Stylistically, the band took influence from both contemporary adult alternative bands as well as earlier power pop and Bob Dylan-like singer-songwriter music. 'The Madding Crowd' generally received positive critical reviews and reached the #67 slot on the Billboard 200, eventually being certified as gold by the RIAA. Yet Nine Days' acclaim ended up being brief. Despite the popularity of "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)", which reached the #1 slot on Billboard's 'Top 40 Mainstream' chart and raced up in other charts, the group's mainstream success quickly faded, and they became saddled with the "one hitwonder" tag because of that single's ubiquitous nature. They're also sometimes labeled as a "two hit wonder" (due to the major airplay of "If I Am" as well).
Their next album, 'So Happily Unsatisfied', was scheduled for a release in 2002. Unfortunately due to complications with their label, Sony Records, this album became delayed and the group was no longer in possession of the rights of the songs. They managed to put it up for online distribution years later after acrimonious conflict. 'Flying the Corporate Jet', released in 2003 by the band by itself, ended up being Nine Days' last full album for some time.
Justly feeling bashed by the music industry, the band went on hiatus through much of the decade. However, In mid-August 2006, Nine Days formally reunited and went back to the studio to record. 'Slow Motion Life (Part One)', a new EP with six songs, was released on January 19, 2007. Part Two was released later that year. Their more recent work has gone in a more Americana type musical direction.
The band has since performed sporadically. Both vocal artists, John Hampson and Brian Desveaux have pursued solo careers and their music is available for purchase from their respective websites. According to the Absolutely (Story of a Girl) Songfacts, Hampson ended up spending a lot of time as a high school English teacher.
Everything
Nine Days Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If I'm not around
And you will be free,
And I will be myself
I won't fill your eyes with tears,
If I lose all my fears
But who would I be?
And would you recognize me?
When you say
that I would be ours and you would be mine
And everything else here would work out just fine
If you could hold on, I could be everything
I could be everything
I can't make up my mind, believe me I've tried
But I can't hold on
I won't fill your eyes with tears, if I lose all my fears
But who would I be? and would you recognize me?
Tell me who would you see?
When you say
[repeat chorus]
I know that there's nothing in this world that you've known,
That I've shown, that could hurt you this way
And I wish that I had no part in this play,
And that we hadn't wound up this way
For I'd say
that I would be yours and you would be mine
And everything else here would work out just fine
If we could hold on, we could be everything
We could be everything,
Yes, we could be everything
The lyrics to Nine Days's song "Everything" speak to the nuances of a relationship when a partner can't fully commit. The singer starts by reassuring their partner that, though they may not always be around or present, they won't let them down and will allow them to be free. The singer expresses a desire to fill their partner with happiness instead of tears, but admits that they can't make up their mind and hold on. They wonder who they would become if they gave in to their fears and if their partner would still recognize them. Despite their uncertainty, the singer states that if they could hold on, they could be everything to their partner.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the potential the singer and their partner have if they can hold on to their relationship. They could be everything to each other, and everything else would work out just fine. The singer acknowledges that they have hurt their partner and wishes they had played no part in the situation. However, they still hold onto hope that they could be everything to each other if they both held on.
The lyrics of "Everything" are straightforward, but the simplicity in the wording allows the emotions behind them to shine through. The uncertainty of the singer's commitment to their partner and the hope they hold onto despite their doubts and fears are relatable sentiments.
Line by Line Meaning
I won't let you down,
I promise to never disappoint you,
If I'm not around
Even if I'm not there physically,
And you will be free,
You will have personal independence,
And I will be myself
I will be true to myself,
I won't fill your eyes with tears,
I won't cause you emotional pain,
If I lose all my fears
If I can overcome my own fears,
But who would I be?
However, I'm not sure who I would be,
And would you recognize me?
Or if you would even recognize me,
Tell me who would you see?
I don't know who I would become,
When you say that I would be ours and you would be mine
When you say that we belong to each other,
And everything else here would work out just fine
Everything else in the world wouldn't matter,
If you could hold on,
If you could just hold on and not let go,
I could be everything,
I could be everything that you need,
I can't make up my mind,
However, I'm very indecisive,
Believe me I've tried
Even though I've tried my best to figure it out,
But I can't hold on
I can't seem to hold on to anything,
I know that there's nothing in this world that you've known,
I know that you haven't experienced anything like this before,
That I've shown,
That I have demonstrated,
That could hurt you this way
That could cause you this level of pain,
And I wish that I had no part in this play,
I wish I wasn't involved in this mess,
And that we hadn't wound up this way
And that things hadn't turned out like this,
For I'd say that I would be yours and you would be mine
Because I want to say that we belong to each other,
And everything else here would work out just fine
And that everything else in the world wouldn't matter,
If we could hold on,
If we could both hold on and not let go,
We could be everything,
We could be everything that we need,
Yes, we could be everything
Yes, we could be everything that we need.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHN CHARLES HAMPSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind