One Better Day /
Madness Lyrics

Arlington house, address: no fixed abode
The song begins by setting the scene of the singer witnessing an old man in a three-piece suit sitting in the road outside of Arlington House, a government building notorious for being used as temporary housing for the homeless. The old man doesn't have a permanent address and is homeless.

An old man in a three-piece suit sits in the road
The singer describes an old man dressed in a high-class three-piece suit, looking out across the water, sitting in the middle of the street.

He stares across the water, he sees right through the lock
The old man looks across the water, peering through a lock, as if searching for something that he can't find.

But on and up like outstretched hands
The artist compares the old man's gaze to outstretched hands, reaching for something out of his grasp and beyond his reach.

His mumbled words, his fumbled words, mock
The old man tries to speak, but only stumbles over his words, making them difficult to understand. The artist describes how the old man's inability to communicate properly is mocked by those who pass by him.

Further down, a photo booth, a million plastic bags
The song shifts to another location, where the singer describes a photo booth and tons of plastic bags strewn about.

And an old woman filling out a million baggage tags
The singer sees an old woman filling out lots of tags for her many bags, likely belongings she only has because she's homeless and has nowhere else to store them.

But when she gets thrown out, three bags at a time
The old woman gets kicked out of wherever she was staying, and as a result, must carry her bags with her. She's only allowed to take three bags with her as she's kicked out.

She spies the old chap in the road to share her bags with
The old woman sees the old man in the road and decides to share her bags with him.

She has bags of time
The artist notes how the old woman seems to have endless amounts of time, so much so that she can sit and share her bags with the old man without any hurry or urgency.

Surrounded by his past, on a short white line
The song returns to the old man in the road, describing him as being surrounded by his past and sitting directly on a short white painted line in the road.

He sits while cars pass either side, takes his time
The artist describes how cars pass by the old man on either side, but he simply sits and takes his time.

Trying to remember one better day
The old man is trying to remember a past day that was better than his current situation, likely a time when he had more stability and financial security.

A while ago when people stopped to hear him say
The old man is also reminiscing about a time when others would stop and listen to him speak, as opposed to passing him by or ignoring him.

Walking round you sometimes hear the sunshine
The song shifts to a discussion of walking around and hearing the sunshine, which the singer seems to describe as being a peaceful, comforting feeling.

Beating down in time with the rhythm of your shoes
The sunshine is described as beating down in time with the rhythm of your shoes, suggesting that when walking around and enjoying the sunlight, one's footsteps feel synchronized with the sun's rays.

Now she has walked enough through rainy town
The song shifts back to the old woman, who has walked enough through a rainy town and is clearly exhausted from carrying her bags around.

She rests her bag against his and sits down
The old woman sees the old man sitting on the short white line and decides to join him, resting her bags against his before sitting down.

She's trying to remember one better day
Like the old man, the old woman is trying to remember a past that was happier than her current situation.

The feeling of arriving when you've nothing left to lose
The song ends by describing a feeling of arriving when one has nothing left to lose, suggesting that when someone has hit rock bottom, there's a certain sense of acceptance, calmness, and understanding that comes with it.