These are Perfect Days...

Back in the summer of 2001 I had the idea of writing a song with the title “Perfect days”, inspired by the song “Perfect day” by Lou Reed. I had a melody that I had used for a worship song which had been turned down by a church that I had attended for a while – I thought that by writing a secular song to the tune it would appeal to a wider audience.

It was a happy time of my life – I had recently bought a flat, I was in a steady job at a local college and I was in a relationship with the man who was to become my husband. It seemed to be a good time to write about perfect days.

I wrote it bit by bit. I remember one morning I arrived at work with an answer to the line “I look to all the beauty that the sky and earth possess”, which was “It bows its head and answers me with one resounding ‘yes’” (I had just cycled in – I often find that I come up with lyrics while cycling).

Then the flow was interrupted on 9 September – I was at work and we heard the news on the radio that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center at the Twin Towers in New York. The world, especially the Western world, felt like a dark place where terrorists might step out at any moment. I felt unable to continue with the optimistic song and put it on the back burner.

Around about November, when the news of the tragedy had quietened down, I revisited “Perfect days” and completed it. I recorded my first album the following year. I initially recorded four tracks with a friend with a portastudio which I put on Peoplesound, one of the first platforms for digital music, then a further six tracks including “Perfect days” when I bought my own portastudio.

I gave copies of the CD to my family. When my grandmother died in late 2003 I was surprised to see “Closing music – Perfect days” on the order of service at the funeral. The minister introduced it as “Jaquie’s music”, so there it was for all to hear. My dad had given a copy of the CD to the funeral directors. My then boyfriend and I had recently announced our engagement so my dad’s next suggestion was that I write an arrangement of the song for choir for our wedding (he sang with the Fareham Philharmonic Choir and their wedding choir).

I was hesitant at first, but as I had recently completed an ‘A’ level in Music at an evening class it seemed the perfect opportunity to try out my arranging skills. A score of the arrangement is available to purchase in my online store - https://www.jaquiedshop.co.uk/collections/sheet-music/products/perfect-days

And here’s a link to the song in my online store (track 9) - https://www.jaquiedshop.co.uk/collections/digital-music/products/nouvelle