For all the negative backlash legendary Phil Collins got with "Another Day in Paradise" there's a defender like me to help the cause. This is a very good song, reflecting
on an important issue that usually gets thrown under the bus and it's largely ignored by the majority of people which is the problem of homelessness in major cities or
elsewhere. However, a cynical majority complained about the hipocrisy of wealthy Collins when it comes to addressing those issues and not doing anything about it when in fact
Collins is very politicized when it comes to social issues and donates to several charities, so their criticism is totally out of line. If back then the issue wasn't properly
or poetically addressed this song comes to shine a light and make us aware of it and see if we can think about it, talk about it and possibly do something, whatever means we
have.
The song lyrics and the video present situations of homeless people in America, poverty and despair on the faces of men, women and children. The lyrics actually point out to everyday situations of homeless people trying to get the attention and help from passers-by who end up ignoring their suffering. And then comes the enigmatic chorus that I've always thought was strangely wrong for the song but only recently I got a different view of how exactly it connects with the song, the already famous line of "another day for you and me in paradise". Here, the narrator seems to indicate that if he doesn't ignore the situation around him he sort of gets points to become a better person and enjoy paradise. I've always find it a confusing bit because it looked like something someone would say in a romantic song rather than a song about human tragedy but that's what made it famous around the globe.
So here's a video that presents a poor dimension of people's lives without a roof over their heads, suffering with hunger, sickness and other problems, and just trying to find ways to live and survive in a cruel world where more fortunate people don't care about the suffering of other people. In some parts of the video, some facts and statistics are shown about the problematic of people living in the U. S. streets (why not show up more stuff with facts around the world just like Talking Heads did that same year when presenting social/economy data in the brilliant "Nothing but Flowers"). Anyway, it's still a very fine job by Mr. Collins and it's one of my favorite songs where the artist makes his point, presenting real situations but not so much in a preachy way. He's simply telling things about life as it is. 9/10.
The song lyrics and the video present situations of homeless people in America, poverty and despair on the faces of men, women and children. The lyrics actually point out to everyday situations of homeless people trying to get the attention and help from passers-by who end up ignoring their suffering. And then comes the enigmatic chorus that I've always thought was strangely wrong for the song but only recently I got a different view of how exactly it connects with the song, the already famous line of "another day for you and me in paradise". Here, the narrator seems to indicate that if he doesn't ignore the situation around him he sort of gets points to become a better person and enjoy paradise. I've always find it a confusing bit because it looked like something someone would say in a romantic song rather than a song about human tragedy but that's what made it famous around the globe.
So here's a video that presents a poor dimension of people's lives without a roof over their heads, suffering with hunger, sickness and other problems, and just trying to find ways to live and survive in a cruel world where more fortunate people don't care about the suffering of other people. In some parts of the video, some facts and statistics are shown about the problematic of people living in the U. S. streets (why not show up more stuff with facts around the world just like Talking Heads did that same year when presenting social/economy data in the brilliant "Nothing but Flowers"). Anyway, it's still a very fine job by Mr. Collins and it's one of my favorite songs where the artist makes his point, presenting real situations but not so much in a preachy way. He's simply telling things about life as it is. 9/10.
