A New Year’s Eve Reflection: Reflections from the Great American Songbook

As New Year’s Eve approaches, there’s a familiar question that begins to linger in the air.
Not just what are you doing tonight but who are you with? And perhaps even more quietly, where is all of this going?

That gentle uncertainty is at the heart of “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?”, written in 1947 by Frank Loesser. Despite its title, the song isn’t really about a party, or even about the holiday itself. It’s about longing. About asking a question that feels simple on the surface, but carries real emotional weight underneath.

Loesser reportedly began writing the song in spring, not winter, which makes its mood even more revealing. The lyric imagines a relationship at a crossroads: one person ready to think about the future, the other not quite there yet. The question “What are you doing New Year’s Eve?” becomes a hopeful invitation and a quiet test of commitment.

That’s what gives the song its tenderness. The singer isn’t asking out of convenience. They’re asking because the answer matters.

On a night like tonight, that feeling resonates. New Year’s Eve has a way of amplifying emotions like joy, nostalgia, excitement, and sometimes loneliness. It asks us to take stock of where we’ve been and wonder, either gently or urgently, about what comes next.

This is why songs from the Great American Songbook continue to endure. They don’t rush us into resolutions or demand certainty. Instead, they sit with us in these in-between moments. Between years, between choices, between the past and whatever is still unfolding.

So wherever you are tonight: out celebrating, staying in quietly, or somewhere in between, this song offers a reminder; it’s okay to ask the question without knowing the answer yet.

Here’s to a night filled with reflection, connection, and songs that understand the human heart.