Song: “Perfect Day”

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Behind the Song

Here’s the first thing I wrote in my notebook for this song, before I had penned any lyrics:

“A song about waking up with the memory of a golden day yesterday — but now all is drab.”

And that’s pretty much the song I ended up with.

I’ve explored the more general idea of up-and-down feelings in other songs, like “Colors” and “Up & Down Kind of Man” (forthcoming).

This one’s more about the desire to relive a perfect day, and how that all goes down.

In the second stanza of the first verse, I sing “I felt like a drank a good-luck potion.” This image was inspired by the episode in the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, when Harry drinks felix felicis and everything goes right for him.

If we could only bottle perfect days like that …

Lyrics

Yesterday the sun shone all day
the hardest job I took felt like play
the meanest man I met seemed a friend
my wallet held more cash than I could spend

I felt like I drank a good-luck potion
every road that I drove led downhill
every move that I made gave forward motion
every fear that I faced became a thrill

What do you do with a perfect day?
You can't stretch it out for all time.
When the day is done, and the next one comes,
what do you do the day after the perfect day?

Before I open my eyes, I already know
today I'm gonna see a different show
the gray skies above made me sleep in
I'm already late before I begin

I try to make jokes but I sound like a jerk
I wish that everyone would leave
every smile that I see I'm sure is a smirk
I dismiss every kiss as a plot to deceive

What do you do with a perfect day?
You can't stretch it out for all time.
When the day is done, and the next one comes,
what do you do the day after the perfect day?


Is it the world?
Or just me?
My strange nature?
Or a law of reality?
Is this how the world goes round?
If you go up
you must come down?


When I stub my toe I could cry
sit alone and mope, curse the sky
or I could get back up and take it slow
who cares how far I get as long as I go

I might as well make this a perfect day
where every little thing goes wrong
you just have to laugh when it goes sideways
if you can't run you can limp along

What do you do with a perfect day?
You can't stretch it out for all time.
When the day is done, and the next one comes,
what do you do the day after
when tears replace the laughter
how do you turn the next chapter
what do you do the day after
the day after the perfect day