Another Day In Paradise

This song is very meaningful to me and speaks to me. This song is about the unfortunate truth about society. Phil Collins is saying in this song that instead of helping others in need, we, especially Americans, don't help the poor developing countries, and even our own people in need. Rather than give to the needy and help with real life problems, we live in our own little worlds, where everything is perfect for us. We have homes, water, food, and even get to buy things we want, rather than need. In fact, everyone buys things they want, but they never need it. In developing countries, they don’t even have shelter. Many people live in the streets or the wild. Many people also don’t even have a clean supply of water. They are forced to drink the contaminated water flowing in rivers. The thing that makes me feel bad is how these people thank God every single day for being alive instead of dead. This makes me think that many of these people die, and those who don’t die feel lucky. To them, we are paradise. And that is what this song is mainly about. How they think our lives are paradise compared to theirs. I think it is extremely depressing to know that while we live in comfortable, warm houses, they live terrible lives. “Oh, think twice, it’s another day for you and me in paradise.” This part of the song states how we forget and never realize how lucky and fortunate we are to have the things we have, while there are other people who don’t even have enough to live. From a biblical aspect, the lyrics may mean to help one another, for God is watching us, and he will reward us for our kindness, because in God’s eyes, we are all one in the same. This is because we are one in the same. Back then, people never realized this and started discriminating and treating each other differently by the way we looked. That is why many people in the world today live the way they do. This song shows quite a bit of symbolism. The man represents us, the Americans, or maybe just the people . The woman represents the developing countries and/or the poorer people in society. “She calls out to the man on the street ‘Sir, can you help me? It's cold and I've nowhere to sleep, Is there somewhere you can tell me?’ He walks on, doesn't look back He pretends he can't hear her Starts to whistle as he crosses the street Seems embarrassed to be there” In this part of the song, the woman (developing countries) is asking the man for help. Even though she is asking for help, he just keeps walking on, as though she doesn’t exist. “She calls out to the man on the street He can see she's been crying She's got blisters on the soles of her feet Can't walk but she's trying (Chorus) Oh lord, is there nothing more anybody can do Oh lord, there must be something you can say You can tell from the lines on her face You can see that she's been there Probably been moved on from every place 'Cos she didn't fit in there” In this part of the song, the man is considering helping her, but he doesn’t want to sacrifice his own possessions to help out somebody else. To the man, money is everything. Without money, there is no happiness. The man would even die to save his money, but that is kind of ironic since he wouldn’t be able to use it as a ghost, so there would have been no point in dying in the first place. Anyways, I say to man, “WAKE UP CALL!” Money isn’t everything. If you have some, give some to those who need it. Why get the things you want when you can help those who NEED the money to get the things they NEED? There is always a constant phrase being said. This phrase “Think about it” is telling us that we should think twice about our selfish actions. An easy way to “Think about it” is by putting yourself in their shoes. According to the book “To Kill a Mockingbird, there is a quote that states, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” Basically, consider yourself in the position of these people. Wouldn’t you want help if you lived the way they do today? In life, one of the most important things is to keep “Thinking about it.”

It's pretty self-explanatory, really. That's probably why there hasn't been many shots at interpretation. It's not the homeless dream of paradise... it's that we're in paradise by comparison.

"Oh think twice, it's another day for You and me in paradise" We forget how fortunate we are to have all of our nessecities, while there are people who don't even have enough to live off of.

nothing else to say except.. its an excellent song.

I totally agree! The lyrics are pretty self-explanatory. It's just a wonderful song.

Amazing song. The little riff at the beggining is very catchy and is basically the "hook" of the song. It goes without saying that this song is about homelessness.

I think its rich that tax exile and extremely wealthy phil can talk about the homeless.stick to cover versions

This song is so sad...saddest thing is it's true, he really saw this happen.

And you all think the meaning to this song is??? I think it's about homeless people that all dream of a paradise.

Hey pollock, I don't know if the song is entirely about the homeless' dreams of paradise, but as being more of a song about the way people can turn a blind eye to what they don't want to see. The way people can be callous towards others, and Collins' lack of faith in the ability for people to change. It's why he's asking god for guidance; because while he sees the world's problems, and faces them head on, others do not, and feels the only way things can change is through some sort of divine intervention: "Oh lord, is there nothing more anybody can do Oh lord, there must be something you can say " Anyway, that's my take on it.