A Sunny Day in Glasgow began as a collaboration between friends Ben Daniels… Read Full Bio ↴A Sunny Day in Glasgow began as a collaboration between friends Ben Daniels and Ever Nalens, both of whom had recently returned to Philadelphia after several years in the UK. The band name came from Nalens, who had been living in Glasgow, and Daniels kept it after Nalens left the project. In 2006, Daniels asked his twin sisters, Robin and Lauren, to start singing on the songs they had been working on. In March of that year the trio self-released The Sunniest Day Ever EP to great acclaim from college radio stations and blogs. Their debut release, Scribble Mural Comic Journal, came out February 2007 and received favorable reviews from Pitchfork and Drowned in Sound among others. Scribble Mural Comic Journal was recorded with one microphone in a bedroom in West Philly and pushed the boundaries of dream pop often drawing comparisons to My Bloody Valentine and Cocteau Twins. During the summer of 2007 the band toured the United States including in-studios on KEXP and Radio K and released a handmade tour only EP titled Tout New Age which was subsequently released as a digitally only EP. A year later the band emerged for a performance at the Whitney Museum as part of the Wordless Music Series and an in-studio performance on WNYC. A month later they toured across the UK and France which was celebrated with a string of 7"s coming out labels as varied as Slumberland, Disjuncture and Georgraphic North. Shortly following their tour, Ruined Potential released SMCJ in a limited edition on 180 gram double vinyl. Though only playing a few shows stateside after their European tour the band shared the stage with such luminaries as Telepathe, M83 and Asobi Seksu. During the fall of 2008 the group - now comprised of guitarist/drummer Josh Meakim and cellist/vocalist Annie Fredrickson - assembled in a dance studio space in rural New Jersey to record their sophomore album. Their new album, Ashes Grammar, expands on the dream pop themes of SMCJ and finds the band experimenting with recording techniques a la Alvin Lucier. Ashes Grammar was released worldwide on Mis Ojos Discos on September 15, 2009 and will be available on a cd, as a download and on a limited edition double vinyl. On March 2, 2010 ASDIG released a vinyl and digital only 12" EP titled "Nitetime Rainbow" which features some of their brightest sounding recordings to date. Newest additions to the group include bassist Ryan Newmeyer, vocalist Jen Goma and drummer Adam Herndon. The gang will be touring North America and Europe throughout early 2010.

Shy
A Sunny Day In Glasgow Lyrics

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Blanche Dubois and it started to seem
like the only things that happened happened in my dreams (in my dreams)
and my dreams they got so big
my head sunk into my chest

Underneath the autumn star
there are days when the dead of us are not so far (samhain)
and i never thought i could injure myself

by sitting still and staring straight ahead

Underneath the autumn star
there are days when the dead of us are not so far
"and that pain in your chest would go away
if you would only go to the movies."

Concentrating on the mundane
the dead among us are not insane.
and i never thought it could be so easy
to talk about nothing all day

No more of this Jack for god's sake
you're not the devil
and how about this weather? can you believe it?
"i know"
sixty-eight in november

Hello, hello
hello, hello

So i got on my bike
rode all the way across town

please samhain
factorial be good to me.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of A Sunny Day in Glasgow's song Shy seem to describe a dreamlike state of the singer's mind, as they reference Blanche Dubois (a character from Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire) and the concept of dreams in the very first line. As the lyrics progress, we see the singer reflecting on how their dreams have become so big, almost overwhelming, that their head sinks into their chest. The autumn star is then mentioned, which suggests that the season's melancholy might have crept into the singer's state of mind. They acknowledge that at times, the dead are not too far, and that they can cause pain just by sitting still and staring straight ahead. This line implies a sense of torpor and the inability to move on, while the suggestion of going to the movies to alleviate this pain could signify an attempt at escapism.

The singer then shifts their focus towards the mundane and realizes that the dead among us are not insane. This realization could be symbolic of embracing the reality of death and finding solace in the ordinary. The lyric "and I never thought it could be so easy to talk about nothing all day" implies the possibility of small talk as a coping mechanism. Finally, the song ends with a fragment of a conversation that centers around the weather, which further emphasizes the mundane and everyday nature of the singer's existence. The reference to Samhain and factorial is rather cryptic and open to interpretation, but it could suggest a desire for a release from the cycle of life and death.

Line by Line Meaning

Blanche Dubois and it started to seem like the only things that happened happened in my dreams (in my dreams)
The singer feels that their life has become uneventful and everything exciting only happens in their dreams.

and my dreams they got so big my head sunk into my chest
The singer's dreams have become so grand that it's causing them to feel overwhelmed.

Underneath the autumn star there are days when the dead of us are not so far (samhain)
During the time of Samhain, the singer feels that the dead are closer and more present.

and i never thought i could injure myself by sitting still and staring straight ahead
The artist realizes that they can harm themselves mentally by being stagnant and not moving forward in life.

"and that pain in your chest would go away if you would only go to the movies."
Someone suggests to the artist that distracting themselves with a movie could alleviate their emotional pain.

Concentrating on the mundane the dead among us are not insane.
By focusing on ordinary things, the singer sees that the dead are not abnormal or crazy.

and i never thought it could be so easy to talk about nothing all day
The singer realizes that it's effortless to engage in pointless conversations that lead nowhere.

No more of this Jack for god's sake you're not the devil
The artist wants to stop their destructive behavior and stop being compared to evil figures like the devil.

and how about this weather? can you believe it? "i know" sixty-eight in november
The artist makes idle conversation about the unusual weather with someone else, acknowledging that it's a strange occurrence.

Hello, hello hello, hello
The artist greets someone repeatedly.

So i got on my bike rode all the way across town please samhain factorial be good to me.
The singer cycles to a certain location, hoping that Samhain or fate will be kind to them.

Contributed by Alaina E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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