"Good Day Sunshine" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1966 album Revolver. It was written mainly by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. McCartney intended it as a song in the style of the Lovin' Spoonful's contemporaneous hit single "Daydream". The recording includes multiple pianos played in the barrelhouse style and evokes a vaudevillian mood.

The composition contains key changes and metric anomalies, and closes with voices chanting the song title. Together with its lyrics celebrating romantic love and sunshine, the recording contrasts with the more austere and experimental aesthetic of Revolver. Among music critics, some writers have welcomed the song's lightheartedness while others view it as a track that dilutes the album's strengths.

"Good Day Sunshine" has been covered by the Tremeloes, Claudine Longet and Robbie Williams. McCartney re-recorded the song for his 1984 film Give My Regards to Broad Street and has regularly performed it in concert. The song was used as the wake-up music on the Space Shuttle mission STS-135. In November 2005, McCartney played it live to the crew of the International Space Station as part of a concert link-up to the space station.

Background and inspiration

Paul McCartney wrote "Good Day Sunshine" at Kenwood, John Lennon's house in Surrey. Drawing inspiration from the sunny day, McCartney composed the melody on Lennon's piano. He later said that Lennon helped write the song, but "it was basically mine." Lennon recalled that the song was McCartney's and that he perhaps "threw in a line or something".

McCartney said that he was influenced by the Lovin' Spoonful's hit single "Daydream" and was trying to write a song in that vein. Lennon and George Harrison had attended the Lovin' Spoonful's concert at the Marquee in London in April 1966; the Beatles and members of the Rolling Stones soon lauded them as the "hot new group". Author Steve Turner writes that the Kinks' "Sunny Afternoon" could have been another source of inspiration for McCartney.

Composition

The song uses the keys of A major and D major. Following a four-bar introduction, it opens with the chorus. Thereafter, the structure comprises three rounds of verse and chorus, in the second of which the verse section contains an instrumental passage; the song ends with a repetition of the chorus, followed by a fadeout coda. Musicologist Alan Pollack likens the musical form to that of a folk ballad with a pop element made explicit through the intro, instrumental passage and coda. Writing in Crawdaddy!, Paul Williams commented, "The impact of the Lovin' Spoonful on British groups is excellent evidence of how alive rock 'n' roll is today; everyone learns from everyone else and the music just keeps getting better." Williams admired the lyrics and piano playing on "Good Day Sunshine", saying, "It grows on you like lichen, humble, unspectacular, but very lovable."

"Good Day Sunshine" was one of the few songs that the Kinks' Ray Davies enthused about when invited to give a rundown of Revolver in Disc and Music Echo. Feeling that the album's experimental tone would alienate their fanbase, Davies said of the track: "This'll be a giant. It doesn't force itself on you, but it stands out like 'I'm Only Sleeping'. This is back to the real old Beatles." The song was much admired by American composer and orchestral conductor Leonard Bernstein. When presenting the CBS News documentary Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution in April 1967, Bernstein praised "Good Day Sunshine" for its rhythmic surprises and key changes, citing these as examples of why the Beatles' music was superior to most of their contemporaries' work.

Ian MacDonald considered the track to be the band "at their effortless best" and especially admired McCartney's vocal and Martin's production. He described the song as "both blissfully simple and full of the free-spirited musical jesting with which The Beatles amazed classical critics". In his song review for AllMusic, Richie Unterberger says that it "radiates optimism and good vibes, even by the high standards the Beatles themselves set in those categories". He highlights the group's harmony singing as "some of their most uplifting", particularly over the fadeout, where the vocal effect suggests that "the good vibes ... will not end when the record does, but echo around the skies indefinitely". Mark Hertsgaard cites "Good Day Sunshine" as an example of how "one of the best things about the Beatles' music is it makes you happy", and he deems it "a song whose joy is irresistible". Writing in Barry Miles's The Beatles Diary, Peter Doggett describes the track as "Simple, effective and stunning" and "the ideal complement to the darker Revolver songs".

Less impressed, Bill Wyman of Vulture ranks "Good Day Sunshine" last in his list of the 213 Beatles songs. He views the title as "inane" and the piano playing as a McCartney parody, and concludes: "It's the worst song in the Beatles' classic period. And it ruins Revolver, otherwise the most consistent and mind-blowing collection of pop-rock songs ever conceived by man." Writing for Salon in 2016, Scott Timberg paired it with "Got to Get You into My Life" as examples of the less inspired songs on Revolver. He called them "musically derivative and emotionally forced" and, along with "Yellow Submarine", the three Revolver tracks that provide a welcome lightening of the album's austere mood but "tear its fabric a little bit".

Cover versions and performances by McCartney

That McCartney's songwriting on Revolver retained elements recognisable as both adult-oriented pop and reflective of the new psychedelic aesthetic ensured that his songs were the most widely covered. The Tremeloes recorded "Good Day Sunshine" in 1966 soon after parting company with singer Brian Poole. Released as a single, it failed to become a hit. Beatles biographer Robert Rodriguez views this as surprising, given that McCartney's songs "Here, There and Everywhere", "Good Day Sunshine" and "Got to Get You into My Life" "were all the stuff from which hit singles are made", yet only the last of the three was immediately successful when covered by another artist. In 1967, a recording by Claudine Longet peaked at number 100 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US and number 36 on Billboards Easy Listening chart.

McCartney re-recorded "Good Day Sunshine" for the soundtrack to his 1984 film Give My Regards to Broad Street. Martin again played the piano solo but although Starr appeared in the film, he refused to contribute to McCartney's new versions of the Beatles' songs. McCartney has also included the song in the set list for his tours, starting with his 1989–90 world tour. A live version from this tour was issued as the B-side of his 1990 single "Birthday".

"Good Day Sunshine" was used as the wake-up music on the Space Shuttle mission STS-135. McCartney played the song live to the crew of the International Space Station on 13 November 2005 in the first concert link-up to the space station.

In 1974, after Harrison withdrew permission for the use of his 1969 song "Here Comes the Sun" in the stage musical John, Paul, George, Ringo ... and Bert, the producers replaced it with "Good Day Sunshine". The song was performed by Barbara Dickson. In 2016 Robbie Williams sang it in the "Good Day Sunshine" episode of Beat Bugs, a children's animated TV series based on the Beatles' songs.

Personnel

According to Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin in their book All the Songs (except where noted). The authors include a question mark beside Lennon's guitar contribution and beside the bass guitar credit, unsure of whether the latter is played by Harrison or McCartney, yet they list Harrison as the player in their description of the band recording the basic track. Mark Lewisohn states that the piano, bass and drums were all taped at the same time.

The Beatles

  • Paul McCartney – lead and backing vocals, pianos, handclaps
  • John Lennon – harmony and backing vocals, handclaps
  • George Harrison – harmony and backing vocals, bass guitar, handclaps
  • Ringo Starr – drums, supplementary drums and cymbal, handclaps

Additional musician

  • George Martin – piano solo

Notes

References

Sources

  • Full lyrics for the song at the Beatles' official website