The Day You Come

"The Day You Come" is a song from the third studio album by Powderfinger. It was released as a single on 10 August 1998 by Universal Music Group. It won the 1999 ARIA Music Award for Single of the Year.[1]

"The Day You Come"
Single by Powderfinger
from the album Internationalist
Released	10 August 1998 (Australia)
Recorded	Sing Sing Studios, Melbourne
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	4:01
Label	Universal
Songwriter(s)	Jon Coghill, John Collins, Bernard Fanning, Ian Haug, Darren Middleton
Producer(s)	Nick DiDia
Powderfinger singles chronology
"Take Me In" (1997) "The Day You Come" (1998) "Don't Wanna Be Left Out/Good-Day Ray" (1998)

History

"The Day You Come" was the first single off Internationalist to be released, and thus gave an impression of what the album was set to contain. Lead singer Bernard Fanning said this impression was inaccurate, describing the song as being "not very up-tempo" compared to the rest of the album. He said one of the reasons the next single released was "Don't Wanna Be Left Out/Good-Day Ray" was that it was the complete opposite; a much more "thrashy" single than "The Day You Come".[2] Guitarist Ian Haug agreed, adding that the band had not intended for "The Day You Come" to be the first single off the album, but was released because the band couldn't decide on any other songs to release.[3]

As well as the band's usual line-up, "The Day You Come" featured backing vocals from Brisbane trio Tiddas. This was the first time the trio worked with Powderfinger. They would also provide backing vocals on "Passenger",[4] and on future songs including "Like a Dog" and "Thrilloilogy".[5] "The Day You Come" also featured Nick DiDia for the first time, who would go on to be a long term producer for the band.[4]

Music video

The video for "The Day You Come" features the band along with many others at a formal gathering/party at The Tivoli in Brisbane.

Political influences

"The Day You Come" was the first Powderfinger song to contain notable political references, although the band denied attempting to "preach" through their music. Haug said the band was happy to be quoted on politics, but not to have their words preached, telling Benedict Watts: "I personally like to separate [the two] a bit [...] If someone asks us what our views are, we'll tell them, but we don't go out to our gigs and preach about things."[3] Fanning agreed, saying, "We would never try and preach, we would only ever try and suggest things to people as possibilities.", comparing the band to Midnight Oil, especially its lead singer-turned-politician and activist, Peter Garrett. Fanning didn't rule out political messages altogether, however, but enforced the need for moderation and for not "preaching".[6]

When the song was released, there was speculation that it alluded to Pauline Hanson's political climb; however, the band has reported that the song is more vague than specifically referring to one person, indicating that the song was not directly describing or attacking Hanson, though not ruling out that she may be one of many described. Indeed, the song's release fell within the political peak of Hanson's party, One Nation.[7]

Awards

"The Day You Come" received the ARIA Music Award for Song of the Year in 1999[8] and was nominated for the APRA Award that was also for Song of the Year, though this award was won by "Addicted to Bass" by Amiel.[9] The song also placed as No. 8 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 1998.[10] In May 2001, APRA, as part of its 75th Anniversary celebrations, named "The Day You Come" as one of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time.[11][12]

Track listing

1. "The Day You Come" – 4:01
2. "Polly" – 3:31
3. "Ironical" – 1:49
4. "John Callahan" – 3:08

Charts

Chart (1998)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[13]	25

References

1. Last.fm, The Day You Come – Powderfinger – last.fm. Retrieved 24 August 2007.
2. Bolster, Teresa (December 1998). "Finger on the Pulse". HIT. Powderfinger Central. Archived from the original on 17 February 2001. Retrieved 22 October 2007.
3. Watts, Benedict (November 1998). "The Beckoning Finger". JUICE. Powderfinger Central. Archived from the original on 28 June 2002. Retrieved 22 October 2007.
4. Clode, Samantha (October 1998). "Taking Flight". JUICE. Powderfinger Central. Archived from the original on 28 June 2002. Retrieved 22 October 2007.
5. Fanning, Middleton, Haug, Collins, Coghill et al. Fingerprints: The Best of Powderfinger, 1994–2000. Powderfinger. pp. 8, 9.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
6. Johnson, Neala (December 1998). "Talkin' Politics?". Beat Magazine. Powderfinger Central. Archived from the original on 17 February 2001. Retrieved 22 October 2007.
7. "The Day You Come". Hindley Site. Archived from the original on 16 December 2007. Retrieved 24 August 2007.
8. "History: Artist: Powderfinger". ARIA 2007 Awards. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2007.
9. "1999 Music Awards Nominations: Song of the Year". APRA Music Awards. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 24 August 2007.
10. "Hottest 100 1998". Triple J. Retrieved 11 June 2007.
11. "APRA/AMCOS 2001 Top 30 Songs". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 1 April 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2008.
12. Kruger, Debbie (2 May 2001). "The songs that resonate through the years" (PDF). Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2008. Retrieved 3 November 2008.
13. "Australian-charts.com – Powderfinger – The Day You Come". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 14 February 2020.