"This Is the Day" by Matt Johnson....
Well you didn't wake up this morning 'cause you didn't go to bed
You were watching the whites of your eyes turn red
The calendar on your wall was ticking the days off
You've been reading some old letters
You smile and think how much you've changed
All the money in the world couldn't buy back those days
[Chorus]
You pull back the curtain
And the sun burns into your eyes
You watch a plane flying
Across a clear blue sky
This is the day, your life will surely change
This is the day, when things fall into place
You could have done anything, if you wanted
And all your friends and family think that you're lucky
But the side of you they'll never see
Is when you're left alone with your memories
That hold your life together, like glue
You were watching the whites of your eyes turn red
The calendar on your wall was ticking the days off
You've been reading some old letters
You smile and think how much you've changed
All the money in the world couldn't buy back those days
[Chorus]
You pull back the curtain
And the sun burns into your eyes
You watch a plane flying
Across a clear blue sky
This is the day, your life will surely change
This is the day, when things fall into place
You could have done anything, if you wanted
And all your friends and family think that you're lucky
But the side of you they'll never see
Is when you're left alone with your memories
That hold your life together, like glue
Lyrics submitted by Boonechic_21
"This Is the Day" as written by Markus Johnson
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The point of view strikes me as a person who has the epiphany that he is closer to the end than the beginning (which might prompt the beginning of a mid life crisis) of his life. I don't think the man is excessively rich, but according to his "friend and family" he is well off. Regardless of any accomplishments, he has been waiting for something (or someone) and, while many seem to think this song is optimistic, I think that the statement that "this is the day your life will surely change" is filled with facetiousness.
He has finally realized, which is why the lack of sleep, that that time is past and that it's not going to happen. He is not young anymore and his dream(s) are going to remain just that. This could be a possible reference to the plane. He can see what it is (in his mind), but it is too far away to actually touch it.
I find the placement of this track to on the album, just after 'I've been Waiting for Tomorrow (All of My Life)' to be very telling. In that track he was in young adulthood and waiting for life to start and for this thing to happen. It was always going to happen tomorrow. In this song that thing has not yet happened and he realizes that tomorrow is now yesterday.
As for the upbeat tune of the song, I think it is a purposeful counterpoint to the depressing nature of the lyrics. (e.g. 'Girlfriend in a Coma' by the Smiths.)
In fact, I registered on the site so I could comment on it.
I too picture this is about a seemingly successful man, pining for the days of his youth, and the things money can't buy. Which I always interpreted as love. And not neccessarily as in sexual love, but simply the love of family and friends.
And yet, he begins the day with the positive affirmation that This is the Day. He's going to do something about making the change in his life to get those relationships back.
And if anyone can name another song featuring the piano accordian, I will be very impressed.
the brian jonestown massacre - david bowie i love you
ween - the blarney stone
shall I go on??
Now it could be that those lines are sung with irony -- there's no insight, no escape, no hope, just the illusion of it. But I don't buy it. One of the reasons is the music itself. It's in a major key, and the accordion part sounds like something falling into place, not something limping along, out of whack.
They say you have to hit bottom before you can come back. It sounds to me like the singer is reflecting your feelings back to you, the feeling that you have had enough of burning bridges and chasing illusory pleasures. Today you finally realize it's all empty and now you know which way to go -- with the plane, taking the high road back home. But the melancholy accordion says it's not another case of getting high. This time, it's just getting things right.
This is a song of redemption.