From the recording THE YEAR OF SMALL REPAIRS
This song celebrates New Year’s as a moment of renewal, healing, and shared humanity. The opening verses acknowledge the past year’s hardships—“old ghosts,” heartbreak, struggle—but they also highlight the resilience of friendship and the simple joy of being alive to begin again. The chorus becomes a communal toast, a promise that love, connection, and memory can carry us forward. Singing loudly in the streets with nothing but “the coin of the soul” symbolizes choosing spirit over circumstance, and the bridge affirms that even when the celebrations fade, the relationships, songs, and stories remain. Ultimately, the song is a hopeful anthem of togetherness—raising a glass to the year ahead with gratitude, courage, and deep affection
Lyrics
HERE’S TO THE YEAR AHEAD
Verse 1
The bells were still ringing, the frost on the glass,
Old ghosts in the corner, we toasted them past.
You laughed through the smoke, said “We’re still alive,”
And I swore in that moment the world could revive.
Chorus
Here’s to the year ahead, my friend!
May the broken hearts all mend.
Raise your glass, let the old fears fall,
We’ve got love enough for all!
Here’s to the nights we can’t forget,
And the dreams not buried yet—
To the tears we’ve shed and the words we’ve said,
Here’s to the year ahead!
Verse 2
The streets were a stage and the stars were the crowd,
We sang out of tune but we sang it loud.
No fortune to spend, just the coin of the soul,
And a promise that time won’t swallow us whole.
Chorus
Here’s to the year ahead, my friend!
May the broken hearts all mend.
Raise your glass, let the old fears fall,
We’ve got love enough for all!
Bridge
When the daylight comes and the hangover fades,
We’ll still have the songs that the night parade made.
For every goodbye, there’s a hand to hold,
And fire in the cold, and stories retold—
Final Chorus
Here’s to the year ahead, my friend!
May the broken hearts all mend.
We’ll dance through the dark till the dawn turns red,
Here’s to the year ahead!
To the laughs, the fights, the prayers we’ve said,
Here’s to the year ahead!