Welcome to 2021 folks!
Yes, this is another Francis Friday, and I got real lucky this year having both Christmas and New Years fall on that same day of the week. I take that as a good omen.
I don’t think anyone will miss ol’ 2020 now that it’s gone to the ash heap of history. Time marches on, and while each of us might have fond memories of a few years in particular, I think for most of us they all tend to blur together as we go along.
Not so with 2020.
Just like with 1941 or 1945 for World War II, 1963 with JFK’s assassination, 1991 with the Fall of the Soviet Union or 2001 with the 9-11 attacks, I suspect this most recently passed-on year of 2020 will remain “in our memories locked” for some time. The Year of the Pandemic will forever mark those who lived through it, and perhaps forever scar those who lost loved ones in an untimely manner due to its arrival. I’ve lost folks I knew because of this awful plague, and I suspect many of you have as well. (If you haven’t, consider yourself very, very fortunate.) I’ve grown impatient with the deniers now. As the great Augustus McRae said in the unforgettable Lonesome Dove, some things are just “not good for the weak minded.”
I do believe New Years is the perfect time for new beginnings and I suspect everyone has their own little traditions or habits around it. For some its watching the ball drop in Times Square (which me and Mrs. Francis usually do from the comfort of our living room) and for others it may be partying with friends. For me, however, there are two songs I always have to listen to.
The first is for New Year’s Eve at some point, “Better Days” by the Goo Goo Dolls. I’m always struck by John Rzeznik’s clear voice reminding us all that “tonight’s the night the world begins again.” Truer, more needed words, perhaps have never been spoken this year.
The second is for New Year’s Day itself, and unsurprisingly it’s U2’s eternal hit “New Year’s Day”. It too has haunting words, most especially the opening line “all is quiet on New Year’s Day“. Yes, I think we can all use a little peace and quiet. I owe my love for U2, and for this song in particular to Robert who introduced me to their music when we were in college. Lot of water under that bridge, my friend.
Of course, if I’m going to tell you how great these two songs are, I have to post the videos. First for New Year’s Eve, the Goo Goo Doll’s official video:
And of course, for New Year’s Day, the original Red Rock’s concert video from 1983 which introduced both the song and the band to me::
