One Fine Day
Marillion爀 Lyrics
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Things would be different
One fine day
The walls would crumble
Nations sing as one
We live in hope
Cause so far it hasn't come
Waiting for the world to change
Beginning to wonder if we'll wait in vain
For one fine day
Oh, how years change
The things for which we strive
A better world, or just a quiet life
What seemed so simple
Is still so far away
Don't hold you breath waiting
For one fine day
Listenin' to the pouring rain
Waiting for the world to change
Beginning to wonder if we'll wait in vain
For one fine day
Life is strange
It can seem you're high and dry
Turn around
You find there's nothing in this world you recognise
Did we fall asleep babe?
Dreaming that dream babe?
Listening to the pouring rain
Did we fall asleep babe?
Dreaming that dream babe?
One fine day
Marillion's "One Fine Day" is a song that speaks of hope and a longing for change. The song starts with reminiscing about one's youth, when we used to say that things would be different and that one fine day, the walls would crumble, and nations would sing as one. However, the reality is that we are still waiting for that day to come, and while we live in hope, it hasn't arrived yet. The lyrics speak to the frustration and disappointment that we sometimes feel when the world doesn't live up to our expectations, but also encourage us to hold on and keep waiting for that day to come.
As we grow older, we begin to realize that the things we once thought were simple are still far away, and we start to question whether we should keep waiting for that one fine day to arrive. The song suggests that the answer is yes, that we must keep hoping and believing that change is possible. Life is strange, and it can seem like we are high and dry, but we mustn't give up on our dreams. The pouring rain in the song serves as a metaphor for the waiting and longing we feel, and we are encouraged to keep listening for the sound of change.
Overall, "One Fine Day" is a song that captures the universal desire for a better world, for nations to come together and for walls to crumble. It speaks to the frustration and impatience we feel when change seems slow in coming but encourages us to hold on and keep hoping for that one fine day when the world will be better.
Line by Line Meaning
When we were young we used to say
Back when we were young and naive, we often expressed the idea that things would be different someday.
Things would be different
We hoped that the world would improve and become a better place.
One fine day
We imagined that someday, somehow, everything would change for the better.
The walls would crumble
We believed that barriers and divisions between people and nations would break down.
Nations sing as one
We envisioned a united world where all countries would come together in harmony.
We live in hope
Despite the disappointments and setbacks we've faced, we still hold onto the possibility for positive change.
Cause so far it hasn't come
However, thus far, our dreams and aspirations for a better future have not been realized.
Listening to the pouring rain
As we wait and hope for a better world, we're reflective and contemplative about the state of our current reality.
Waiting for the world to change
We patiently anticipate the arrival of a transformative moment that will improve the state of our global community.
Beginning to wonder if we'll wait in vain
We're starting to question whether our hopes and dreams for change will ever come to fruition.
Oh, how years change
As time passes, our perceptions and priorities shift, altering what we value and strive for.
The things for which we strive
Our pursuit of happiness and fulfillment may not be as grandiose as our former ambitions for world peace.
A better world, or just a quiet life
We must decide whether we want to continue pushing for societal change or simply maintain a peaceful existence with our loved ones.
What seemed so simple
Our past idealism and notions of a perfect world were once straightforward and clear-cut.
Is still so far away
Yet, despite advancements and progress, we're still far from achieving our goals and visions for a better world.
Don't hold your breath waiting
We shouldn't get our hopes up too much or expect immediate change, since the realization of our dreams may never come.
Life is strange
The unpredictability and complexity of life can lead to unexpected outcomes and experiences.
It can seem you're high and dry
There may be moments when we feel lost, stranded, or disconnected from the world around us.
Turn around
When we least expect it, life can take a sudden and dramatic turn.
You find there's nothing in this world you recognise
These changes and shifts can lead to confusion, disorientation, and a sense of alienation.
Did we fall asleep babe?
We may wonder whether we've been in a state of collective slumber, unaware of our surroundings and the evolving state of the world.
Dreaming that dream babe?
Perhaps our visions of a better world were simply a dream, something unattainable and illusory.
One fine day
Despite our doubts and fears, we still hold onto the possibility of meaningful change in the future.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHN HELMER, STEVE HOGARTH, MARK KELLY, IAN MOSLEY, STEVE ROTHERY, PETER TREWAVAS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@federov100
I had always assumed that the Beatles sparked the progressive movement with the Sargent Pepper’s album, especially with A Day in the Life. I now realize it’s more complicated...
@progdogchannel
The reading was deliberately abridged, as there was a section that sounded like a dry textbook, but I -embarrassingly, skipped a couple good paragraphs touching on the Beatles, beach boys and byrds. (I'll attach it here) but since my next 'What Makes This Song Progressive' episode will be A Day in the Life, I'll read the section there.
@progdogchannel
In 1966, the level of social and artistic correspondence among British and American rock musicians dramatically accelerated for bands like the Beatles, the Beach Boys and the Byrds who fused elements of cultivated music with the vernacular traditions of rock. Progressive rock was predicated on the "progressive" pop groups from the 1960s who combined rock and roll with various other music styles such as Indian ragas, oriental melodies and Gregorian chants, like the Beatles and the Yardbirds. The Beatles' Paul McCartney said in 1967: "we [the band] got a bit bored with 12 bars all the time, so we tried to get into something else. Then came Dylan, the Who, and the Beach Boys. ... We're all trying to do vaguely the same kind of thing."Rock music started to take itself seriously, paralleling earlier attempts in jazz (as swing gave way to bop, a move which did not succeed with audiences). In this period, the popular song began signalling a new possible means of expression that went beyond the three-minute love song, leading to an intersection between the "underground" and the "establishment" for listening publics.
Hegarty and Halliwell identify the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Doors, the Pretty Things, the Zombies, the Byrds, the Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd "not merely as precursors of prog but as essential developments of progressiveness in its early days". According to musicologist Walter Everett, the Beatles' "experimental timbres, rhythms, tonal structures, and poetic texts" on their albums Rubber Soul (1965) and Revolver (1966) "encouraged a legion of young bands that were to create progressive rock in the early 1970s". Dylan's poetry, the Mothers of Invention's album Freak Out! (1966) and the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) were all important in progressive rock's development. The productions of Phil Spector were key influences,as they introduced the possibility of using the recording studio to create music that otherwise could never be achieved. The same[vague] is said for the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (1966), which Brian Wilson intended as an answer to Rubber Soul and which in turn influenced the Beatles when they made Sgt. Pepper.
..
Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper, with their lyrical unity, extended structure, complexity, eclecticism, experimentalism, and influences derived from classical music forms, are largely viewed as beginnings in the progressive rock genre and as turning points wherein rock, which previously had been considered dance music, became music that was made for listening to. Between Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper, the Beach Boys released the single "Good Vibrations" (1966), dubbed a "pocket symphony" by Derek Taylor, the band's publicist. The song contained an eclectic array of exotic instruments and several disjunctive key and modal shifts. Scott Interrante of Popmatters wrote that its influence on progressive rock and the psychedelic movement "can't be overstated". Martin likened the song to the Beatles' "A Day in the Life" from Sgt. Pepper, in that they showcase "the same reasons why much progressive rock is difficult to dance to".
Although Sgt. Pepper was preceded by several albums that had begun to bridge the line between "disposable" pop and "serious" rock, it successfully gave an established "commercial" voice to an alternative youth culture and marked the point at which the LP record emerged as a creative format whose importance was equal to or greater than that of the single. Bill Bruford, a veteran of several progressive rock bands, said that Sgt. Pepper transformed both musicians' ideas of what was possible and audiences' ideas of what was acceptable in music. He believed that: "Without the Beatles, or someone else who had done what the Beatles did, it is fair to assume that there would have been no progressive rock." In the aftermath of Sgt. Pepper, magazines such as Melody Maker drew a sharp line between "pop" and "rock', thus eliminating the "roll" from "rock and roll" (which now refers to the 1950s style). The only artists who remained "rock" would be those who were considered at the vanguard of compositional forms, far from "radio friendly" standards, as Americans increasingly used the adjective "progressive" for groups like Jethro Tull, Family, East of Eden, Van der Graaf Generator and King Crimson.
@doddyznp518
or Their Satanic Majestic Request of Stones... Thats can be compare
@jennifer9047
I thought this would put me to sleep, but here I am, still wide-eyed and open-eared, all the way to the end! God- soooo many bands that were instrumental in forming my musical "love map" are mentioned in this article! 😍
The funny thing is, even though I wasn't born 'til '78, I actually was exposed to them largely in chronological order. My dad was firmly into proto prog precursors like The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Byrds, and had all their albums; but my mom was listening to Steppenwolf, Uriah Heep, Yes, Jethro Tull, ELP, Procol Harum, and Moody Blues while pregnant with me. She told me she used to play those records along with Mozart, and a smattering of Stevie Wonder and Earth Wind & Fire to me in utero through headphones on her belly.
I remember very few things about my early childhood, but other than recalling that the interior of our home was mostly decorated in hideous hues of orange, gold, and brown shag/ macramé, I remember the music. My years 1-8 were filled with Chicago, Kansas, Boston, Journey, ELO, Styx, Toto, Supertramp, and Foreigner. Then that morphed into The Talking Heads, (later)Genesis, Toto, Scorpions, Van Halen, Queensryche, and Def Leppard.
By highschool I had started exploring musically on my own, and I went back and picked up some that I missed like The Doors, Rush, Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Jimmi Hendrix, The Who and Black Sabbath, and added new ones that were coming out like Metallica, Tool, Alice in Chains and Nirvana. (And although I listened to plenty of Dream Theater too, they were one band I just couldn't vibe with...)
In college I got into some of the offshoots like Can, Tubular Bells , Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, James Brown, and Shuggie Otis, but mostly stuck with alt rock (Radiohead, Björk, Muse) and prog metal.
Although there have been lean times for prog in the past 50 years, I really do believe that the genre has staying power due to timeless innovators like Rush, Yes, Pink Floyd, Tool, Opeth, Leprous, and Haken. Maybe one day soon, I'll be playing Lateralus through headphones on MY belly...🎧
T'was nice to hear your voice for this little audio book experiment.
Good night to you too, Dean! 💕🐺
@progdogchannel
Thanks Jen. Appreciate how your life is defined around what music you listened to, I can certainly relate. Discovering music is essential to my experience as well.
@scravitz1958
I think it’s the ultimate irony that the “reaction” vids to Yes, King Crimson, Genesis (with Gabriel) etc. are all very positive! In general the people who appreciated pop rock of the time would have hated and misunderstood that music. Now it’s become passé and ‘normal’. 😊
@progdogchannel
excellent point!
@doddyznp518
Agreeeee
@federov100
There is so much to unpack! This history is sometimes surprising (and counter-intuitive), especially when learning about a cross-pollination between punk and prog genres. And wow, King Crimson's Discipline is one of my favourite albums, but I didn't know that it "inaugurated the new post-progressive style"!