To The Good Old Days

Album: 26 East, Vol. 1 (2020)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In this duet with Julian Lennon, Dennis DeYoung looks back on the best of times spent with family and friends. By the time the song was released, he had been married to his wife, Suzanne, for 50 years.
  • DeYoung had never met Julian Lennon, but got the idea to duet with him after writing a tribute song to The Beatles, the group that inspired him to make music for a living. DeYoung decided that song wasn't a good fit for Julian, so he wrote one that was.

    "I went to the piano and thought, 'What would Julian and I sing like?' And wrote 'To The Good Old Days,'" DeYoung told Songfacts. "I sent it to him, even though I didn't know him and I never met him. He liked it and said he'd be honored to do it, and he did it! How about that for the universe spinning correctly?"
  • This song ends with a coda called "A.D. 2020"

    And so my friends
    I'll say goodbye
    For time has claimed it's prize
    But the music never dies
    Just listen and close your eyes
    And welcome to paradise


    This is a variation on "A.D. 1958," a closing passage on Styx' 1981 Paradise Theatre album:

    And so, my friends, we'll say goodnight
    for time has claimed his prize
    but tonight can always last
    as long as we keep alive
    the mem'ries of Paradise
  • The video, directed by Dominique Lawrence, is packed with Dennis DeYoung's home movies, many dating back to the '70s and '80s when his kids were young.
  • Jim Peterik, known for his work in Survivor, played acoustic guitar on this track. DeYoung credits Peterik for motivating him to make the 26 East, Vol. 1 album, which is titled after the address of DeYoung's childhood home on the south side of Chicago.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"They're Playing My Song

A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.

Richard Marx

Richard MarxSongwriter Interviews

Richard explains how Joe Walsh kickstarted his career, and why he chose Hazard, Nebraska for a hit.

Commercials

CommercialsFact or Fiction

Was "Ring Of Fire" really used to sell hemorrhoid cream?

John Doe of X

John Doe of XSongwriter Interviews

With his X-wife Exene, John fronts the band X and writes their songs.

Yoko Ono

Yoko OnoSongwriter Interviews

At 80 years old, Yoko has 10 #1 Dance hits. She discusses some of her songs and explains what inspired John Lennon's return to music in 1980.

Loreena McKennitt

Loreena McKennittSongwriter Interviews

The Celtic music maker Loreena McKennitt on finding musical inspiration, the "New Age" label, and working on the movie Tinker Bell.