“ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE”

Phil CollinsBy: Brooke Thompson

LYRICS:She calls out to the man on the street"Sir, can you help me?It's cold and I've nowhere to sleep,Is there somewhere you can tell me?"

He walks on, doesn't look backHe pretends he can't hear herStarts to whistle as he crosses the streetSeems embarrassed to be there

LYRICS:OhThink twice'Cause it's another day for you and me in paradise

OhThink twice'Cause it's another day for youYou and me in paradise

(Do think about it)

LYRICS:She calls out to the man on the streetHe can see she's been cryingShe's got blisters on the soles of her feetShe can't walk but she's trying

(Chorus repeats)Just think about itOh lord!Is there nothing more anybody can do?Oh-oh whoa lord!There must be something you can say

LYRICS:You can tell from the lines on her faceYou can see that she's been thereProbably been moved on from every placeCause she didn't fit in there

(chorus repeats)Another day in paradise, oohIt's just another dayFor you and meIn paradiseIt's just another dayFor you and meIn paradise(Para, paradise)

LYRICS:(Paradise) Another dayFor you and me (Ooh-ooh)(Just think about it) In paradise(Paradise) It's just another dayFor you and me (Just think about it) In paradise(Para, paradise)(Ooh-ooh, in paradise) It's just another dayFor you and me(Hmm-mmm, paradise)

CITATIONS

PHIL COLLINS Phil Collins was born on January 30, 1951. About

twenty years later, he joined the band Genesis. He started out as a drummer, but in 1976 he was their lead singer, once Peter Gabriel left the band. He began touring with Genesis as well as a less popular band called Brand X. A few years later, in 1981, his solo career took off. Some songs were even used in movies later on; such as Brother Bear and Tarzan. His songs were often listened to and he led a life of stardom when the majority of his songs became top hits; like “You Can’t Hurry Love”, “Another Day in Paradise”, “You’ll be in My Heart”, and many others. “Another Day in Paradise” received a Grammy, and was one of the last songs of his that was popular (“Phil Collins”).

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REPETITION “She calls out to the man on the street”

Phil Collins repeats this phrase a couple times. From the meaning behind the song, I think he does that because he’s trying to show that the homeless people are trying to reach out to people for help and are constantly rejected.

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RHYME SCHEMEShe calls out to the man on the street

He can see she's been cryingShe's got blisters on the soles of her feetShe can't walk but she's trying

In this stanza, Collins uses an AB rhyme scheme, which is the one he uses most often. A rhyme scheme is not always present in every stanza.

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IRONY Collins says “Cause it’s another day for

you and me in paradise” in a mocking way. It almost seems ironic.

He is boasting about how he is living in “paradise”, but expressing how upset he is about the poor and homeless.

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MOOD Phil Collins gives off a conflicting mood.

He says “Cause it's another day for you and me in paradise”. This shows that he is thankful for everything that he has.

Then he says “Just think about it”, showing that he has remorse for the homeless people and wants others to show the same amount of remorse that he has for all of them.

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WHY? The contrast of paradise and being

homeless expresses the pain he feels for the people on the streets.

Paradise-a state of supreme happiness

I feel as if Collins wants everyone to reach the state of “Paradise”. He is reaching out to the public through this song to get others to take action on everything achieving this happiness.

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IT’S COLD AND I’VE NOWHERE TO SLEEP People now more than

ever are having a hard time to live off the streets. Prices of common items are increasing, job opportunities are decreasing, and pay checks are also decreasing. The homeless used to have the option to stay in a shelter, but now those shelters are reaching maximum capacity (especially in NYC) (Moriarty). Back

SOMEWHERE Homeless shelters are becoming

popular places for people in New York to stay. As the years progress, the amount of people are steadily increasing (Markee).

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STREET

It is said that one in every twenty people who live in New York City have been homeless before, which averages 100,000 people a year! This statistic is overwhelming.

Collins noticed this when he walked the streets of NYC and was appalled; and thus, wrote this song ("Gospel"). Back

THERE New York is ranked number three, out of

all the states, for the amount of homelessness. As beautiful of a state that it is, as Collins noticed, it is still one of the states with the most homeless people (Kasindorf).

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YOU CAN SEE THAT SHE’S BEEN THERE When someone is homeless, it is

obvious that their health is decreased; not only physically, but psychologically as well. Living on the streets puts the people through stressful events affecting their health. Also, they are exposed to more amounts of harmful chemicals, elements, diseases, etc., so they are more prone to getting sick. The damage of these effects can be shown on the homeless people’s faces hints this line in Collins’ song ("The Role of Health"). Back

PROBABLY BEEN MOVED ON FROM EVERY PLACE People who are homeless are offered as

much help that people are willing to give out. For example, there is at least one shelter set up in every city in New York to help the homeless. Websites give information on where the shelters are located, if there is vacancy, how many are located in the specific city, and the requirements to be eligible to stay at the shelter ("New York Homeless").

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