Another sunny day, I met you up in the garden
You were digging plants, I dug you, beg your pardon
I took a photograph of you in the herbaceous border
It broke the heart of men and flowers and girls and trees

Another rainy day, we’re trapped inside with a train set
Chocolate on the boil, steamy windows when we met
You’ve got the attic window looking out on the cathedral
And on a Sunday evening bells ring out in the dusk

Another day in June, we’ll pick eleven for football
We’re playing for our lives, the referee gives us fuck-all
I saw you in the corner of my eye on the sidelines
Your dark mascara bids me to historical deeds

Everybody’s gone, you picked me up for a long drive
We take the tourist route, the nights are light until midnight
We took the evening ferry over to the peninsula
We found the avenue of trees, went up to the hill
That crazy avenue of trees, I’m living there still

There’s something in my eye, a little midge so beguiling
Sacrificed his life to bring us both eye to eye
I heard the Eskimos remove obstructions with tongues, dear
You missed my eye, I wonder why I didn’t complain
You missed my eye, I wonder why, please do it again

The loving is a mess, what happened to all of the feeling?
I thought it was for real; babies, rings and fools kneeling
And words of pledging trust and lifetimes stretching forever
So what went wrong? It was a lie, it crumbled apart
Ghost figures of past, present, future haunting the heart



Lyrics submitted by madedge

Track duration: 04:04


Another Sunny Day song meanings
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28 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:"I took a photograph of you in the herbaceous border
    It broke the heart of men and flowers and girls and trees"

    so lovely.
    Flag bethanypwnson May 21, 2013   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:Sounds like a film-y summer romance to me, even the rainy day part - they meet and grow closer, he thinks she's The One, and then it's over, but the memories are beautiful and bittersweet to look back on. They met in a garden, he liked her instantly, and then one day she comes to watch his match, they drive all night until they get back to his house and then that beautiful midge verse!

    I get a really American feeling from this, it's a combination of the guitar and the Hollywood romance, and yet there are all these great little bits like the train set that bring it back. You can really imagine this typical 90s British terrace house with carpet, awful curtains and a Hornby set (the backdrop to my childhood!), cosy but totally unglamorous among the midnight drive and the sunshine.

    I never really paid attention to this one until I read the lyrics, and I've fallen in love with it. Highlights have to be "You were digging plants, I dug you - beg your pardon" and the midge verse - they never fail to bring a smile. :)
    Flag cellotapetoron March 15, 2012   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:The comments overcomplicate the midge thing -- at times absurdly so. The song, but for the final verse, is a set of images from a relationship that went bad. The narrator wishes it hadn't gone bad and doesn't understand why it went bad. As is typical with such reminiscences, they're jumbled chronologically: the first time he saw her, a scene of comfortable domesticity from well in to the relationship; a scene in which he sees her & wants to impress her (probably before there is a relationship); a romantic scene, probably from early in the relationship, and last the moment that crystalized the relationship. He's admired her since the minute he saw her. She probably knows this and she admires him but he doesn't know that. He has a midge in his eye, it is giving him difficulties, she makes to help but impishly kisses him. The kiss turns into something a bit extraordinary (and something that involves tongues) and was so unexpected he's left breathless and -- well, not quite baffled but something close to it. Not entirely bold enough to admit to himself what has become apparent -- that she likes him too. His joke -- she was removing the midge in the eskimo fashion -- with tongues -- but missed. Got the mouth instead of the eye. No metaphors or hidden meanings anywhere. To read things as metaphors weakens the song immeasurably. I can tell you as someone who's lived the song -- who is listening to the song because I've just surprisingly come across the girl in question again, one who meant more to me than anyone I've ever loved and is again living that last verse. Different images but exactly the same things, the admiring from afar, the surprising realization that she felt the same (triggered by her boldness where I'd never have dared to be); romance, domestic comfort, bafflement at the way it could all fall apart. No symbols,just a powerful mixture of nostalgia; remembered joy, sorrow and unesolvable confusion.
    Flag widdershinson September 01, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I always thought the eye thing made sense.. reminds me of the old 'you've got something in your eye..' trick. I think its a joke, he gets a midge in his eye and says the eskimo comment, and she kisses him and hes saying that he didn't mind at all :p in a sarcastic sorta way :)
    sad really- he wants her for ages, gets her, then it ends.
    brilliant song though.
    Flag Luisapisaon February 17, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"You were digging plants, i dug you, beg your pardon"
    Brilliant.
    Flag EvelynMaron December 16, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"The loving is a mess, what happened to all of the feeling?
    I thought it was for real; babies, rings and fools kneeling
    And words of pledging trust and lifetimes stretching forever
    So what went wrong? It was a lie, it crumbled apart
    Ghost figures of past, present, future haunting the heart"

    So sad. So true. So relative to what I'm going through.
    Flag triciaagogoon December 13, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"The loving is a mess, what happened to all of the feeling?
    I thought it was for real; babies, rings and fools kneeling
    And words of pledging trust and lifetimes stretching forever
    So what went wrong? It was a lie, it crumbled apart
    Ghost figures of past, present, future haunting the heart"

    So sad. So true. So relative to what I'm going through.
    Flag triciaagogoon December 13, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:you missed my eye I wonder why I didn't complain--- all along I thought he was looking at her but she never noticed
    Flag samanacayon June 27, 2007   Link
  • +4
    General Comment:Hey, you guys, I've got the inside goss on this song! First of all, Eskimos do "remove obstructions with tongues", but they're not the only ones. This is one of the first 'erotic' acts in the book Lolita between Humbert Humbert and Lolita (she gets an eyelash in her eye, and he removes it with his tongue). It's a common practise in some parts of the world, and when you think about it, it might be kind of disguting, but... it would work.

    ANYWAY, onto the more interesting part of my story! Last time I met Stuart (haha, I'm a bit of a serial stalker of the band), I told him that particular verse was one of my very favourites that I'd ever heard in my life because it was so beautiful, and he explained to me how he wrote it (he was very pleased I liked it so much, too).

    He was on a date (his first date) with his now-girlfriend. They were walking through the park and he got something in his eye. He said to her, "well, now you're going to have to lick it out!" but she wasn't that big a fan of the idea. Well, I guess she must have given in, because they ended up kissing - and it was their very first kiss. It's exactly like the song says, you know? She was trying to lick it out with her tongue, but "missed" and got his mouth instead. Very gorgeous!

    To me, there was never any doubt as to what that verse meant, and Stuart just confirmed this. He was really lovely and excited when he was telling me this story, too! Gah, I adore him. (For the record, he'd forgotten about the incident in Lolita, too.)

    This is my favourite song from the new album. It tells the relationship so beautifully, even though it doesn't end well... here's hoping Stuart's relationship doesn't go that way!
    Flag xanyaon February 04, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think it's supposed to have a double meaning. Because if you look at this line:

    "I heard the Eskimos remove obstructions with tongues, dear"

    It's like they're starting to have problems, but he's asking her to just talk stuff out.
    Flag againston January 14, 2007   Link

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