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life in a day
composers
Composers: Kerr / Burchill
Authors: Kerr / Burchill
publisher
© EMI Music Publishing Limited: (1979 - 2007)
© JKMC-Bucks Music Group Ltd / Hornall Music: (2008 - 2014)
© BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd: (2015 -)
background
The bootleg recording of
Grangemouth Town Hall from December 1978 revealed a version of
Murder Story which was struggling to contain a seminal Life In A Day:
Mick MacNeil's plodding backing chords were there; as was the
characteristic musical game of tag chasing up and down the scales with Charlie.
After a break over Christmas, the band moved to The Barn, near Edinburgh, where they worked on the songs and arrangements as
prep work for the recording of Life In A Day. It was here that the emerging
ideas in Murder Story were deconstructed and allowed to flourish the standalone
Life In A Day. (Other songs were also reworked at The Barn with Cocteau Twins becoming
No Cure and Sweet Things being
trimmed down to form Destiny).
It was the first song recorded during the album sessions at Farmyard Studios in late January 1979.
An rough mix was prepared by John Leckie between the 19th and 23rd February 1979.
It was almost the same as the album version except for a delayed echo which was gradually added to the vocals during the final
third of the song; and the ending guitar chord which had no substain. (The
live 1979 version, as heard on the Fforde Green Hotel
recording, also featured the additional echo on the main vocals towards the end.)
The song was quickly finished by the end of February as the tapes were required for the band's debut single,
Life In A Day, which was released the next month. However, the single failed
to make great progress into the chart, and stalled at 62.
Oddly, John Leckie remixed the song on the 4th April 1979. Named the "New Mix",
it had the same arrangement as the original, but the keyboards sounded brighter, and the track ended on a lengthy substained
reverb of the final chord. It isn't known why the song was remixed, and this version hasn't been released, but given the timing, it
may have been lined up as a potential B-side for the forthcoming Chelsea Girl single.
Was the first "live" performance of the song for The Old Grey Whistle Test?. Recorded on the 27th March 1979, a day before the band
jetted back to Scotland for a handful of warm-up gigs, it was clear they were nervious with the new material and the studio setting.
Charlie and Derek were emotionless and rooted
to their spots. The only smile was from an embarrassed
Mick who fudged the final chords of the song, an act barely noted by
Jim walking away impassively in the back of shot. This historically important performance was
included on the Seen The Lights DVD compilation of 2003.
Despite its popularity with fans, and its selection as the band's first single, Life In A Day initially suffered the
same fate as other Life In A Day tracks live: it hung on for the accompanying
tour, and the following Real To Real Cacophony and
Empires And Dance tours, but was not strong enough to hold its own against
newer material. It disappeared from the set-lists by 1981. A rare early live performance of the song was captured at the end of
the Life In A Day tour at the Paris Theatre, London; it was broadcast by BBC Radio One
as part of their In Concert series in 1979 and formally released on the Silver Box compilation
in 2004.
Thanks to newcomers Eddie Duffy and Andy Gillespie,
both fans of the band, the song was reappraised and resurrected and appeared live during
The Floating World tour of 2002. A slightly more mellow version of the
song, with reduced tempo, also appeared in 2009 as part of the
Graffiti Soul Tour.
Given its history, it was an absolute shoo-in for the 5X5 Tour and associated
Festival Tour, where it appeared in its standard album form.
It was also an obvious choice for the band's 40 Years Of Hits Tour where it appeared in the first part of the main set. Unlike all the previous versions,
the song's arrangement was slightly changed, as it was now given a new extended middle-8, an instrumental pause where Jim
introduced Ged.
lyrics
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Life in a day,
The price that you pay,
For time that you spent,
It's such a fatal event.
Take a look at your watch,
There is no time to wait,
Take a look deep inside,
There's no escape from this day.
Life in a day,
Life in a day.
Take a look around you,
Is it true what they say?
Life in a day,
Life in a day.
Is there no place to hide?
Could there be some other way?
Can you see how they run?
Do you believe what they say?
They'll soon be looking for you,
For sure they'll get you away.
The premonition came true,
Look all around and you'll see,
Some say it takes two to know,
Or could it all just be me?
Life in a day,
Life in a day.
I love to see how they run,
They came a running this way.
Life in a day,
Life in a day.
No sence in looking for you,
They're going to get you one day.
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discography
Album Version (4:00)
Producer: John Leckie
Engineer: John Leckie
Arrangement: Simple Minds/John Leckie
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Live Version (27th March 1979) (3:37)
Recorded: Old Grey Whistle Test
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Live Version (8th September 1979) (3:31)
Recorded: Paris Theatre, London, UK
Mastered by: Simon Heyworth
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Live Version (10th December 2009) (4:11)
Recorded: Odyssey, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Mixed By Concert Online
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Live Version (11th December 2009) (4:03)
Recorded: SECC, Glasgow, UK
Mixed By Concert Online
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Live Version (12th December 2009) (4:03)
Recorded: AEC, Aberdeen, UK
Mixed By Concert Online
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Live Version (17th December 2009) (4:00)
Recorded: Popcentrum, Tilburg, Netherlands
Mixed By Concert Online
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Live Version (23rd February 2012) (3:47)
Recorded: Cirque Royal, Brussels, Belgium
Recorded by: Olivier Gerard
Mixed by: Olivier Gerard
Engineered by: Rudy Coclet
ISRC: GB01A1201411
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videography
Live Version (27th Mar 1979) (3:37)
Recorded: Old Grey Whistle Test
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sessions
downloads
live history
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