Another Day

Album: Hourglass (1997)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • James Taylor first demoed this in 1985 at Air Studios in Montserrat, but it took him another 10 years to come up with a suitable verse. Eventually inspired by his 1996 divorce from actress Kathryn Walker, he penned some lines addressing a female companion, in which he asks her to join him as he valiantly faces a new day.
  • Taylor said in a Reddit AMA: "'Another Day' was written at a pretty low point in my life. I'd had that music for that song about 15 years when I finally put a lyric to it. It definitely describes coming out of a very trying time. And was helpful to me, too."

Comments: 3

  • Shep-sutton from Oob-maineSong takes me back to fall of 1979 and taking my SATs the morning after the most popular girl in our class was killed in a accident just the night before. Her name was also Susie. Just about every body had to retake the exam again.
  • Mike from NjI also thought this song was about a dream he had about his friend Susan who committed suicide in a mental hospital while he was in london
  • Randy L. from St. Joseph, MoI thought "Wake up Suzie" referred to his good friend Suzanne, whose airline accident death inspired Fire and Rain. I thought he had a dream in which he got to walk with her again.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat WorldSongwriter Interviews

Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

Ian Gillan of Deep Purple

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!

Superman in Song

Superman in SongSong Writing

Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.

Rick Astley

Rick AstleySongwriter Interviews

Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.