Ten New Years Songs for New Years 2009

To me, any list of New Years songs should acknowledge the past and the inevitability of getting older without giving in to the urge to live in the past or bore younger people to tears talking about the "good old days" when men were men and candy bars were a nickel. Of course, the first of those is subjective and I'm not old enough to remember the second part of that. New Years music should thus be a mixture of remembering the past while looking hopefully toward the next year and the future. Some of these New Years songs are upbeat, some more reflective. Here goes:

I Wanna Go Back/ Eddie Money

If you like sax, you'll like this song of getting older while realizing that we don't have the luxury of reliving the past. Checking the rear view mirror is a necessity in driving, but too muich of it leads to running headlong into what's in our path. Check the mirror, but mainly look through lifes' windshield, in other words.

I recall hanging out on friday night the first slow dance, hopin' that I'd get it right, back then I thought I'd never ever stand alone, it used to be that a lonely heart was never shown, I know thing'sll never be the same, I wanna go back and do it all over but I can't go back I know, I wanna go back 'cause I'm feelin' so much older, but I can't go back I know

I was 30 when that song hit the charts in 1986 and thought I was getting old then. However, in my family's traditional Thanksgiving day flag football game with my nephews, son and various relatives, while I might be relegated to all-time QB, the old guy can still fling the pigskin to the tune of 35 or so TD passes to 4 or 5 INTs.

Some Other Sucker's Parade/ Del Amitri

This rollicking 90's band of Scotsmen best known for 1995's Roll To Me are all about songs of drinking, fighting and love gone bad. Things I got past years ago, but still like listening to well done songs about from time to time. This song has always reminded me of New Years Day parades, even though the holiday is never mentioned.

when every sky just empties on your fate, sometimes keepin' dry's somethin' to celebrate, patience they say is a saintly virtue, but hell why should I wait, 'til the clouds go rain on some other sucker's parade

Like most Del Amitri songs, the fellas say their piece in 2-3 minutes and move on.

Badlands/Bruce Springsteen

After what for millions was a disastrous year in 2008, here is a remedy. Turn the page on '08 by cranking up this Springsteen anthem.

Talk about a dream, try to make it real, you wake up in the night with a fear so real, spend your life waiting for a moment that just don't come, well don't waste your time waiting, Badlands, you've got to live it every day, let the broken hearts stand as the price you've gotta pay, keep pushin' 'til it's understood and these badlands start treating us good.

So what if it has nothing to do with New Years Day? Like the song says "it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive". The song speaks of things like "the hope that can save me", and I believe in the faith and I pray that someday it may raise me above these badlands. If that's not a New Years song, what is?

Reelin' In the Years/Steely Dan

The first of three Dan songs on this list of New Years songs.

Are you reelin' in the years, stowin' away the time, are you gatherin' up the tears, have ya had enough of mine.

This song is on a list of summer songs I did earlier, i know, but this does just fine as a New Years song, or nearly any occasion, for that matter. There is one of the all-time great guitar solos on this one, too.

Any Major Dude/Steely Dan

any major dude with half a heart surely will tell you my friend, any minor world that breaks apart falls together again, when the demon is at your door, in the mornin' it won't be there no more, any major due will tell you.

For any of you feeling a bit queasy on New Years morning, take these words to heart. People on the street have all seen better times, as the song says. Things will get better.Wilco does a nice version of this New Years song on the Me, Myself and Irene soundtrack, also.

Only A Fool (Would Say That)/Steely Dan

A world become one, of salads and sun, only a fool would say that, a boy with a plan, a natural man, wearing a white Stetson hat, unhand that gun begone, there's no one to fire upon, if he's holding it high, he's telling a lie. With a new President coming in early in the New Year, this one is almost prophetic. For all our sakes, let's hope Barack Obama leads the way to..

Better Days/Bruce Springsteen

I'm tired of waitin' for tomorrow to come, or that train to come roarin' around the bend, I've got a new suit of clothes and a pretty red rose, and a woman I can call my friend, these are better days, yeah there's better days shining through, these are better days baby, better days with a girl like you.

Hope springs eternal, instead of "sittin' around waitin' for my life to begin", I choose to believe that 2009 will be better than '08.

The World Ain't Slowin' Down/Ellis Paul

I first heard this song on the soundtrack of Me, Myself and irene. Even though it's technically not a New Years song per se, it fits nonetheless.

You gotta get gone, you gotta get goin', hey the world ain't slowin' down, it's a carnival callin' out to you, sounds like a song, hits you like scripture, you paint the picture with colors squeezed from your hand, weren't you the kid who just climbed on the merry go round, hey look, the world ain't slowin' down.

For those of you under 30, it does go by that fast. Live life to the fullest, treat people right and don't give up your dreams.

Forever Young/The Pistoleros

I heard this on another soundtrack, Prefontaine, the story of runner Steve Prefontaine who ran fast, lived hard and died young. This New Years song was written by Bob Dylan, one of the greatest song writers ever. The Pistoleros, a Tempe, AZ band, does a more melodious version for those who can't handle Dylan's scratchy voice.

May your hands always be busy, may your feet always be swift, may you have a strong foundation, when the winds of changes shift, may your heart always be joyful, may your song always be sung, and may you stay forever young. Most of us won't, in body, anyway, but who says we can't stay young in spirit?

Forever Young/Alphaville

Not the same as the Dylan/Pistoleros song, this is a totally different New Years song.

Let's dance in style, let's dance for awhile, heaven can wait, we're only watching the skies, hoping for the best, but expecting the worst, are you going to drop the bomb or not? Can you imagine when this race is run, turning our golden faces into the sun, sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip, why don't we stay young?

The line about dying young might depress some, some might think this song to be maudlin, but it will make you think if you listen carefully. I hope you enjoyed reading this list of New Years music. I know I enjoyed listening to these selections over again. Here's to a safe and prosperous New Year for you and yours.