It’s hard not to feel a bit wistful and reflective in December. We know the end of the year is coming as the holidays approach, and as the days get colder. The always feels a little darker.
We ask ourselves if we are where we want to be? Have we done everything we set out to do this year? We celebrate our successes, and we rationalize our setbacks and failures.
Adam Duritz, songwriter and lead vocalist for the Bay area band the Counting Crows had a lot to celebrate. Their 1993 debut album August, and Everything After had been a huge success, selling millions of copies. They toured the world, and they were being favorably compared to the likes of Van Morrison and The Band.
When they got to work on their second album, which would become Recovering the Satellites, a good friend of Duritz’ was hit by a car, and Duritz found himself at his hospital bedside helping him to physically recover, and mentally process everything that had happened to him.
A little bit of reality. A little bit of optimism. A turn of phrase we can all identify with during a month with so much reflection and anticipation. We hear the piano intro accompanied by the wail of a lonely accordion.
“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 leaving
Now the days go by so fast”
Rather than following the normal route of verse, verse, chorus, “A Long December” brings us right into the chorus after the first verse.
“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”
Hospitals are difficult, contemplative places. There is not much to do except stare out the window while trying to watch TV or being interrupted by hospital staff bringing you room temperature food and taking vitals every hour. We ask ourselves how we ended up here. What comes next. What did I do to wrong.
“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“
The mood of the song is set by the piano and accordion, and even with the whole band now playing along, the song still feels lonely. The chorus repeats.
“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.”
The regret is palpable. Late night talks about the year, regretting the things we could not do for the people we love. But even with an injured friend. Even in a cold, gray hospital. Even as we mourn lost opportunities of the year about to end, there are always reasons for hope. There are always reasons to treasure our memories, even if they do remind of our shortcomings.
There are always reasons to look forward to the year ahead. Duritz reminds us.
“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 myself
To hold on to these moments as they pass“
We are invited in to participate at the end of the song through a verse of “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” This song is for all of us, and it represents regret we all share, and optimism we should all enjoy.
December can be long, but there are good things to come.
“A Long December”
Written by Adam Duritz
Performed by Counting Crows
Released December 2, 1996
All Together Now 
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