Sunday August 29, 2021 “December” Counting Crows

Formed in 1991, Counting Crows released their first album in 1993 August and Everything After containing their breakthrough single “Mr. Jones'' which would be an international top ten record selling over seven million copies.  Always intrigued by the origins of band names, Counting Crows comes from a British nursery rhyme, “One for Sorrow” which lead singer/songwriter Adam Duritz heard in a movie.

The quote in the movie came from a character played by Mary-Louise Parker, a then close friend of Duritz.  Adam has had many actress close friends.

 According to Duritz, this is a song about “...looking back on your life and seeing changes happening, and for once for me, looking forward and thinking, ya know, things are gonna change for the better - 'maybe this year will be better than the last.' And so, like a lot of songs on the end of an album, it's not about everything turning out great, but it at least it is about hope... and the possibilities.”

 The band has garnered a number of Grammy nominations as well as an Oscar nomination for “Accidentally in Love” from the movie Shrek.  They have sold more than twenty million albums/CDs worldwide to date and regularly play to arena sized audiences and they just released a four song ‘suite’ called “Butter Miracle, Suite One“ about which Duritz has said ““It occurred to me that I could write a series of different songs that each played seamlessly out of the one before and flowed together like one long song. A suite.”

 Stay safe and well...and it was a long December and hopefully this year will be better than the last.

A long December and there's reason to believe

Maybe this year will be better than the last

I can't remember the last thing that you said as you were leavin'

Now the days go by so fast

 And it's one more day up in the canyons

And it's one more night in Hollywood

If you think that I could be forgiven I wish you would

 The smell of hospitals in winter

And the feeling that it's all a lot of oysters, but no pearls

All at once you look across a crowded room

To see the way that light attaches to a girl

 And it's one more day up in the canyons

And it's one more night in Hollywood

If you think you might come to California I think you should

 Drove up to Hillside Manor sometime after two a.m.

And talked a little while about the year

I guess the winter makes you laugh a little slower,

Makes you talk a little lower about the things you could not show her

 And it's been a long December and there's reason to believe

Maybe this year will be better than the last

I can't remember all the times I tried to tell my myself

To hold on to these moments as they pass

 And it's one more day up in the canyon

And it's one more night in Hollywood

It's been so long since I've seen the ocean I guess I should

 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah