🌿 “Try to Remember”: A Gentle Ballad of Nostalgia and Human Longing
Few songs have captured the essence of wistful reflection as powerfully and delicately as “Try to Remember.” First introduced to the world in the 1960 off-Broadway musical The Fantasticks, this simple ballad has endured across decades and generations, finding its way into concerts, recordings, films, and hearts. Written by Tom Jones (lyrics) and Harvey Schmidt (music), the song is not only a melodic invitation to remember—but also a tender meditation on the impermanence of time and the resilience of memory.
🎭 Origins in The Fantasticks
The Fantasticks is a minimalist theatrical gem, famously performed with just a handful of actors, a pianist, and a harpist. “Try to Remember” opens the show, sung directly to the audience by the character El Gallo. It serves not just as a prelude but as a tonal setting for the themes of love, loss, youth, and illusion that follow. Its role is clear: to take the audience inward before the story even begins—to recall their own pasts and emotional truths.
From the very first line—“Try to remember the kind of September…”—the lyrics guide the listener into a season of golden warmth, faded innocence, and tender regret. “September” becomes not just a month, but a metaphor for youth and the passage of time.
🎵 Simplicity as Emotional Strength
Musically, “Try to Remember” is built on a gentle, repetitive chord structure—often in G major or A major—that gives it a lullaby-like familiarity. Its moderate tempo, usually played as a slow 3/4 or 6/8 meter, lends the piece a dreamlike, swaying motion.
The melody is unadorned, almost folk-like, allowing the words to shine through without distraction. And yet, within its simplicity lies its power: the music does not demand attention; it invites it. The subtle melodic rises and falls echo the waves of recollection—sometimes joyful, sometimes sorrowful, always sincere.
Many great interpreters—Harry Belafonte, Josh Groban, Nana Mouskouri, Perry Como—have recorded the song, each imbuing it with their own vocal color. The fact that it can be sung by tenors, altos, or even young voices without losing its emotional essence is a testament to its universal design.
🌬️ Lyrical Depth and Poetic Imagery
Tom Jones’s lyrics are both gentle and profound. With elegant repetition and natural rhyme, the song softly urges the listener to:
“Try to remember when life was so tender / That no one wept except the willow…”
Lines like these don’t just evoke images; they awaken feelings—of first love, of carefree days, of the aching sweetness of things now gone. It’s not nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake, but a gentle challenge to keep one’s past alive and active in the heart, not to bury it.
As the verses progress, the lyrics subtly shift from reflection to encouragement:
“Deep in December, it’s nice to remember / Without a hurt the heart is hollow…”
This transition elevates the song from a personal recollection to a universal message: memory is not merely a comfort—it’s a necessary pain. One must remember even the difficult moments, because they give depth and shape to who we are.
🎙️ Interpretive Possibilities and Emotional Range
The beauty of “Try to Remember” lies in its interpretive openness. A young singer may perform it with a sense of imagined nostalgia, while an older artist brings the weight of lived experience. Some versions are hushed and intimate, others grand and orchestral—but all center around the same core: vulnerability.
In choral settings, it can be arranged with soft harmonies, often in three- or four-part a cappella, producing an almost hymn-like reverence. In solo settings, especially with acoustic guitar or piano, it becomes an introspective confession, like reading a letter never sent.
📽️ Cultural Legacy
Over the years, “Try to Remember” has been used in films, television, and even memorial services. Its themes of remembrance and gentle longing make it particularly suited for moments of reflection. In an era dominated by fast-paced media and short attention spans, the song serves as a kind of antidote—a musical breath, a pause in time.
It is especially powerful in educational or intergenerational concerts, where younger and older singers share the stage. The song becomes a bridge between generations, inviting shared memory and empathy.
🌟 Final Thoughts
“Try to Remember” is not flashy. It doesn’t climb to vocal heights or boast virtuosic turns. Instead, it walks quietly, like a barefoot memory across a field in early autumn. And that is precisely why it stays with us.
In a world filled with noise, this song whispers. In a culture driven by progress, it looks back. In the silence it creates, we are given the chance to remember—not just where we’ve been, but who we are.
So try to remember. Not because it’s easy, but because it matters.