Just a perfect day
Drink Sangria in the park
And then later
When it gets dark, we go home

Just a perfect day
Feed animals in the zoo
Then later
A movie, too, and then home

Oh, it's such a perfect day
I'm glad I spent it with you
Oh, such a perfect day
You just keep me hanging on
You just keep me hanging on

Just a perfect day
Problems all left alone
Weekenders on our own
It's such fun

Just a perfect day
You made me forget myself
I thought I was
Someone else, someone good

Oh, it's such a perfect day
I'm glad I spent it with you
Oh, such a perfect day
You just keep me hanging on
You just keep me hanging on

You're going to reap just what you sow
You're going to reap just what you sow
You're going to reap just what you sow
You're going to reap just what you sow



Lyrics submitted by spliphstar

Track duration: 03:44

"Perfect Day" as written by Joseph Jones, Derrick Lamont Coleman, Andre S. Parker

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., EMI Music Publishing, SPIRIT ONE MUSIC OBO OAKFIELD AVENUE MUSIC LTD.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Perfect Day song meanings
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111 Comments

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  • +4
    General Comment:Coming from a former Heroin addict. This song IS about heroin. No matter what you take away from this song, anything is great btw, don't want to put anyone down. This song is quite most likely referring the double edge sword that is opiate/heroin addiction. So I may be a little biased on this song meaning because of my previous opiate addiction and seeing trainspotting, but it describes to a TEE what i experienced as a heroin addict.

    Feel no pain, no emotions, no harm, no foul, no hardships. Things may not be GREAT, but it just kept me hanging on. Problems fell by the wayside, for all I care I was a weekend warrior who only cared about heroin when not working. This relationship is unrealistic as heroin slowly seeps into your life as a functional addict. Eventually you need it to deal with any aspect of life. Death in the family? Unbearable, use heroin. Life? Unbearable, use heroin. Boredom? Lovelessness? Depression? Insomnia? No matter, heroin will be your girlfriend, your close friend, your hero, hell it even has a GREAT personality. Take what you will from this song, but I am pretty sure I get it.
    Flagged austinprodon November 03, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:This song holds a dark irony inside the lyrics. It clearly shows how lonely the addict can become - possibly because of all the problems related to dope use - but again he'll never be really "alone"... Heroin itself will keep him company, following him steady wherever he goes, in each pathetic walk, in every meaningless return home, to where nobody expects him any longer... In time, heroin becomes his only "friend".
    Flag JimmyDavidon March 06, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:This is about a relationship, and that relationship just so happens to be with opiates. Many addicts "personalize" the drug, because of its close and comforting, ever-present nature. The give and take in an opiate relationship is intense and shattering-- thus, "You're going to reap just what you sow". This is just a gorgeous take on the "me-and-you-against-the-world" addict/opiate relationship, complete with melancholia that doesn't resort to getting sappy.
    Flagged washoffon December 27, 2011   Link
  • +3
    General Comment:Like many people have said, I don't believe this song is about heroin. Lou Reed isn't often one to hide significant meanings in songs, however much of a taboo subject they may be - usually he's very explicit about drugs etc. But then again, considering Lou's links to the drug at the time I guess we really can't rule out that it is about heroin either. Maybe he was just trying to take a more subtle approach to writing about the drug, having already written outrightly about it, notably of course in 'Heroin' with the Velvet Underground.

    I think we can be more or less sure that this doesn't describe Lou's personal perfect day: as he told Jools Holland "I wouldn't know what my perfect day was if it came up and bit me on the nose". To me, it is more of a mock-romantic setup rather than a real life situation, perhaps meant to be a bit ironic or menacing ("you're going to reap just what you sow...").
    Flag Speedwayon December 11, 2011   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:you can interpret the lyrics however you like but it's mainly about addiction. Person, drugs, a certain feeling it can be anything but you can sense how this thing rules his world and he's very dependent on it, he's totally obsessed and without it he feels bad about himself. This might be due to some sort of guilt he feels. Or it could be Lou describing his imaginary perfect day. Who knows but what i'm sure the song's not particularly positive, in fact it's depressing because you see a person who's under the influence of the "drug" and feels great at the time though he knows it's not gonna last long and he's gonna feel bad again afterward and the world's gonna be dull and mediocre.

    For me the song is about landing on the hard ground after being up in the sky, although the lyrics describe just the blissful flight (still it gives many clues so you can imagine the whole picture.)
    Flag OnlyAPawnInTheirGameon October 30, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i can not help but laughing at one of the comments above,very amusing.oh,im a bad person..lol
    Flag riobestloveon September 06, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:It's very much about heroin. Besides Lou saying so. If you've had a habit for long enough,
    it's obvious who "you" is, who he spends all his days with. The "I thought I was someone else, someone
    good" literally happens. You can forget yourself, for a few hours, on good enough gear.

    Heroin turns off much of the ego. Stops your worries just like that. The world doesn't actually get better, but you don't mind. Life doesn't hurt. The purer you, the happy you when you were a kid,
    without all the social garbage you learn thru life, is free to come through. If you've had a lot of pain in life, it's a blessing.

    A lot of addicted people I know are still stuck in their teens, even tho they're in their 30s. Emotionally retarded. They don't live the life other people live, and happiness and satisfaction are easy to find.

    Taking heroin's a lot of fun for the first few years, and even after it's still some fun. What do you
    think people with habits do all day? It's not just scoreing after scoreing. I imagine being Lou Reed,
    he could afford all he needed, so had a lot of time to spend.

    It's just a song about being on heroin, having a pleasant day, spending your time, doing stuff. The darker elements show that he's aware it's not just a bed of roses. And that the whole happy feeling, while very precious if you need happiness, is really false, and not going to last. Whether it's in days time or years time, even most of your lifetime. And then you reap what you sow! Which you're aware of, too, even as you're happily sowing.

    What amuses the hell out of me, is the BBC got a load of singers together to record this song for charity, nothing drug-related. And they played the hell out of it on TV and it got to number one! The whole country sang along with some addled smackhead, wandering round the park. HA!
    Flag greenaumon May 09, 2011   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation:The song seems happy on the surface, but is pretty bleak when you get past the surface. For example, it says "I thought I was someone else, someone good". Wow.

    Drugs pervade everything, even a simple, normal day at the zoo.
    Flag schonenbergon November 24, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Possibly only someone who's spiritual and/or psychic will believe my story of how I unwittingly placed a cosmic order for a lover/partner and how that relates to this song. I cried (again) as I listened to it. On September 8th, I was looking on a dating site out of curiosity, thinking I would'nt register as a full member till next year, after my house had been refurbished. Then I saw him and immediately recognised him and knew the Cosmos had sent him. I fell in love with his photo before we had even met. He had only registered as a guest member the previous day. I 'winked' at him and he winked back and we both then joined for a month, so we could message each other. We finally spoke for the first time on the 12th and eventually on September 22nd, I had my perfect day. I caught the train to the city where he lived because he had to work that evening. The sun was shining on that warm September day and I felt like I was travelling to my destiny. We eventually booked a hotel room to avoid gossipy neighbours - his and mine, where we spent 5 blissful hours talking and making love. It was as if we'd been lovers forever. He had the looks, the body and the kisses to die for - my perfect lover on that perfect day. If only he'd fallen in love with me! Somehow, when he left me at the station, I was filled with dread that I'd never see him again. It's been 4 weeks since his last phone call and he doesn't respond to my messages. He hasn't said it's over, the love of my life just 'keeps me hanging on'. Now I'm heartbroken!
    Flag DEcomposeron November 10, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i used to think this song was a happy-ish song until i studied the lyrics. I really believe it's ironic more than anything. Its so emotional and beautiful.
    Flag veganstarduston September 24, 2010   Link

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