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

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 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


Lyrics submitted by Idan, edited by iroc-z

A Long December Lyrics as written by Ben Mize Adam Duritz

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

A Long December song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

96 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    It kind of sucks when listeners know exactly what the singer was thinking/feeling when the song was written because I think it causes the listener to feel like there can't be any other meaning to that song.

    I think of this song as some sort of reflection on a breakup. Certain lines in the song make me think that...

    "I can't remember the last that you said as you were leaving, now the days go by so fast" With a lot of breakups, especially ones that need closure, the days following the breakup can go by so fast that it becomes hard to remember and explain what happened.

    "The feeling that it's all a lot of oysters, but no pearls" Sometimes after a breakup you feel like yeah...you can date again and you can meet lots of people. But there's nobody that really compares or sticks out or seems worth your time.

    "And 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" I think this part is either reminsicing about the first time you saw your ex, or about seeing someone new for the first time...the reference to the canyons and Hollywood is symbolic...those places mean something to the singer. Maybe, "Just another relationship that has started"

    "I guess the winter makes you laugh a little slower, makes you talk a little lower about the things you could not show her" Since the song is about December, he's saying that the winter is kind of a sad season and a good time to reflect on the mistakes of the relationship and the regrets of the things he could not do to make it work.

    "I can't remember all the times I tried to tell myself to hold on to these moments as they pass" Self-explanatory. Hindsight is always 20/20, and realizing you took things for granted really sucks.

    "It's been so long since I've seen the ocean...I guess I should" Maybe getting away is a good thing to do

    --

    These are my interpretations. I don't think that there's ever a set meaning to a song - regardless of the real story behind it.

    Ashleigh9169on August 18, 2005   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
when rules change
Life in Your Way
High life
Album art
Battle Royale
Word Alive, The
This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone). And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Album art
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere. In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.