Shoes, Ships, and Sealing Wax

I want I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas

I thought it might help cheer me up a little to listen to the Christmas carol station on the way home from work tonight.

What do I hear?

Dan Fogelberg's Same Old Lang Syne.

You know the one:

Met my old lover in the grocery store
The snow was falling Christmas Eve
I stole behind her in the frozen foods
And I touched her on the sleeve.

Man, that is not a happy song. And just because it takes place on Christmas Eve, does that make it a Christmas song?

We went to have ourselves a drink or two
But couldn't find an open bar
We bought a six-pack at the liquor store
And we drank it in her car.

You know what has always bothered me about this song? The architect, the one she married who kept her warm and safe and dry, but she didn't say she loved the man 'cause she didn't like to lie. Poor bastard. I always picture him pacing around the kitchen, telling the kids "Mommy ran up to the grocery store for some tater tots..." as he cranes his neck looking out the window, worrying about the fact that it's snowing and she's been gone for two hours, hoping nothing horrible has happened. So when she shows up, finally, with the damn vegetables already thawed, smelling like beer, how's he going to feel?

Ok, maybe he's a jerk, but the warm, safe, and dry thing doesn't really imply that. If she had sense, she'd have picked up the six pack and taken Dan home to meet the family. "Hey, guys! Remember I told you I used to date that singer they play on the Lite Rock station we hear at the dentist's office? Look, here he is!"

No, instead she risks drinking and driving in bad weather, potentially ruining Christmas for innocent people. I'm not sure what Dan saw in her in the first place.

Posted by Nic at December 3, 2007 05:22 PM | TrackBack