Part V: Sleeping in light: the final years
It's one of the great cruelties, and ironies of nature that having found the woman he would have been happy to have spent the rest of his life with, that life was cut tragically short. Dan and Jean would only have five years together before fate stepped in. As Dan relaxed, happy in his achievements and looking forward to a new life with his new wife, the world seemed a good place, and he comfortably released what would be his last album, returning to the soft folk rock and acoustic simplicity of his early years.
The album starts off with a beautiful little instrumental and then goes into the first track, which really puts me more in mind of 1979's “Phoenix” than anything, and is quite uptempo. There's a great exuberance about the track, the simple joy of living really. Dan also paid tribute to his heroes on this album, with the title track being a cover of the Byrds' song, “Whispers in the wind” written in the style of Gordon Lightfoot, while “Reason to run” is, in his own words, evoking the Buffalo Springfield/Crazy Horse style. The closer, then, is a song by the Turtles, and one whose subject matter was always close to Dan's heart.
Always a giving person, through the medium of his music and just through his relationship with other people, Dan has included songs of advice and encouragement on the album, like “Once in love”, which is a message of hope and optimism for those whose hearts have been broken, and “This heart”, which he wrote for Jean. Possibly unintentionally prophetic, it may have prepared her for the terrible news and the awful times that were soon to present themselves. But there's introspection too, as there usually was on a Dan Fogelberg record, with “Reach Haven postcard” and “Drawing pictures”, songs that reach back across time and evoke memories of his debut album, as well as “Souvenirs”.
Perhaps the standout though, and a fitting swan song, though it's not the closer, is “Icarus ascending”, in which Dan considers the often painful path of an artist. Life on the road, alone in a studio for often days at a time, living in hotels and on airliners and buses isn't the choice everyone would make, and as he says himself, it's not always about money: many artistes, in every field, struggled during their lifetime and were often not recognised until after their death. Sure, it's great if you can be a legend in your own lifetime, and amass the bank account to go with it, but it doesn't always happen that way. Dan always followed his heart, often sacificing the chance for a stable family life, but right up to the end he never regretted it, nor I think would he have done things differently given a second chance.
Just one year after this wonderful album was finished, Dan and Jean received the terrible news that we all, at that age, dread and hope never to hear. Diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in 2004, Dan underwent treatment which, for a while, seemed to beat the disease into remission, but heartbreakingly it came back and took him from us on December 16 2007. He was only fifty-six.
A year after his death, Jean released a song he had written for her for Valentine's Day 2005, on the internet for download in support of the Prostate Cancer Foundation. The song was later included in the very last Dan Fogelberg record, a collection of unreleased songs he had been working on for years, an unexpected but extremely welcome last farewell from the man who had enriched the lives of so many through his music, his spirituality and his pure humanity.
It's hard not to listen to this without being moved, even upset. It's like the artist is calling from the Great Beyond, playing one last gig before his voice is forever silenced, though in truth that will never happen as long as people keep playing his records. This album continues the ideas and themes explored in “Full circle”, with lush, gorgeous ballads and some more upbeat numbers, standouts being the title track and the aching “The colour of Eve.”
There are also two cover versions on the album, one from Larry Hickman and the closer a version of Neil Young's “Birds”. Of course, as mentioned it contains the song he wrote for his third wife, “Sometimes a song”, and it's one of the nicest and most emotional love songs I've heard from him in some time. I'm sure she was very moved. The almost-closer is painfully poignant, and “Days to come” looks forward, as Dan always did, to better times, unaware that by the time this song saw the light of day such times would be beyond his reach. However, unselfish as ever, Dan wishes in the song for good times not just for himself, but for everyone. It's an uptempo rocker, enthusiastic and joyful, and probably best reflects Dan's positive outlook on life.
So deep was the impression he made on his hometown, and on the world, that one of the streets in Peoria was renamed in his honour, fitting indeed as not only is it the street where he went to school, where his father taught music, but also the scene of the chance meeting with an old lover that inspired one of his biggest hits, “Same old lang syne”. In 2010, a permanent memorial garden was dedicated to his memory by the citizens, in a beautiful park where no doubt he once sat and wrote and played guitar, and dreamed of becoming a star out there in the wide world.
Despite having three marriages, unfortunately Dan left no heirs behind, so it's left to Jean to keep his memory alive, though in that endeavour she is no doubt helped by an army of fans and lovers of his music. Over a period of over thirty years Dan Fogelberg created music and told stories that have passed into the world consciousness. Even if you're not a fan or have never heard of him, I bet you've heard “Longer”, “Same old lang syne” or one of his other hits. He just had that sort of effect on the world, and it's a poorer, colder place for his loss. A true artist to the end, Dan pursued the path he wanted to take throughout his life, living where his muse took him, sometimes beating his head against the piano keyboard in frustration when the lyrics and the melodies wouldn't come, but they always did in the end. He compromised for no-one, and though he had hit singles he never set out to consciously write them. For him, it was all about the music. The music was the purest thing in his life; it coloured and gave meaning to his existence, and through him, we are all just a little richer for his efforts.
The final word I leave to the memory of the man himself, spoken to music journalist Rex Rutkowski when interviewed about the album “Full circle”. Unaware of course that this would turn out to be the last recording he would make, he nevertheless mused
"It has a kind of final feeling to me. It would really be a wonderful way to end, going all the way back to where I started. It feels very complete. It feels like a great place to conclude what I started with 'Home Free' “
Dan, we thank you for the music, and you're finally home now. Rest easy, my friend.