The Meaning Behind Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day”
Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day” as a feel-good song, which indeed it is. But the vocalist’s “lovely” disposition doesn’t tell the entire story or even, in reality, capture the main point. And that is because what the singer is actually attributing this feeling to isn’t a general appreciation of nature or anything like that but rather his relationship with the addressee.
Or as phrased in the chorus, when he ‘looks at’ this individual, then “the world is alright”. But prior to doing so, he’s just as cranky as any other dude who wakes up on the wrong side of the bed and is pessimistic about “the day that lies ahead of” him.
In fact based on the implied chronology of the first verse leading into the chorus, one would presume that the addressee is his lover, i.e. the first person Bill would see upon waking up in the morning. But such is not specified, and based on Withers’ own explanation of this piece, it’s not romance that inspired him to write “Lovely Day”.
So without making any presumptions, this song is easy enough to understand. The vocalist, as with many of us, sometimes arises in the morning completely uninspired.
If we are allowed to make one solid presumption, it would appear that he’s faced with some type of task he either doesn’t believe he can achieve and/or is just flat out something he doesn’t want to do. But the addressee, whoever that individual may be, helps him to realize that it ain’t even that serious, if you will.
Or let’s say that whether he accomplishes the said goal or not, it is still “a lovely day” nonetheless. And for the record, it was in fact “an optimist” friend of Bill Withers (who is also the co-writer of this piece) who, even if the song possesses an inferred romantic connotation, prompted him to write lyrics such as these
When I wake up in the morning, love
And the sunlight hurts my eyes
And something without warning, love
Bears heavy on my mind
Then I look at you
And the world’s alright with me
Just one look at you
And I know it’s gonna be
A lovely day (lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, lovely day)
(Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, lovely day)
A lovely day (lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, lovely day)
(Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, lovely day)
When the day that lies ahead of me
Seems impossible to face
When someone else instead of me
Always seems to know the way
Then I look at you
And the world’s alright with me
Just one look at you
And I know it’s gonna be
A lovely day
