Artist: Dolores O’Riordan
Released on: Are You Listening? (Track #1)
Duration: 4:06

LYRICS

This is just an ordinary day
Wipe the insecurities away
I can see that the darkness will erode
Looking out the corner of my eye
I can see that the sunshine will explode
Far across the desert in the sky

This is the beginning of your day
Life is more intricate than it seems
Always be yourself along the way
Living through the spirit of your dreams

Beautiful gi-irl
Won’t you be my inspiration
Beautiful gi-irl
Don’t you throw your love around
What in the world, what in the world
Could ever come between us
Beautiful girl, beautiful girl
I’ll never let you down
Won’t let you do-o-o-own, do-o-o-own
Won’t let you do-o-o-own, do-o-o-own
Do-o-o-own, do-o-o-own
Won’t let you do-o-o-own, do-o-o-own

CREDIT INFORMATION

Music and lyrics by Dolores O’Riordan
Produced by Youth , Dolores O’Riordan & Richard Chycki
Engineered by Clive Goddard & Richard Chicky
Mixed by Richard Chycki
Published by Sanctuary Records Group Ltd

MEANING

In several interviews given in 2007, Dolores explained what the song is about: “Ordinary Day was inspired by the birth of my daughter, but it’s more like for both girls really. It’s really about the girls growing up and the challenges that life presents them and the unpredictability of life. There’s so much that they don’t know that I can’t really tell them, that they have to figure it out for themselves. So sometimes you look at them and you have a flash of yourself when you were a kid and you see yourself in them and it’s quite an emotional thing as they grow older.” (Hot Press, 2007)
“When you’re a mother and you look at your little girls sometimes, you have a flash where that could be yourself. They just remind you of when you were small. Back then, I was thinking, “Gosh, what if I really knew when I was four or five what lay ahead of me?” You’d love to make life just so perfect for them but you know that they have to go through challenges and the ups and downs of growing up.” (ugo.com, 2007)
“I’m kind of talking to my girls and telling them what I think though my own experience, (…) It’s like talking to my own self. You see your girls, and it’s like seeing yourself.” (Inside Online, 2007)
“The song is about feeling blessed to have a useful life, being able to bring new life back into the family. It all kind of gave me a sense of the journey of life. You really need to relax and enjoy it. It goes so quickly.” (Chicago Pride, 2007)
“It is an accomplishing song and have a lot of positivity in and it’s kind of song that would pick people up, ’cause everybody has doubt and insecurity and stuffs like that. But if you push them away and think positively, you can accomplish anything. And I think human being, we have lots of intuition; if you follow your intuition and believe in your dream, everything is possible.“ (tube.hk, 2007)
“Ordinary Day is written about her [her daughter]. But you know my children don’t really know much about mommy being a singer. I’m the one around the house doing the dishes and making the dinner. We try to keep things pretty normal. I’m really careful about fame because I got famous really young and it didn’t affect me really well. I think so many parents hope their children might get into the public eye, and then when the kids are 13 or 14 they can’t handle it. You won’t find me pushing my kids to be in any of my videos or anything like that. I try to keep them out of the public eye, and keep their feet on the ground.” (EDGE Boston Contributor, 4 July 2007 · SoundSpike, 12 July 2007)
“it is about being positive and not letting insecurity have enough room to change your perspective on life.” (2007)

NOTES

“Ordinary Day” is the 1st single from “Are You Listening?” and was released in February 2007.
The CD single of the song includes the B-side “Without You”
The 7″ vinyl single includes another B-side: “Forever” and was limited to 1,000 copies.
A 3rd B-side was downloadable on the U.S. iTunes: “Letting Go”
A demo version of the song was posted on the internet in April 2007 by a site hosting a challenge to create a web banner for the “Are You Listening?” pre-order campaign.
The song was played live for the first time during the French program “Zacoustics by Zegut” in March 2007.
In 2007 Dolores explained why the song was chosen to be the first single, “I think that that one kind of has a nice, acoustic, breezy, uplifting swing to it. I think it’s a good song to come out with first. Plus, it’s also got (a positive message). It’s uplifting. To be honest, it’s very seasonal, as well I think, it’s got the sunshine in it, it’s got this time of the year in it.”
In another interview she added, “My record label thought it was a good song to represent the new record, and I agreed.”
A remix version of the song was made by the American DJ Morgan Page “Ordinary Day (Morgan Page Remix)”
On ugo.com in 2007 Dolores told what she thought about having her songs remixed, “I just think it’s all pretty cool, or whatever. People like to get up and do a bit of dance and shaking the booty. I find it interesting.”
During an interview to Soundspike she added, “I think it was an experiment to see how it would work out for the sake of making a dance-oriented thing for the teenagers and the dance crowd. I don’t have any plans for other remixes.”
On this album Dolores collaborated with music producer Youth (real name Martin Glover) on some songs, “We ended up using two on the album, Apple and Ordinary Day. (ugo.com, 2007).
“Youth simply came to Canada and worked on a couple of songs one of them being Ordinary Day” (chueca.com, 2007)
“Ordinary Day” is one of Dolores’ solo songs which were included to the setlist of many concerts during the Reunion Tour in 2009 and 2010.

Ordinary Day

LYRICS

CREDIT INFORMATION

MEANING

NOTES