“Songs always come down to one’s perception,” says Matt Johnson. “Ten people could read the same book, but the characters that they’re all reading about would all look different depending on who’s reading the book.”
The shift in perception and connection to The The’s 1983 hit “This is the Day,” was one of those songs that made more sense to Johnson 40 years after he wrote it.
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Life Reflections
Released on The The’s debut Soul Mining, “This Is the Day” was a song before its time, speaking from the perspective of someone reflecting on the changing seasons of life, past, present, and future, of regrets and fulfilling all the remaining days.
Well you didn’t wake up this morning ’cause you didn’t go to bed
You were watching the whites of your eyes turn red
The calendar on your wall was ticking the days off
You’ve been reading some old letters
You smile and think how much you’ve changed
All the money in the world couldn’t buy back those days
You pull back the curtains
And the sun burns into your eyes
You watch a plane flying
Across a clear blue sky
This is the day, your life will surely change
This is the day, when things fall into place
You could have done anything, if you wanted
And all your friends and family think that you’re lucky
But the side of you they’ll never see
Is when you’re left alone with your memories
That hold your life together, like glue
[RELATED: Matt Johnson Found His Way Back to The The’s First Album in 24 Years]
Full Circle
Soul Mining reached No. 27 on the UK charts and became a breakout hit for The The, and “This Is the Day” remained the band’s most well-known single, but Johnson never imagined the song holding even more meaning in his life four decades after its release.
“I wrote that when I was 20 or 21 and [the lyrics] ‘Reading some old letters, you smile and think, how much you changed’ is written from an older person’s perspective,” Johnson recently told American Songwriter. “And that song has grown with more meaning for me, particularly as most of my immediate family have died, apart from my younger brother (Gerard). So the song has taken on real depths and more meaning for me when I sing it now.”
Before he and his brother recently sold their family home after their father died six years ago, they cleared out the house, and Johnson found himself sitting, going through an old box of letters.
“I literally came across old letters that one of my late brothers wrote to one of his girlfriends,” shares Johnson. “I’ve never seen these letters before, and it showed me another side to him, and I started crying. I sat there in this empty house reading these old letters, and I thought, ‘My God, it’s like I’ve appeared in my own song [‘This is the Day’].” I’m writing songs that are coming true in my own life later on.”
He adds, “So the interpretation of a song is an interesting thing, from the listeners’ point of view, but also as the writer. When you grow older and you bring new experiences to bear, to your life and to the songs, they take on a different meaning.”
This is the day (This is the day)
Your life will surely change
This is the day (This is the day)
Your life will surely change
Video Reboot
In 1993, Johnson released a rerecorded version of the song on the Dis-Infected EP, to mark the 20th anniversary and retitled it “This Was the Day.” The rereleased version went to No. 17 on the UK Singles chart.
“This Is the Day” also saw a resurgence in 2023 when it was featured on the soundtrack to Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3. For many years, Johnson disliked the original music video, originally directed by Tony Dow, but came to peace with it and released a new HD version of it.
“For many years I insisted this video be withdrawn and banned from circulation as I was so unhappy with it — the end result didn’t turn out at all like the director, Tony Dow, said it would,” said Johnson of the video in a previous statement. “At the age of 21, I didn’t know the difference between film and video (on which this was shot). Because I was so disappointed with the video for ‘This Is The Day,’ in the future I insisted I would only shoot music videos on film.”
Johnson references some of the later videos by The The, directed by Tim Pope and shown on 35mm, including “Out of the Blue (Into the Fire)” from the band’s 1986 album Infected.
“Videos like that are the ones that truly reflected how I felt and what my music was trying to express,” added Johnson. “But, as the years have advanced, my feelings towards the video for ‘This Is The Day’ have softened somewhat and I can see the funny side of it—particularly my haircut and the way I’m self-consciously skulking around. More poignantly, all my immediate family are in it; only two of us are now left, so for that purpose alone it’s worth reviewing.”
Photos: Matt Johnson by Gerald Jenkins
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