I’ve had a song stuck in my head all day, and I have no idea where it came from or why it chose today to pop into my poor head, but it did.  I was rather mindlessly humming it, with intermittent bursts of lyrics emitting in my warbling, wheezy voice that nobody would mistake for Patti LaBelle, when I decided that I rather liked having the song in my head after all.  First, I love … that’s LOVE with a capital ‘L’ … Phil Collins, love the tune to this song, but perhaps what I like most is that it has meaning … is socially conscious.  And so … since I need to sleep for a few hours without Phil Collins singing in my ear … wait a minute, what am I saying???  Anyway, I shall try to transfer my earworm to you for a few hours, eh?

The song, published in 1989, is about the consequences of ignoring the needy and homeless.  According to Collins …

“It was begun at the piano. I started playing and put it down on a tape so I wouldn’t forget it. Then I decided to see what would happen when I started singing. When I began, the words just came out, ‘She calls out to the man on the street.’ I didn’t set out to write a song about the homeless. Those were just the words I happened to sing. It was only then that I decided that was what the song would be about.”

This song was Collins’ seventh and final Billboard Hot 100 #1 single, the last #1 single of the 1980s and the first #1 single of the 1990s. It was also a worldwide success, eventually becoming one of the most successful songs of his solo career. It won Collins and co-producer Hugh Padgham the Grammy Award for Record of the Year at the 1991 awards ceremony, while it was also nominated for Song of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male and Best Music Video, Short Form. Another Day in Paradise also won an award for British Single at the 1990 Brit Awards.

Despite the awards gained following its release, the song also generated some controversy over its subject matter and has received a largely negative reaction from music critics.  Singer-songwriter and political activist Billy Bragg was scathing of the song.

“Phil Collins might write a song about the homeless, but if he doesn’t have the action to go with it he’s just exploiting that for a subject.”

Andrew Collins described the song as a “bland redress” for the subject of homelessness.  Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian dismissed the track in 2007 as “a song that addressed the issue of homelessness with the same insight as Sporty Spice’s ‘If That Were Me'”.  David Sheppard described the song’s lyrics as “cringe-worthy” and gave it as an example of Collins “painting the bull’s-eye on his own forehead” when it came to his negative status with music critics.  Hugh Wilson contrasted Collins’ concern for the homeless in the song with his concern as a multimillionaire at the prospect of the UK’s election of a tax-raising socialist government.

Despite all that criticism, the fact remains that this song was a hit in many countries from Australia to Zimbabwe!

Another Day in Paradise
Phil Collins

She calls out to the man on the street
‘Sir, can you help me?
It’s cold and I’ve nowhere to sleep,
Is there somewhere you can tell me?’

He walks on, doesn’t look back
He pretends he can’t hear her
Starts to whistle as he crosses the street
Seems embarrassed to be there

Oh think twice, it’s another day for you and me in paradise
Oh think twice, ’cause it’s just another day for you,
You and me in paradise, think about it

She calls out to the man on the street
He can see she’s been crying
She’s got blisters on the soles of her feet
She can’t walk but she’s trying

Oh think twice, ’cause it’s another day for you and me in paradise
Oh think twice, it’s just another day for you,
You and me in paradise, think about it

Oh Lord, is there nothing more anybody can do
Oh Lord, there must be something you can say

You can tell from the lines on her face
You can see that she’s been there
Probably been moved on from every place
Cause she didn’t fit in there

Oh think twice, ’cause another day for you and me in paradise
Oh think twice, it’s just another day for you,
You and me in paradise, just think about it, think about it

It’s just another day for you and me in paradise
It’s just another day for you and me in paradise, paradise
It’s just another day for you and me in paradise
It’s just another day for you and me in paradise, paradise
It’s just another day for you and me
It’s just another day for you and me
It’s just another day for you and me in paradise
In paradise

Songwriters: Phil Collins
Another Day in Paradise lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Concord Music Publishing LLC