3 Strange Days

Album: School Of Fish (1991)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "3 Strange Days" was the lone hit by School Of Fish, reaching #6 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart. Many critics and fans feel that the band's talent was much greater than that of a "one-hit wonder."

    In "3 Strange Days," Josh Clayton-Felt sings about three days spent wandering around the city feeling dazed and depressed. In the second verse, a mysterious "they" dress him up in their clothes and take him "somewhere else."

    Then, in the song's strangest verse, "Johnny Clueless was there" with "simulated wood grain," and Clayton-Felt starts drinking alone. The JC initials of Johnny Clueless also happen to be the initials of Jesus Christ, and the "simulated wood grain" calls to mind the cross, but whether or not that was Clayton-Felt's intention is unknown. Of course, JC are also Josh Clayton-Felt's own initials.

    In the end of the song, Clayton-Felt wakes up floating on the ocean staring "at the gray" and coming back to life, which seems like imagery of rebirth, a theme also consistent with Christianity (but again it's not known if this was Clayton-Felt's intended meaning). Christ was also resurrected three days after his crucifixion, so it adds another possible suggestion that there was something of that in this song.

    Unfortunately, Clayton-Felt died in 2000, so we'll never know for sure his intention.
  • KROQ radio pitted School Of Fish against the Rolling Stones in a band battle. School of Fish won the battle, and from there "3 Strange Days" was launched into national success. Clayton-Felt happened to be driving down Hollywood Boulevard and listening to the radio when the battle went down.

Comments: 4

  • Iapetus from EarthThanks for the breakdown of the lyrics, Captain Literal. This is a great song, despite the lyrics being a bit watery (thin). The extended Intro is truly fantastic, though is rarely heard in most video/audio playbacks. Pretty damn sad about the singers tragic death - it's a hard world.
  • Brian G Raymond from MichiganJohnny Clueless = Johnny Law
    Simulated woodgrain = the grip on his gun
  • Tom W. from Nashua, NhThere was so much talent in this band. I saw them live in '92 in Providence, RI. Their first album remains one of my favorite albums of all time. Almost 30 years later, I'm still listening. (LOL, Just listening now, "Somewhere in the world, it's 3 AM", as I write this at 3:09 AM)
  • Chuck Tplatt from Johnstown PaGreat song, unfortunately lead singer died of testicular cancer in 2000
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.