From the fan favourite album Recovering the Satellites, this song was highly rated across the board, clearly striking a chord with writers (5 of whom voted for it), as its themes of regret and heartbreak melded with a sad optimism for the future; it resonated not only at its time of release but also towards the end of the COVID pandemic, when writer Adam Duritz performed a live version of the song on The Jimmy Kimmel show at the end in late 2021, and resonates still today at the end of/during a difficult period for many. Duritz wrote it after visiting a friend who had just survived a car accident. As Duritz explained, “It’s a song about looking back on your life and seeing changes happening,” he said, “and for once, me, looking forward and thinking, ‘Ya know, things are gonna change for the better'” Other writers interpreted it as a holiday song, noting a change in Duritz’s demeanour. Yasi Salek of Bansplain said, “The thing about A Long December is that it is absolutely a fucking holiday song. People who say it’s not are lying. The thing is, though, it’s the inverse of a normal holiday song, in which usually the music is often cheery and joyful, but the actual song makes you feel very depressed. However, with this song, the music is bittersweet and sad, but the message is one of hope. It has been a long December, and there is a reason to believe that maybe this year will be better than the last”.
Peter Thompson rated it his No 1 Counting Crows song in an Essentials piece in the middle of last year: “This amazing ballad, usually performed with Duritz on piano and regular keyboard player Charlie Gillingham on the accordion, is a mainstay of the band’s live performances. One suspects that Duritz feels it is one of his most personal and, at the same time, uplifting songs. Whatever the interpretation, it is a brilliant song”
And Helen Jones’ article for this Feature bears repeating in full: “I knew that was the best thing I’d ever written when I wrote it”, Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz admitted of A Long December and while this hubris might seem unfounded in some artists, when you’re talking about a song with a verse like “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”, it feels entirely justified. Duritz also said recently that he “knew it was a perfect song” and that he “knew [he] was going to love playing it forever”, which is great news for us all.
