests, there is unfinished business there. For me, the symbolism of the snow turning into rain cannot be happy. I am a skier and I know what rain does to snow. For me, the singer is sad and clearly longing for his "old lover". But the lines that I don't see considered often are in the chorus. Following the toasts to "innocence" and to "now" are the lines that, for me at least, resonate with the longing felt by most everybody who ever loved, and lost, their "First Love": "And tried to reach beyond the emptiness /But neither one knew how," seem to describe both of them longing to reach out and perhaps reconnect, but neither being quite able to. Neither of them could find their way through "the emptiness" that they obviously sensed still lay between them. This is true for him because of the way he felt as he "watched her drive away" and his sadness watching the snow turning into rain. And probably true for her as well because she is stuck in a loveless marriage. He isn't married at the time (not until 1982) and her marriage seems on a downward spiral.
  
  Now we can't possible know what was in the heads and hearts of Dan and Jill all those many years ago. It was what it was. But in a sense, it almost doesn't matter because the song belongs to all of us now. We can, and do, take our own meanings and interpretations of Mr. Fogelberg's wonderful words and phrases and make them our own. It is the way we relate to all poetry and "Same Old Lang Syne" is certainly poetry. Its just poetry set to hauntingly beautiful music.
  
  
  
  Two times in my life I managed to "reach beyond the emptiness" and reconnect with former loves. The first time was with my "first love" and there was a good deal of real pain involved with the breakup. That story is like something out of Shakespeare. But I did reach out decades later and, even though things didn't ultimately work out, the time we did manage to steal for ourselves and spend together was magical and remains among the happiest memories of my life. I wouldn't trade a second of it for the world. In the second, following a number of years apart, she reached out to me in a letter and we are still together, 13 happy years later. So I guess the point of this is that if there is unfinished business from earlier in your life, and if circumstances allow, I urge you to make the effort. Who knows? Perhaps you too just might be able to "reach beyond the emptiness" and find some peace and happiness there. It's sad to me that Dan and Jill weren't able to make that work. But, if they had managed to pull that off, then there would be no song to wring all those emotions from our hearts. My heart yearns for them and, for myself as well. This is a wonderful song Mr. Fogelberg. Thank you.
• Sentimental Fool from CaliforniaThis song was released when I was in college, while I was in the throes of an intense romance. I remember saying to my lover at the time “do you think this will be us someday?” half joking, but likely half knowing we weren't going to make it. To this day, 30+ years later, I have a “Pavlovian” reaction to this song ,where the tears just automatically come whenever I hear it (which has made for some awkward moments in the company of others, having to excuse myself to the bathroom to deal with “something in my eye”). I wouldn't trade my life or husband or kids, but somehow this song just exposes a deep longing that can never be satisfied, the unresolved “what if” regarding the road not taken, and the wonder “does he ever think of me?,” and the deep fear that perhaps he never does.
• Jeff from MarylandVery touching song. I do think some here may be over analyzing the lyrics a bit. Remember, he had to put enough rhyming words together to come up with a complete song so there should be some poetic deference given to 'exact' meanings. IMO I feel that Dan still loved this girl and probably would have liked to see where things could go, but after talking, he/maybe they realized that life was in the way and it wasn't going to happen. Why you may ask? First, she was obviously pleasantly surprised to see him with eyes flying open and giving him a hug. While I understand people fixation on the embarrassment and dragging conversation, they both decided to spend immediate time together even though they both had families that were waiting. Why not just exchange numbers and talk on the phone if this wasn't more? I'm more inclined to believe the lines about tough conversation were more to do with both realizing they are still attracted to each other but what could they do? Probably somewhat speechless, probably somewhat awkward, but not enough to keep them from forgetting their families for awhile. For me, the clincher is the final imagery of him watching her leave and the snow turning to rain. Perfect!!!!! This ties it all together. He's watching a love in his life slip away again, just like she did back in their school days. Great song! Great imagery.
• Mark from Lunenburg, Ma.The phrase, "the snow turned into rain" obviously has different meaning for different people, but from the first time I heard it, I just thought of how beautiful it can be to walk through a gentle snowfall and how miserable it is to be in a freezing winter rain. And how he went from one of those sensations to the other went he went from that 'moment back at school' to reality.
• Barry from Sauquoit, Ny*** 'The beer was empty and our tongues were tired' ***
  On February 15th 1981, "Same Old Lang Syne" by Dan Fogelberg peaked at #9 (for 2 weeks) on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; it had entered the chart on December 7th, 1980 at position #75 and spent 18 weeks on the Top 100...
  It reached #8 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Tracks chart...
  Was track eight of side one on his seventh studio album, "The Innocent Age", and the album reached #6 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart...
  Three other tracks from the album also made the Top 100; "Hard to Say" (#7), "Leader of the Band" (#9), and "Run for the Roses" (#18)...
  R.I.P. Mr. Fogelberg (1951 - 2007).
• Scott from Spring, TxNotice in his song "Hard to Say" he sings the words "...like why each time the sky begins to snow, you cry...so you miss her when she is far away". I think these lyrics are refering to the the same person in the "Same Old Lang Syne". Notice the key word is SNOW. This would also explain the other lyrics in "Hard to Say'
• Kimberly from Landing, NjThe tall tale s of so called time are based in the soul of the beholder as the toast is the gift of thanks, ty, ty. lifes beuti n all its reveals the key, the answer. n life cont. God Bless.
• Terry from Grafon, WiThis song reminds me a lot of being an adult and looking back at a time that was more innocent. When we're teenagers in high school (or even college students) and we have our first loves, we think we're untouchable. We could rule the world together. Years down the road, you remember all the promises you kept together, the time you spent, and the dreams you had. And when you run into them, they all come flooding back into your memory. It's the little things. For me and my first love, it's the summer breeze, the restaurant we used to work at together, the smell of his laundry detergent, a CD he used to play on repeat in his car, and his smile. I see him from time to time and I look back and fondly remember the time where we thought we were going to be together forever. And even to this day, I am happily married to a wonderful man and we have a baby on the way, but I can't help but feel a little sad when I see him smiling at me. And all I can do is look back and remember...and sometimes it's those memories that can keep you grounded. I wouldn't change a thing in my life now if I had the chance, but it would have been interesting to see what would have happened with my life if Eric (my first love) and I would have stayed together. Thank you Dan Fogelberg for beautifully putting into words what a lot of us feel.
• Rob from Maple Grove, MnI am inclined to agree with the majority of you. I was 20 years old when I first heard this song, it was the middle of November, and here in Minnesota, it was cold - nearly Christmas time. I listened intently while it was playing on the radio - never having heard it before. When it finished, I was overcome with emotion. Some years ago, I dated a girl who, at the time, seemed to be the love of my life, but being young and wanting "freedom," broke it off. I had thought about her every now and then, wondering where she was and what she was up to. After listening to this song, our entire relationship began to play back in my mind, just like it was yesterday. It makes you wonder, what could have been? What might have been? Thought provoking for sure. As some of you have noted, the line, "just for a moment, I was back at school," resonated with you, it particularly hit home for me. I am instantly transported back to high school, when we first became friends and our relationship blossomed. She has long been dating someone else, and appears to be happy, but of course I am left with the remorse and wonderment of how things might have been. Snow, like memories, often just turn into rain, as was the case where this song took place, in Peoria, IL nearly 40 years ago. Thanks for the memories, Dan.
• Earl from Coldwater, MiAfter listening to this song some more and re-reading the comments, I think Camille from OH speaks to the meaning the best and has very good insight.
• Earl from Coldwater, MiThis is the song that brings back memories of my first girl friend, Terri. She was the first I held hands with, the first I dated and the first I kissed. I have harbored a wish for years of bumping into her as Dan sings about in this song. Mainly to say "I should have treated you better and I hope your life is good". A great song but sometimes hard to listen to because of "that old familar pain"
• Josh from Salt Lake City, Ut"The snow turned into rain...." at the end of that song is the best single metaphor in all of popular music (IMO). What makes it so great is how many different interpretations and meanings it has for people. For me the snow is analogous to memories; they are crystallized, unchanging, unflowing, beautiful, suspended in time. And as T.S Elliot says: "winter kept us warm". When the snow turns to rain those memories have changed to something dynamic, something that has come back to life but is still not comfortable in that it gets us wet and we often run to get away from it. The "old familiar pain" coming back again. The last verse of that song tears me apart.
• Robbie from Tokyo, JapanYup, this is a sad song. And very realistic, which makes it even sadder.
  The line "Just for a moment I was back at school" is really emotional for me. Where something takes you back to your childhood and you capture that feeling, though fleeting, powerfully.
  
  Joe, I agree, those are tear jerker songs. I'd add 'Cats in the Cradle' as well to that list for me. My mom passed away this year, and I can't listen to Gilbert's Alone Again, not for some time yet.
• Camille from Toronto, OhBeginning with the end: A stroke of musical genius completes this song with the soleful saxophone rendition of "Auld Lang Syne". As for the story: Fogelberg describes this woman, not as a former girlfriend, but former lover. This conveys the depth (and complications) of the relationship. Because they were so involved, they are able to give each other an honest assessment of where their lives are currently. She admits that the security she chose (marrying an architect) didn't necessarily meet all her needs. He admits his life as a touring musician has highs (heavenly) and lows (hell). Having listened to this song since it was first aired on the radio in the 70s, I never once felt these two wanted to get back together. There is too much reference to "emptiness" and "conversations lagging" to think they still had the connection they once shared. Also, in toasting to "now", they both accept the results of the choices they made. They both understood they each had to follow their own dreams, even tho it meant giving each other up. Perhaps that was real love, letting go of the other person so each is free to follow their dreams. And I think that "letting go" was the "old familiar pain" of which Fogelberg sings. Now for the end again. The setting is "Christmas Eve". Why play a New Year's tune? "Auld Lang Syne" can mean "days gone by", or "once upon a time". But New Year is about ringing in all that is new. Any lingering doubts Fogelberg has about whether he should have tried to make this relationship work have been put to rest. That is why the song is called "Same OLD Lang Syne"(not "Auld Lang Syne). Neither has changed their way of thinking. This is an old story. He realizes in talking with her that they have both moved on with their lives. SUCH a beautiful song full of fabulous imagery.
• Gregg from Kampala, UgandaThis is one of my favorite songs. It compares favorably with Harry Chapin's "Taxi" which tells a similar story of lost love and unfulfilled dreams.
• Steve from Grand Prairie, TxDan Fogelberg's Same Old Lang Syne was a major motivation for my writing and self-publishing a novel, The Grip, in 2009. Dan tells such a meaningful story. His lyrics of running into a lost love may be as poignant as any song ever written. Steve, Grand Prairie, TX
• Mark from Grand Rapids, MiThis song is a great (but not the only) illustration of Fogelberg's exceptional song writing ability. There are very, very few who will ever be in his class.
• Amy from Lufkin, TxEverytime I hear this song I think about my high school boyfriend. And everytime my heart gets a little heavy wishing that I could live out the same scenario. But, he's stationed overseas, so I knew that it would probably only happen in my dreams. And then one day he invited me to be his friend on facebook...on new year's eve. I was standing in my kitchen, with the radio on, when the invite popped up on my phone. And guess what was playing on the radio? I thought I would cry. It felt like a sign that I should accept his invite. We broke up 30 years ago and haven't seen each other in 20.It's not quite like running into each other in the grocery store, but it works for me. We talk daily like we never skipped a beat. This has become our unofficial song, so to speak. This song will forever be burned into my heart.
• Lance from Ingelheim, GermanyIf you ignore the music and hone in the lyrics, not too many songs can top the sentimental yearning that this ballad emits. What an utterly pensive song. In an oddly perverted sense, the appeal of this song is the notion that the two former lovers got caught up in the moment only to realize that it's nothing more than a pipe dream. They had the propensity to dream but also the common sense to realize it is what it is. We dare dream that they perpetuated that blissful Christmas Eve forever, but if they had then our imaginations of "what if" wouldve been truncated. Their tryst, in its place, worked wonders for both of them. Who knows if the magic of that one evening could've been sustained if it went longer than those few hours. But I like to think it would have...
  
  This song terribly hurts me because the song in and of itself can explain the life cycle of a relationship. The very same relationship that I once had and wished it would still, to this day, continue to "snow". But the "rain" set in and so did the reality that all things, like that magical evening Dan and Jill spent together, succumb to time.
  
• Janetlee from Panama City, FlI bought this song as a 45 back when it came out. It was beautiful then and now...a true classic.
• Em from Boston, MaTo JOrge:
  
  The B side was an unreleased song titled "hearts and crafts." for some reason, as far as i know, it didn't make it onto any of his albums. At least, it didn't make it onto "The Innocent Age."
  Supremely talented man, and YES, dave from pomeroy...SO underrated.
• Anonymous from Minneapolis, MnThis song is beautiful. It makes you wonder if your first love ever thinks about you when he/she hears it. For those who have someone from their past that never quite leaves their mind, I have found a cool website called lostlovers.com I have nothing to gain by sharing it, I just know what comfort reading the stories has brought to me. It's very fun to read! I am not a paid member, but am able to read lots of rekindling stories for free in the "members love stories" section on the message boards. This song hits home for so many people. There are so many people that do end up together after 20, 30, 40+ years if they are meant to be. Amazing.
• Jack from Tampa, FlThe song reminds me of the true love of my life. I haven't found anyone to come close to how wonderful my life was with her.
• James from Bristol, VaThis song brings back so many memories for me. My wife and I met at a grocery store back in high school and the night I finally got the courage up to ask her out it just happened to be Christmas Eve. As she was leaving the store is started snowing, I walked her to her car and asked her out. We have been together for over 12 years no and this has been our song ever since then.
  
  R.I.P. Dan
• Shirley from Ocean, NjThis is such a powerful song; Dan Fogelberg was one of the best. To Dan from Huntington: sorry but please don't compare Dan Fogelberg to Dan Acosta. He doesn't even come close.
• Dave from Jacksonville, IlThis song has a special place in my heart. My x- wife and I remarried after 14 years of seperation and divorce in June of 07. It was our song played for the husband and wife dance at our reception. The opening line "Met my old lover in a grocery store" is how I feel about our getting back together and rekindeling our love for each other.
• Joel from Norfolk, NeThis song means alot to me and I'm a guy who doesn't want to dwell in the past or get all sentimental.
  However my college love will always have a piece of my heart whether I like it or not. Five years after graduation she came to Omaha unannounced and called me for dinner. Being in her presence I felt so confident...like I was a football star in college again. We drank a few in my car but when she left I knew it would be a long time before I'd see her again and I knew she was planning a wedding. In my case, it was only raining when we began saying goodbye, but as God as my witness it began to snow by the time she got out of my car. I'll never forget it, nor will I ever be completely get over her. Rest in peace, Dan. You touched me with your great song.
• David from Peoria, IlThe woman in the story was Jill Anderson and she was sent out to get some eggnog at a Convenient store at the top of Abington Hill in Peoria, IL. Fogelberg was out to fetch whipping cream to make Irish coffees at his mother's house. Fogelberg bought Olympia Beer.
• David from Peoria, IlThe mystery woman in the story was another graduate of Woodruff High School Class of '69, Jill Anderson - Now Jill Greulich(now a teacher in Missouri).
• David from Peoria, IlThe mystery woman in the story was another graduate of Woodruff High School Class of '69, Jill Anderson - Now Jill Greulich(now a teacher in Missouri).
• Shawn from La, CaSince last seeing my old love, I've carried this song in my heart for the past 20 years. I just knew we would play out a scene from it, whether running into one another as we rushed through an airport or while at the grocery. A few months ago I learned he passed away last summer. It has been really hard accepting this dream will never come true. I truly loved this man and I believe he felt the same. Years ago in an effort to bring us together to discuss our future, he tracked me down after I had moved a thousand miles away. When someone so special is in your heart, one doesn't realize how much time has passed because they are so near in your thoughts. I wish so much that I could have looked into his eyes once more.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Dreamerofdreams from Rochester, NyLighten up athiest! Some songs are just seasonal in nature. Sheryl Crow's Soak Up The Sun just doesn't sound the same in November, and Justin Hayward's Forever Autum and Van Morrison's Moondance get relegated to October
  
  It gets December airplay because it is evocative of the season. It takes place on a Snowy evening, yes, christmas eve, and Auld Lang Syne is a tradition on New Years Eve, when we recall old acquaintences. At the end, the snow turns into rain. I don't think this would have the same pathos if played on a Beach Music Station in August!
• Mary from Yuma, Azi have always loved this song, and everything Dan did. I've always wondered at the very end of the song where it says, "the snow turned into rain", if that was a metaphor of how things can change. He thought perhaps he still loved his girl, but forgot about once it starting raining.
  Mary, Yuma
• Julia from Knoxville, TnDan, I totally agree. I did not know how *big* of a singer he was until just a few years ago.
• Betsy from Burnsville, MnHey, unapologetic atheist: The reason it's played a lot around the holidays is evident in the second line: " ... The snow was falling Christmas Eve." While I agree that it's a song about a personal experience, there is a holiday connection there, even if tenuous.
• James from Scottsdale, AzThe encounter between the former lovers takes on a magic or mystique quality from its beginning to its end. The serendipitous meeting occurs on Christmas Eve, a night full of magic and electricity in itself. Then the encounter ends with "the snow turns into rain". Snow holds within its own crystalline nature a magic quality full of excitement. Rain lacks the charged nature. The magic is over, reality has returned. The song is quite well written.
• Tina from Norcross, GaDan lost his battle with prostate cancer on December 16th. This morning our local news radio station said that Auld Lang Syne wouldn't be the same without him. RIP, Dan Fogelberg. You will be missed.
• Marty from Chicago, IlReally beautiful song. With reference to the above comment "the snow turned into rain", I've always thought it meant that they had both been acting real composed and cool all during their reunion but that after she left the car and walked away at the end he began to cry.
• Leslie from St. Paul, MnI can't think about this song, let alone hear it, without thinking of my first love. We were together all through college but our lives evolved in diverging directions thereafter. We kept in touch over the years and now exchange occasional emails. Although each of us is happily married with children, the power of that intense relationship more than 30 years ago somehow lives on. This song captures it perfectly, masterfully and beautifully.
• Keith from Fall River, MaAs an unapologetic atheist, I resent the fact that such a great song about a personal life experience and a second time around heartbreak now gets turned into a misinterpreted Christmas song, only played around the holidays. To piss off my overly religious friends and Christmas fanatics, I play the crap out of this song for weeks after December 25th.
• Jorge from Mexico, MexicoThis song appeared at first on a single in December 1980 and 8 months later on the album "The Innocent Age". Does anybody know which song was the B-side of the single and where can I find a picture of the sleeve? Thanks for your help.
• Dan from Huntington Station, NyThis song is a great example of how true love can never really change, even after we lose the relationship. It shows you that even though two people have moved on, the original love that was there is still holding strong. Another example of this is a song by Dan Acosta & AXIS UNKNOWN called "Keepsake" - it reminds me of my ex-wife and chokes me up whenever I hear it. I found it on iSound.com one day while checking out some new bands. If you like this type of song, I highly recommend Dan Acosta as well.
• Bill from Downers Grove, IlDan has been battling advanced prostate cancer for a couple years now. I pray for his full recovery so we can have more classics like this.
• Rick from St. Peters, MoI just shared this song with a friend who I had lost touch with since High School. Tears me up whenever I hear it and think of her.
  
  A former co-worker claimed that the song was written about his wife. I never had reason to doubt him, but I always wondered if it were true.
  She was from Peoria, was married to an architect before she married my friend and would be about the right age.
• Forrest from Charlotte, NcI was so impressed by this song when I was young, that I published my first novel 2 years ago, with my vision of what led the youg couple to the grocery store. The nove, titled "When Love Was New" is meant to be a prequal to Mr Fogelberg's work. This is the best rock song ever written.
• Charles from Charlotte, NcDan did not write "Tell Me to My Face" it was a cover of a Hollies tune.
• Lalah from Wasilla, AkYeah, yeah, pretty song. I always imagined that the old lover he meets is the same one he wrote the spiteful "Tell Me to My Face" break up song for. (X-boyfrind dedicated that song to me so I dedicated Queen's "Death on Two Legs" to him.
  Last I heard Fogelberg had declared the wolf was his brother and the earth his mother. Sometimes with great talent comes a few missing screws.
• Joe from Orlando, FlThere's not much need to explain what this song is about. It's pretty clear. I have the scene completely laid out in my mind - as if it happened with my old girlfriend. Very personal song for me.
• Phill from Oakland, Cathe snow turned into...rain...
• Ray from Spring, TxDan Fogelberg once commented that he used the opening notes of the "1812 Overture" for the tune.
• Katie from Bronx, NyI have heard this song for years, and thought nothing of it until now. Laying on my couch, the song came on the radio with some commentary by the dj. I looked up the words on the net and tears streamed down my face. What a beautiful song
• Dee from Indianapolis, InThis song is a tear jerker for sure. It makes you realize the things you took for granted in your past and overlooked. I was only 12 when this was a hit, but it was an age of innocence still going into my teenage years. Fogelberg is a talented song writer and not given the kudos he deserves.
• Joe from Ocala, FlOne of only three songs that can make me tear-up. The others are Alone again naturally by Gilbert O'sullivan and You've got a friend By James taylor.........all have very personal meaning to me
• Dave from Pomeroy, OhDan Fogelberg is one of the most underrated singers out there

More Songfacts:

Right RoundFlo Rida

An unknown Ke$ha sang on Flo-Rida's #1 hit "Right Round," but refused to appear in the video because she wanted to make a name for herself.

Pink HousesJohn Mellencamp

John Mellencamp considers "Pink Houses" an "anti-American song," laying bare the struggles of the poor and working class.

Hell's BellsAC/DC

A one-ton bell was custom made for AC/DC's "Hell's Bells." The recording was slowed to half speed to make it sound like a more ominous two-ton bell.

American PieDon McLean

The only cover of "American Pie" to chart is by Madonna, whose 2000 version was a minor hit in America but went to #1 in the UK.

Islands In The StreamKenny Rogers and Dolly Parton

"Islands in the Stream" was originally written by The Bee Gees as an R&B song. It was originally written by the brothers for Marvin Gaye, however it was recorded instead as a duet by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton with the Gibb Brothers also contributing vocals.

Like a Rolling StoneBob Dylan

Bob Dylan's most popular song is "Like A Rolling Stone," which tells the story of a wealthy woman whose money and friends fall away. Dylan offers these mockingly encouraging words: "When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose."

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