25 or 6 to 4

I heard one of my all time favorite songs on the radio yesterday - "25 or 6 to 4" by Chicago - and I turned the volume so loud it shook the car.  Hard rock fans will know what I mean when I say that hearing a song like this is an auditory orgasm.  Oh my, there is nothing like the sun beating down, the road rolling by, the wind in your hair and the trumpets of "25 or 6 to 4" swirling around your head.  

For anyone too young to know the song, since the 1970's there has been a debate over what the title means.  Is it a drug song, or is it just a reference to the time (25 or (2)6 to 4 a.m.)?  I opt for the time reference (after all, just past 3:30 a.m. would fit with "waiting for the break of day").  Besides, I used the song in my first wedding (yes, I really did), and even though I and all people did drugs then, I would not have used a drug song for a wedding.  We had standards even in the '70's.

The lyrics:

Waiting for the break of day
Searching for something to say
Flashing lights against the sky
Giving up I close my eyes
Sitting cross-legged on the floor
25 or 6 to 4

Staring blindly into space
Getting up to splash my face
Wanting just to stay awake
Wondering how much I can take
Should I try to do some more
25 or 6 to 4

Feeling like I ought to sleep
Spinning room is sinking deep
Searching for something to say
Waiting for the break of day
25 or 6 to 4
25 or 6 to 4

The Story Behind "Same Old Lang Syne"

Dan Fogleberg's song “Same Old Lang Syne” (see the post below) is a haunting tribute to lost love. I seems that it is also based on a true story.

Christmas Eve 1975, while home visiting family for the holidays, Dan went out in search of whipped cream for Irish coffee and ran into his high school sweetheart, Jill Anderson, who was likewise home for the holidays and on a mission to find an open store to purchase egg nog for her mom. After graduating from high school in 1969 the two had gone to different colleges. Lo, they ran into each other at a convenience store, bought a six pack and sat in the car to catch up and reminisce. The only artistic liberty Dan took with the song was changing Jill's green eyes to blue since it would rhyme better and changing the occupation of her husband (who kept her warm and safe and dry) from PE teacher to architect. Jill will not reveal whether she told Dan that "she would have liked to say she loved the man, but she didn’t like to lie.” God bless her, she says, “I think that’s probably too personal.” She was divorced from that husband by the time the song was released in 1980. After Fogelberg's death Jill revealed that she was the girl in the song, remaining quiet until now because she knew Fogelberg was such a private person.

Cool song, cool time, cool story, and the snow really did turn into rain...

Thanks to my friend, Dan Hardison, who sent me a copy of  Phil Luciano's story for Gatehouse News Service.

Same Old Lang Syne

Dan Fogelberg

08/13/51 - 12/16/07

Met my old lover in the grocery store
The snow was falling christmas eve
I stole behind her in the frozen foods
And I touched her on the sleeve

She didnt 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 checkout stand
The food was totalled up and bagged
We stood there lost in our embarrassment
As the conversation dragged.

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
And tried to reach beyond the emptiness
But neither one knew how.

She said she'd 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
And 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...