Everyday Is Like Sunday

On 11 February 2019 I set myself the challenge of reading 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die by Robert Dimery (ed.) and following the book’s advice to the letter. I’ve previously read 1001 Films… and started 1001 Albums… but felt 1001 Songs… would be a sensible place to start for what I have in mind here.

My challenge is to read about one song per day and listen to it (YouTube and Spotify, I need you tonight!) before sharing my own thoughts. Some songs I will love, others I’ll hate, and I’m sure there will be those that leave me perplexed but listen to them I shall.

I’ll also try, and most likely fail, to pinpoint the best song from the 1001 on offer but I’m nothing if not foolhardy. Instead of one song, I’m predicting I’ll have about 100 favourites by the end and may have to resort to a Top 10 so far to maintain any semblance of sanity.

So long as I post every day (including Christmas) then this challenge should come to an end on Wednesday 8 November 2021. Staying with the Barney Stinson theme I am hoping that the whole experience will prove to be… legendary!

Morrissey – Everyday Is Like Sunday (1988)

Everyday Is Like Sunday

” Everyday Is Like Sunday” is the third track of Morrissey’s debut solo album, , and the second single to be released by the artist. While the lyric was written by Morrissey, the song’s composer was Stephen Street.

Lyrics (via Genius)

Read “Everyday Is Like Sunday” by Morrissey on Genius

We’re continuing in the UK today, dear reader, and making our way north from Cambridge to Manchester. Morrissey had been the singer and lyricist for The Smiths in the mid-1980s but by 1987 the band had fallen apart. When we join Morrissey the following year he has pursued a solo career and his debut album – Viva Hate – has been released. From there 1001 Songs have gone with what was the second single from the record – Everyday Is Like Sunday.

Everyday Is Like Sunday sees Morrissey singing about being in a gloomy coastal town and it really has him down. In fact, the narrator is so ill at ease and maladjusted in this place that he looks to the skies and longs for a form of nuclear armageddon. Being in this place is so dull and monotonous that it is preferable that the whole town be zeroed from history than anyone having to spend any further time there. I have read the inspiration may have been a town Morrissey had an aversion to or more likely it is based on the novel, On the Beach by Nevil Shute which has a similar premise to the song here.

Everyday Is Like Sunday sounds similar to a track by The Smiths and you would almost be forgiven for thinking it belongs with that group. The strength is in the lyrics though rather than the melody and relies on Morrissey’s excellent vocal work. Johnny Marr’s musical influence here would have been interesting to say the least. Everyday Is Like Sunday would hit the UK Top 10 and Morrissey has since carved out a solid solo career. The downside is this 1980s icon has seen controversy follow him at every turn and in the present day he has some views and opinions that have alienated many fans who fondly remember this figurehead in The Smiths. The reality is that the artist and the person are not always interchangeable.

Favourite songs so far:

The Animals – House of the Rising Sun (1964)

Simon & Garfunkel – The Sounds of Silence (1965)

The Beatles – A Day in the Life (1967)

The Doors – The End (1967)

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975)

Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell (1977)

Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now (1978)

Ultravox – Vienna (1980)

The Smiths – How Soon Is Now? (1984)

Tracy Chapman – Fast Car (1988)