Dave Rublin spoke in a podcast of Songfacts where he disclosed that the song was being written when the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting happened in 2012. They were inspired to write the song to "make people happy and make people feel positive, because that's something that was missing from rock and from songwriting, just something so simplistic that can be an earworm, that can carry people."
Zac Barnett told an interviewer for Blueprint Magazine, "Recently we have been experimenting with a lot of different instruments including banjo, mandolin and various percussion toys. Africa-influenced rhythms have been taking more of a prominent role in our songs which has then opened up our ideas on melodies. We're always open to trying new things and we get very excited to learn new instruments and experiment with new sounds. ... "Best Day of My Life" was an idea that James and I had been messing around with. We had the pre-chorus and chorus but once we showed the idea to the rest of the guys they came in and restructured the verses and added the stuttered "life" chorus. Looking back on it, the song changed a lot from the initial idea but that's what I love so much about it. I'll always remember that song being started on acoustic guitars in my tiny Bushwick bedroom, but all of us together as a band really took the song to a completely different place."
Barnett mentions "the stuttered 'life' chorus"—as in "the best day of my li-i-i-i-ife"; the "stuttering" also occurs in a recurrent "whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh"—by which he refers to a lyrical tradition of stuttering in rock music, popularized by Buddy Holly, David Bowie ("Ch-Ch-Changes"), Elton John, and others.
Bill Lamb, writing for About.com, praised the song's "opening banjo lick" as "a perfect first hook," its "irrepressibly upbeat lyrics," and "a blend of key elements from across a wide range of current successful pop music." He added, "The bass drum heavy backing percussion sounds a little like Imagine Dragons, and backed by a pop-punk style "Whoa Oh" chorus, "Best Day of My Life" takes some of the most distinctive elements of a variety of current pop hit genres and blends them into something new." The song also utilizes the millennial whoop.
The song received significant airplay on the radio for it to debut at No. 49 in the Hot Rock Songs and No. 40 in the Adult Top 40 for charts dated October 5, 2013. It began climbing the various rock charts and became a crossover hit on both alternative rock and top 40 stations, becoming big hits on those formats and peaking at No. 2, No. 18 and No. 4 on the Hot Rock Songs, Alternative Songs, and Mainstream Top 40 charts, and was a sleeper hit.
It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 93 for the chart dated November 30, 2013, and eventually peaked at No. 11 on the charts dated April 19 and May 10, 2014. By March, 2014, it had reached No. 1 on the Adult Top 40. The song reached its first million sales mark in the United States in March 2014, and its second million in August 2014. The song was certified 2× Platinum on July 16, 2014 by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The song was ranked number one on Billboard's chart of Adult Pop Songs for 2014. To date, it remains the only single by the band to break the top 40 in the United States.
Best Day of My Life
American Authors Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I jumped so high I touched the clouds
Wo-o-o-o-o-oh, wo-o-o-o-o-oh
I stretched my hands out to the sky
We danced with monsters through the night
Wo-o-o-o-o-oh, wo-o-o-o-o-oh
I'm never gonna look back, whoa
I'm never gonna give it up, no
Please don't wake me now (two, three, four)
This is gonna be the best day of my life
My li-i-i-i-i-ife
This is gonna be the best day of my life
My li-i-i-i-i-ife
I howled at the moon with friends
And then the sun came crashing in
Wo-o-o-o-o-oh, wo-o-o-o-o-oh
But all the possibilities
No limits, just epiphanies
Wo-o-o-o-o-oh, wo-o-o-o-o-oh
I'm never gonna look back, whoa
I'm never gonna give it up, no
Just don't wake me now
This is gonna be the best day of my life
My li-i-i-i-i-ife
This is gonna be the best day of my life
My li-i-i-i-i-ife
I hear it calling outside my window
I feel it in my soul (soul)
The stars were burning so bright
The sun was out 'til midnight
I say we lose control (control)
This is gonna be the best day of my life
My li-i-i-i-i-ife
This is gonna be the best day of my life
My li-i-i-i-i-ife
This is gonna be, this is gonna be, this is gonna be
The best day of my life
Everything is looking up, everybody up now
This is gonna be the best day of my life
My li-i-i-i-i-ife
The lyrics of American Authors’ “Best Day of My Life” suggest a sense of joy, a feeling of freedom, and living life to the fullest without any worries about the past or future. The opening lines speak of a dream so big and loud that it takes the singer high up into the clouds. The second line points to leaping so high that it almost seemed like he touched the sky. Then, he goes on to describe dancing with monsters through the night, which is a metaphor for his fear. And in the next line, he says he won't look back or give up, implying that he is choosing to overcome his fear.
In the chorus, the singer declares that this day, the day in his dream, is going to be the best day of his life. He repeats this line twice, emphasizing the importance of this day. He sings of how he howled at the moon with his friends and the sun came "crashing in" but all the possibilities lay on the horizon with no limits and only epiphanies for him to discover.
The last verse speaks of how the singer hears the call of his dreams outside his window and feels as if his soul is in it. He claims that the stars were burning so bright and the sun was out till midnight, embracing and enjoying everything without worrying about losing control.
Line by Line Meaning
I had a dream so big and loud
I had a dream that was so vivid, it felt real and loud
I jumped so high I touched the clouds
I was so uplifted and positive that I felt like I was on top of the world
Wo-o-o-o-o-oh, wo-o-o-o-o-oh
An expression that signifies euphoria and excitement
I stretched my hands out to the sky
I was trying to reach for the sky and embrace the limitless opportunities that were present before me
We danced with monsters through the night
We embraced our fears and celebrated our ability to overcome them
I'm never gonna look back, whoa
I refuse to dwell on past mistakes and failures
I'm never gonna give it up, no
I will never give up on my dreams and aspirations
Please don't wake me now (two, three, four)
Please let me continue living in this moment of pure bliss and happiness
This is gonna be the best day of my life
Today is going to be an amazing day filled with endless possibilities
My li-i-i-i-i-ife
An expression that signifies happiness and contentment with one's life
I howled at the moon with friends
I let go of my inhibitions and had a lot of fun with my friends
And then the sun came crashing in
An expression that signifies the arrival of a new day full of possibilities
But all the possibilities
There are endless opportunities and possibilities to explore and embrace
No limits, just epiphanies
There are no limits to what I can achieve, only new insights and discoveries to make
I hear it calling outside my window
I feel a sense of urgency to seize the day and take advantage of all the opportunities that are available
I feel it in my soul (soul)
I feel a deep sense of purpose and fulfillment in my life
The stars were burning so bright
The night was filled with wonder and excitement
The sun was out 'til midnight
An expression that signifies the endless possibilities of the day
I say we lose control (control)
Let us let go of our inhibitions and embrace our true selves
Everything is looking up, everybody up now
Everything is going well and everyone is feeling positive and uplifted
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Aaron Accetta, Zachary Barnett, Shep Goodman, David Rublin, Matthew Sanchez, James Shelley, Michael Goodman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@SightlessMushroomOnPaws
I listened to this song for the first time when I was 5, I can’t remember much from then, but the last time I had heard this song was when I was 10, and now I’m revisiting it a couple years later after so much has happened, I now look at the bad things as something that made this day the best day. EVERYDAY IS THE BEST DAY! I want to wake up to this song everyday and forever. This song has helped me start to heal from my scars although my own therapist can’t.
Thank you so much for this song
Live every day like it’s the best day of your life.
@theharshtruthoutthere
The music and film industries are under the rule of lucifer, who is the master of masonry club.
Think about it, all their HITS are about lust and fornication and being stressed and depressed, wanting to be done by “life”.
None of them has meaning in their music.
Souls are either in the lusting and fornication sin, or depressed that they cannot live like this.
= we praising sins and living in these.
Time is clear to REPENT – BORN AGAIN – come out from BABYLON:
Matthew 9:13
But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
John 3:3
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
John 3:7
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Revelation 18:4
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
@dimhus5923
Most nostalgic songs
ho hey- the Lumineers
Olw city- Fireflies
Avicci- Wake me up
Passenger- Let her go
Gym class heroes- Stereo hearts
American authors- best day of my life
Pibull- Timber
The black eyed peas- I’ve got a feeling
Avicii- Hey brother
Sam smith- Stay with me
Lukas graham- 7 years
Bastille- Pompeii
OneRepublic- Counting Stars
The wanted- Chasing the Sun
Foster the People- Pumped Up Kicks
Phillip Phillips- home
@teefkiller
If you are still listening to this in 2024, you are a legend!
@penchalreddy5376
Thank you random friend.
@muh.taufikhidayat4904
Thx bro
@maneskin420
Nice
@W_paradoxs
This song is just so good.
@yarm71
Yeah!
@Subscriberswithnovideosc-ht9uc
2013: Love this life
2020: Miss that life
@spantley5265
True that now its just hell
@nicowood744
I miss hanging with my older sister and listening to music but everything else pretty much sucked and my life still sucks
@atharvgowerdhan9043
2014 was awesome!!
Obama was the best!
Trump is crap.