The youngest of three sons, Dan was born in Peoria, Illinois, the son of Margaret (née Irvine), a classically-trained pianist, and Lawrence Peter Fogelberg, a high school band director, who spent most of his career at Peoria Woodruff High School and Pekin High School. Dan Fogelberg's mother was a Scottish immigrant and his father was of Swedish descent. His father would later be the inspiration for the song Leader of the Band. Using a Mel Bay course book, Dan taught himself to play a Hawaiian slide guitar his grandfather gave to him; he also learned to play the piano. He started his music career at age 14 when he joined his first band, The Clan, which paid homage to The Beatles. His second band was another cover combo, The Coachmen, which in 1967 released two singles on Ledger Records: "Maybe Time Will Let Me Forget" and "Don't Want To Lose Her." Another was the blues band, Frankie and the Aliens, who toured regionally during the 1980s covering songs by Cream and Muddy Waters, among others.
After graduating from Woodruff High School in 1969, he studied theater arts and painting at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and began performing as a solo acoustic player in area coffeehouses including the Red Herring Coffeehouse where he made his first solo recordings as part of a folk festival recording in 1971. There, he was discovered in 1971 by Irving Azoff. Fogelberg and Azoff – who started his music-management career promoting another Champaign-Urbana act, REO Speedwagon – moved to California to seek their fortunes. Fogelberg became a session musician who played with pop-folk artists like Van Morrison. In 1972, he released his debut album Home Free to lukewarm response. His second effort was much more successful: the 1974 Joe Walsh-produced album Souvenirs and its hit song "Part of the Plan" made him a major star.
Following Souvenirs, Fogelberg released a string of gold and platinum albums, including Captured Angel (1975) and Nether Lands (1977), and found commercial success with songs like "The Power of Gold." His 1978 Twin Sons of Different Mothers was the first of two collaborations with jazz flutist Tim Weisberg. 1979's Phoenix reached the Top 10, with "Longer" becoming a #2 hit and wedding standard in winter 1980. This was followed by his Top 20 hit "Heart Hotels."
The Innocent Age, released in October 1981, was Fogelberg's critical and commercial peak. This double album song cycle included four of his biggest hits: "Leader of the Band," "Hard To Say," "Run for the Roses", and "Same Old Lang Syne," based on a real-life accidental meeting with a former girlfriend (Jill Anderson). In 1984, he rocked a little again with the album Windows And Walls.
later years:
Fogelberg released High Country Snows in 1985. Recorded in Nashville, it showcased his (and some of the industry's best) talent in the bluegrass genre. Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Doc Watson, Jerry Douglas, David Grisman, Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen were among those who contributed to the record. In a world defined by "life in the fast lane" Fogelberg described the music as "life in the off-ramp." 1987 heralded a return to rock with Exiles, while 1990's The Wild Places was a tribute to Earth preservation. In 1991, he released the live album Greetings from the West.
River of Souls, released in 1993, was Fogelberg's last studio album for Sony Records. In 1997, Portrait encompassed his career with four discs, each highlighting a different facet of his music: "Ballads," "Rock and Roll," "Tales and Travels" (which displayed his talents as a narrative songwriter) and "Hits." In 1999 he fulfilled a career-long dream of creating a Christmas album called First Christmas Morning, and in 2003, Full Circle showcased a return to the folk-influenced, 1970s soft rock-style of music for which he and other singer-songwriters from his era had gained popular recognition.
Fogelberg also used his music to address social issues, including peace and Native American concerns. He was particularly outspoken about his commitment to the environment and to finding alternatives to nuclear power. To that end, Fogelberg included "Face the Fire" on the Phoenix album and performed at a number of the Musicians United for Safe Energy "No Nukes" concerts in 1979 and 1980.
His live concerts won acclaim across the nation over the years. Fogelberg said one of his proudest moments came in 1979 when he played New York City's Carnegie Hall for an audience including his mother and father. Most summers, Fogelberg would perform with full band or in solo acoustic setting; the formats allowed him to show the breadth and depth of his talent as a singer, guitarist, pianist and bandleader. In 2002, fans showed their appreciation by choosing Fogelberg to be one of the first 10 inductees into the Performers Hall of Fame at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado.
In May 2004, Fogelberg was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. He underwent therapy and achieved a partial remission, which did not eliminate his cancer but reduced it and stopped its spread. On August 13, 2005, his 54th birthday, Fogelberg announced the success of his cancer treatments and he thanked fans for their support. He said that he had no immediate plans to return to making music but was keeping his options open and enjoying spending time with his wife, musician Jean Fogelberg.
Fogelberg maintained residences in Deer Isle, Maine and at Mountain Bird Ranch, a 610-acre property near Pagosa Springs, Colorado that he bought in 1982. The ranch was put up for sale in 2005.
After battling prostate cancer for three years, Fogelberg died on December 16, 2007 at his home in Maine with his wife Jean by his side.
Soon after his death, Fogelberg's wife, Jean, announced that a song written and recorded for her by Fogelberg for Valentine's Day 2005, Sometimes a Song, would be sold on the Internet and all proceeds would go to the Prostate Cancer Foundation. The song was released on Valentine's Day 2008. She further announced that this song would be included in a collection of eleven previously unrecorded songs (nine originals) to be released on a CD provisionally entitled "Love In Time".
Full Circle
Dan Fogelberg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If I could change the world
Like a fairy tale
I would drink the love
From your holy grail
I would start with love
To get outta town
Cause you just lost your job
How did we get so affected
Cause I think
Love is love reflected
Time
Don't let it slip away
Raise yo' drinkin' glass
Here's to yesterday
In time
We're all gonna trip away
Don't piss Heaven off
We got Hell to pay
Come full circle
And if
There's a spell on you that
I could take away
I would do the deed
Yeah, and by the way
Here's to Heaven knows
As the circle goes
It ain't right
I'm uptight
Yeah, get on my toes!
I used to think that every little thing I did was crazy
But now I think the Karma cops are comin' after you
Time
Don't let it slip away
Raise yo' drinkin' glass
Here's to yesterday
In time
We're all gonna trip away
Don't piss Heaven off
We got Hell to pay
Come full circle
Every time you get yourself caught up
Inside of someone else's crazy dream
Own it, yeah, that's a mistake
Everybody's gotta lot o' nada killing
Them instead of killing me
Time
Don't let it slip away
Raise yo' drinkin' glass
Here's to yesterday
In time
We're all gonna trip away
Don't piss Heaven off
We got Hell to pay
Come full circle
Circle, circle...
The lyrics of Dan Fogelberg's "Full Circle" are deep and poetic, reflecting on the concept of time, love, and karma. The song appears to be about the struggle of life and the attempts to overcome it. The song begins with the singer expressing his longing to change the world like a fairy tale, to sip love from his significant other's "holy grail." He goes on to say that he would tell the devil himself to get out of town because he just lost his job. The singer then reflects on the nature of love and how it can affect people in various ways.
The chorus of the song repeatedly warns us not to let time slip away because it's precious. Raise your glasses and toast to yesterday because in time, we'll all slip away. Therefore, we must not make Heaven angry, for we will have Hell to pay. In the second verse, the singer speaks of a spell that could be broken if only he had the power. Here he makes a reference to Karma's cops and uses the image of a circle to emphasize how everything comes back around. The final part of the song sounds defiant as the singer adds that he used to think that everything he did was crazy, but now he reckons that Karma is coming to get those who've been caught up in other people's crazy dreams instead of him.
Line by Line Meaning
If I could change the world
I wish I had the power to bring about changes in this world
Like a fairy tale
Just like in a fairy tale
I would drink the love
I would consume all your love
From your holy grail
As if it's nectar from your divine chalice
I would start with love
My first mission would be to spread love
Tell ol' Beelzebub
I would also let the devil know
To get outta town
To leave this place
Cause you just lost your job
Because love has taken over and vanquished evil
How did we get so affected
Why have we become so troubled
Cause I think
Because I believe
Love is love reflected
That love can be contagious, and its reflection can bring more love
Time
The phenomenon of time
Don't let it slip away
Don't waste it by being unaware of its fleeting nature
Raise yo' drinkin' glass
So let's drink to it
Here's to yesterday
This is a toast to the past
In time
Eventually
We're all gonna trip away
We will all move on to the next phase of life
Don't piss Heaven off
We need to be careful not to offend the divine powers
We got Hell to pay
Because that can lead to bad consequences
Come full circle
This is an inevitable cycle of life
And if
If it's possible
There's a spell on you that
If some kind of hex has been placed on you
I could take away
I could remove it from you
I would do the deed
I would take action
Yeah, and by the way
By the way, let me tell you
Here's to Heaven knows
This is to express that only God knows the truth
As the circle goes
As the cycle continues
It ain't right
That something isn't right
I'm uptight
I'm anxious
Yeah, get on my toes!
Feeling tense and fearful
I used to think that every little thing I did was crazy
In the past, I believed that my actions were senseless and wild
But now I think the Karma cops are comin' after you
But currently, I think that you have earned bad karma and it's catching up with you
Every time you get yourself caught up
Whenever you involve yourself
Inside of someone else's crazy dream
In an insane situation that someone else has created
Own it, yeah, that's a mistake
You should take responsibility, and not ignore it, which is a mistake
Everybody's gotta lot o' nada killing
Everyone is busy doing nothing, which is a killer
Them instead of killing me
People are killing themselves, mentally and spiritually, instead of coming for me
Circle, circle...
The cycle continues...
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: GENE CLARK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jim Massa
Very nice version by Dan. My favorite is Gene's version on his barely released (but tremendous) Roadmaster album, which I think came out before the Byrds reunion LP, and, to my ears, sounds much more like a great, old school, 12-string dominated, Byrds song than the reunion version.
astaism
Great song! Written by Gene Clark (founder of The Byrds)!
Maureen Devries
Nice cover of Gene Clark's song. I like Dan Fogelberg, he's also missed.
asquare176
Great job Bill ! I was so entertained by your visuals and of course the background music provided by our Dan... love the guitar work on this song.
MrVampiredog
love this song
trfesok
Gene Clark did indeed write this and also did a solo version, but I'm not sure if it came before or after the Byrds' version. Dan sounds a lot like Clark here! I put all 3 versions in my Fogelberg playlist. Thanks for the upload!
Jack Lewis
+trfesok Clark originally wrote the song to appear on his solo album, however with the abrupt reunion of The Byrds in '73, he decided that it would fit perfectly on that album. Over time, people have been led to believe that the song was written for the Byrds but it was actually for Gene originally, though The Byrds' version was released first.
Dawn Cox
Yes Dan is pretty good in this song. I haven't heard the BIRDS since the 60's and 70's . We have come FULL Circle with JESUS from the 60's and politics have gone Full Circle too. wink
Mariaglenn
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas Bill...love , just LOVE this song..great job!! Blessings for your New Year! River...
headcaseworker
Thank you, brother Bill! Merry Christmas! Love this! We miss you more than ever, Dan......