In My Tribe. Merchant joined 10,000 Maniacs at the age of 17 and became the band's driving artistic force. After a pair of successful independent releases, they signed to Elektra in 1985 and briefly became one of the most popular acts in alternative rock, shooting into the Top 40 with 1987's In My Tribe and charting even higher with their follow-up effort, Blind Man's Zoo. Merchant's desire to launch a solo career increased alongside the band's growing reputation, however, and by the time the group sat down to record 1992's Our Time in Eden, she gave her bandmates two years' notice. Following the release of MTV Unplugged in 1994, she publicly announced she was leaving the group's ranks.
OpheliaMerchant made her solo debut with 1995's Tigerlily, a self-produced album that debuted at number 13 and scored a Top Ten single with "Carnival." Two additional singles, "Wonder" and "Jealousy," also cracked the Top 40, prompting Tigerlily to sell over five million copies in the U.S. alone. It was followed in 1998 by Ophelia, another platinum-selling effort that was supported by Merchant's inclusion in the second Lilith Fair tour. Live in Concert, recorded at New York's Neil Simon Theatre, appeared a year later. A prominent social activist, Merchant also drew notice by campaigning in the name of such hot-button issues as animal rights, domestic violence, and homelessness.
MotherlandMerchant launched a folk tour in 2000, with members of progressive folk band the Horse Flies joining her on the road. She then returned to her solo career with Motherland. Two years later, Merchant left Elektra's roster and formed her own independent label, Myth America, in order to issue House Carpenter's Daughter, a collection of traditional and contemporary folk music inspired by the 2000 tour. A long period of silence followed, during which a pair of greatest-hits releases -- the 10,000 Maniacs collection Campfire Songs and Merchant's own Retrospective: 1995-2005 -- kept fans relatively sated. As the decade drew to a close, though, Merchant signed with Nonesuch Records and began making plans for a new album, which eventually arrived in the form of the ambitious, double-disc neo-children's album, 2010's Leave Your Sleep. Merchant returned to straight-ahead pop music with a self-titled album in May 2014.
One Fine Day
Natalie Merchant Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you will know our love was, meant to be
One fine day, you're gonna want me for your girl
The arms I long for, will open wide
And you'll be proud to have me, right by your side
One fine day, you're gonna want me for your girl
Though I know you're the kind of boy
Who only wants to run around
You'll come to me when you want to settle down,
Oh!
One fine day, we'll meet once more
And then you'll want the love you threw away before
One fine day, you're gonna want me for your girl
One fine day, you're gonna want me for your girl
The lyrics of Natalie Merchant's song One Fine Day describe a woman who believes that one day the man she loves will come to his senses and want to be with her. She is confident in the power of their love, which will bring him back to her. The song is a representation of hope and perseverance in the face of unrequited love.
The opening line, "One fine day, you'll look at me," suggests a feeling of inevitability. The singer believes that their love was "meant to be." She is not simply hoping for a chance encounter or a change of heart. She is steadfast in her conviction that one day, the man will finally realize that she is the one for him. Despite acknowledging that he is a "kind of boy who only wants to run around," the singer refuses to give up on their love. She waits patiently for the day when he decides to settle down and be with her. The song indicates that although love may be painful and uncertain, it is also powerful and enduring.
Line by Line Meaning
One fine day, you'll look at me
Someday in the future, you will turn your gaze towards me.
And you will know our love was, meant to be
At that point, you'll come to realize that our love is destined to be together.
One fine day, you're gonna want me for your girl
Eventually, you will need me to be your partner for life.
The arms I long for, will open wide
The moment you come to me, the love that I craved for will embrace you without any reservation.
And you'll be proud to have me, right by your side
At last, you will feel proud to have me standing beside you as your better half.
One fine day, you're gonna want me for your girl
At some point, you'll realize that I'm the one for you.
Though I know you're the kind of boy
Despite being fully aware of your behavior in your past relationships,
Who only wants to run around
You're the type that desires to keep running from one relationship to another.
I'll keep waiting, and, someday darling
Still, I'm not going anywhere, and I will patiently wait for you to come back to me.
You'll come to me when you want to settle down,
You may drift around for some time, but when the time comes to settle down, you'll return to me.
Oh!
An expression of anticipation and eagerness for that day to come.
One fine day, we'll meet once more
In the future, we'll cross paths again.
And then you'll want the love you threw away before
And then, you will want back the love you abandoned before.
One fine day, you're gonna want me for your girl
Ultimately, you will need me to be your partner for life.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing
Written by: CAROLE KING, GERRY GOFFIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sucrejh
One fine day, You'll look at me
And you will know our love was meant to be
One fine day, You're gonna want me for your girl
The arms, I long for will open wide
And you'll be proud to have me right by your side
One fine day, you're gonna want me for your girl
Though I know you're the kind of boy
who only wants to around
I'll keep waiting and someday darling,
you'll come to me when you want to settle down
One fine day, we'll meet once more
And then you'll want the love threw away before
One fine day, you're gonna want me
for you girl
@sgabriel724
Watched the movie again last night. I'm still struck by Natalie's version of this wonderful song. So beautiful...
@boinkye
Ditto! I’m here April 2021...
Covid times😷
@marshahanson6681
She sang one fine day so meaningful it was truly beautiful, I just watched the movie !! She is just incredible what a voice 👏👏
@ludiqtitan
Watching it right now. Had to hit the pause button to find this song.
@seasonsofphilly1993
One of my favorite renditions of this song.
@devic667
Instant heart melter :)
She has this presence... Oh boy, and her gentle alto voice that touches the very depth of your soul...
@AmbientWalking
I love this song so much. Really reminds me of the 90s.
@AmyEdmison-gp2bz
I know.meetoo
@MichaelYISRAEL
The most beautiful version of this song.
@theresahendricks1689
Great song with the truth be told