"December" is a song by American alternative rock band Collective Soul, released on the band's 1995 eponymous album. It was serviced to album rock radio on March 17, 1995. Written by singer and guitarist Ed Roland, it peaked at number 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart for nine weeks, becoming that chart's most successful song of 1995. In Canada, the song reached number two on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart, becoming the band's highest-charting single until "The World I Know" attained the top spot in March 1996.

Composition

In a December 2017 interview with Songfacts, lead singer Ed Roland explained the inspiration behind "December": "We were going through a tough time with our first manager, and I just felt like at the time, a lot of stuff happened really quickly. You've got to remember, we had a hit song before we had a label or even a true band. So, that relationship started to deteriorate. And while we were in the studio, it came pretty natural. I just wanted to talk about how I felt I was being used and whatever I did was not good enough ever."

Track listings

US 7-inch single US cassette single German and Australian CD single

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover version

Burmese rock band Iron Cross has "copied" the song live in concert.