Once again, another year over. Once again, a feeling of relief that this one’s done and a sense of hope for the coming year. It’s amazing what tricks your mind can play on you when you’ve got New Year’s to give you a reset button. Game Over – Restart.
“Hope is the things with feathers,” said Emily Dickinson. Yeah, it’s a songbird. singing the wordless song of hope, or whatever. Maybe hope is the phoenix, rising from the ashes?
Here are two songs for the new year.
First is a selection from The American Song-Poem Christmas. This refers to the old song-poem industry where companies would set your amateur lyrics into song form — for a fee, of course. Kind of a scam, but it’s also kind of like Primitive Art and kind of like Found Art. The lyricists were well-intentioned and the musicians were professionals who (in the best cases) gave it their best go.
And Dan Wilson says it all best in “What a Year for a New Year,” a song that has become a tradition here, since it says everything I feel on a day like today.
Cara Stewart with Lee Hudson Orchestra – The New Year Song — BUY
Dan Wilson – What a Year for a New Year — BUY
Tags: New Year’s, song-poem, Cara Stewart, Dan Wilson