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".
The Language of Love
Dan Fogelberg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When she means yes
And what she wants
You know that I can't guess
When we want more
You know we ask for less
Such is the language of love...
When I mean stay
But she don't see
And so she moves away
What we really want
You know we rarely say
Such is the language of love.
It's tooth for tooth
and eye for eye
We hide our hearts
And then we won't say why
It's truth for truth
and lie for lie
Such is the language of love.
One cries foul
And will not speak
The other claims a little victory
And all the time
You know we fail to see
This is the language of love.
When a loves begins to wander
No one ever knows
But we feel it deep inside us
Long before it shows
Long before it shows.
We hem and haw
We balk and bluff
Our words don't ever seem to
say enough
But a simple smile
A tender touch
Speaks the true language of love.
When a loves begins to wander
No one ever knows
But we feel it deep inside us
Long before it shows
Long before it shows.
She says no
When she means yes
And what she wants
You know that I can't guess
When we want more
You know we ask for less
Such is the language of love
Such is the language of love...
The Language of Love is a deeply introspective song by Dan Fogelberg about the complexities and paradoxes that come with romantic relationships. The song begins with an admission that communication in love is often convoluted, with partners saying the opposite of what they mean and expecting less even when they want more. In doing so, Fogelberg suggests that this "language of love" is one that is spoken by lovers all over the world, despite differences in culture, language, or social background.
The chorus of the song goes on to describe how love is a game of give and take, where partners keep score of each other's actions and hold back their true feelings in fear of being vulnerable. Fogelberg uses the analogy of "tooth for tooth, and eye for eye" to describe this cycle of mistrust and misunderstanding. He also implies that when there is a problem or misunderstanding, rather than confronting them directly, partners will cry foul or claim little victories, leading to a breakdown in communication and understanding of each other.
Ultimately, The Language of Love reflects the universal truth that love, while being a beautiful and transformative experience, can be complicated, confusing, and difficult to navigate. Despite this, Fogelberg suggests that simple and genuine gestures, like a smile or a tender touch, can speak the true language of love and bring us closer to each other.
Line by Line Meaning
She says no
Sometimes women say the opposite of what they really mean.
When she means yes
So, when she says "no", she might really mean "yes".
And what she wants
It's hard to figure out what she wants when she doesn't express it clearly.
You know that I can't guess
It's not easy to guess what she wants or needs just by her words or actions.
When we want more
When we actually desire more than what we have.
You know we ask for less
We tend to ask for less than we really desire or what we actually deserve.
Such is the language of love...
This is how communication works in a relationship.
I say leave
Sometimes we say the opposite of what we actually want.
When I mean stay
Because we are afraid to express our true feelings and risk being rejected.
But she don't see
Sometimes our significant others don't realize what we are actually trying to say.
And so she moves away
And this may lead to a breakdown in communication and distance between us.
What we really want
Our deepest desires and needs that we often hide from others.
You know we rarely say
We don't usually express our true wants and needs to our partners.
It's tooth for tooth
We tend to respond in kind when someone hurts us.
and eye for eye
We retaliate when someone does something hurtful to us.
We hide our hearts
We keep our emotions and true feelings hidden from others to avoid being hurt.
And then we won't say why
We refuse to explain why we hold back, because we are afraid to be vulnerable.
It's truth for truth
We often respond with honesty to the truth that is revealed to us.
and lie for lie
And sometimes we may lie in response to when we feel deceived or lied to.
Such is the language of love.
This is what love can drive us to do when we are hurt.
One cries foul
One of us may feel unfairly treated.
And will not speak
One of us may refuse to express what they are feeling.
The other claims a little victory
The other person may feel victorious in the argument or situation.
And all the time
All this happens often in our relationships.
You know we fail to see
We fail to perceive how much we are hurting the relationship by doing this.
This is the language of love.
This is what communication can turn into when we are lost in the emotions of love.
When a love begins to wander
When one of us starts to lose interest in, or feel unfulfilled in, the relationship.
No one ever knows
It's hard to know when this will happen.
But we feel it deep inside us
We can sense that something is off, long before it shows up on the surface.
Long before it shows.
Before the relationship really starts to suffer.
We hem and haw
We stammer and hesitate when we try to express our feelings in words.
We balk and bluff
We avoid talking about what's really bothering us.
Our words don't ever seem to say enough
We feel like we can't express clearly in words what we are feeling inside.
But a simple smile
However, sometimes a simple gesture like a smile can show what words can't express.
A tender touch
A gentle or affectionate gesture can also show affection and love more effectively than words.
Speaks the true language of love.
This is how the true language of love is expressed, through actions rather than words.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DAN FOGELBERG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Andrei Jay
This man was one of the single most talented musicians ever.He could've rock as hard as they come when he needed to...then his ballads were tear jerking and pore raising!!! He was a fantastic guitarist too.A true talent in his own right!!! It was and is a pleasure to own his music.Rest In Peace Dan.
MAGNETO
I love all different sides of his music, such an amazing talent!
SWLinPHX
This is my favorite upbeat Fogelberg song -- proof that he is capable of more than just poignant ballads.
J & D Pascale
What about Power of Gold ....love that one too!
Mark Adamowicz
Fogelberg was awesome. This man had talent. He is sorely missed.
doglips1958
Absolutely
Michael Flaherty
Agreed
Mantamm
❤
Ajay Bizoara
Hearing him after 3 decades, wow he got my teenage back
Debbie Schmidling
@Ajay Bizoara Yes!! ❤️❤️❤️