3 New Year’s Eve Songs for a Low-Key Start to the New Year

For most, New Year’s Eve is a grand celebration, kicking off all the great happenings that will come during the new year. Although can’t the grandeur sometimes take away from the questions we need to ask ourselves ahead of the new year? Can’t the high-energy tone distract us from what transpired over the last year? We don’t know, but it’s certainly worth thinking about. If you agree with that perspective and are looking for a more low-key NYE celebration and start to the new year, here are three songs to add to your playlist.

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“A Long December” by Counting Crows

Unlike quintessential New Year’s Eve songs such as “Celebrate” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”, you will not find yourself dancing and clinking glasses of champagne to Counting Crows‘ 1996 single, “A Long December”. Rather, you will likely be casually sipping on a cocktail or sitting at home, contemplating what has happened in the last year and what is to come.

Released in 1996, this song is a good wrench thrown in the borderline cringy positivity of the New Year’s holiday. Yes, we sound very skeptical right now, but hey, NYE’s grandeur can get a bit old. If you are of a like mind and are looking to go into the new year differently, then this is the song for you.

“My Dear Acquaintance (Happy New Year)” by Regina Spektor

So many New Year’s Eve celebrations consist of libations and playful and entertaining conversation, which is an awesome thing in doses, don’t get us wrong. However, in these instances, when that clock strikes 12, you don’t find yourself asking the gritty, real, and hard questions that need to be answered, and the potential of that happening is completely diminished when “Raise Your Glass” by P!nk starts playing.

Well, if you want to ask yourself those questions come January 1, 2026, then put on Regina Spektor’s cover of Peggy Lee’s “My Dear Acquaintance (Happy New Year)”. Frankly, if you are of a certain disposition, you might regret turning this song on, because your brain will start to run, and just maybe, the tears as well.

“This Will Be Our Year” by The Zombies

If you need a pickup for the new year ahead, here you have it, in musical form. Released in 1968, The Zombies’ single “This Will Be Our Year” is a hopeful anthem celebrating the year to come. However, it doesn’t just blindly celebrate what is to come, as it also dwells upon the hardships that have happened.

It’s cliché but true that the sweetest fruit takes the longest to grow, and that is seemingly what The Zombies are saying in this song. So, if your 2025 wasn’t ideal, throw this song on and just remember that there is, in fact, hope.

Photo by JEP Celebrity