"Perfect Day" is a song written by Lou Reed in 1972, originally featured on Transformer, Reed's second post-Velvet Underground solo album. Its fame was given a boost in the 1990s when it was featured in the 1996 film Trainspotting, and after its release as a star-studded BBC charity single in 1997, which became the UK's number one single for three weeks. Reed re-recorded the song for his 2003 album The Raven.
A cover recorded by Duran Duran reached #28 on the UK Singles Chart in 1995.
The original recording, like the rest of the Transformer album, was produced by David Bowie, with guitarist Mick Ronson providing the arrangement.
The song has a sombre vocal delivery and slow, piano-based instrumental backing balancing tones of sweet nostalgia ("it's such a perfect day, I'm glad I spent it with you") with an undercurrent of menace ("you're gonna reap just what you sow").The line alludes to Galatians 6:7: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
From a music theory point of view, the song is complex. Where the chorus is in a straight forward major key, the verse cannot be captured in a single key. It starts with the tonic chord of the parallel minor to the chorus key - deceivingly hinting that it is written in that key - but then continues with a number of descending fifths progressions. It eventually ends in the dominant chord of the chorus key, making the song explode into the chorus.
The song's lyrics are often considered to suggest simple, conventional romantic devotion, possibly alluding to Reed's relationship with Bettye Kronstadt (soon to become his first wife) and Reed’s own conflicts with his sexuality, drug use, and ego.
Some commentators have further seen the lyrical subtext as displaying Reed's romanticized attitude towards a period of his own addiction to heroin; this popular understanding of the song as an ode to addiction led to its inclusion in the soundtrack for Trainspotting, a film about the lives of heroin users.
Reed's original recording was featured on an AT&T commercial featuring snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler that ran during the 2010 Olympics.
This is a Perfect Day!
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