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You are here: Home / Music / Saturday night and Sunday morning

Saturday night and Sunday morning

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Things are a bit slow here today, so I’m going to do another self-indulgent music thread. I had “Sunday Morning Coming Down” going through my head, and I suddenly had a bunch of questions about day-of-the-week songs. First of all, what’s the best one? For me, it’s either Stormy Monday or Sunday Morning Coming Down. Also too, is there a song about every day of the week? I can’t think of too many about Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Finally, is it generally true (as I believe) that songs about Sundays and Mondays are usually good, whereas songs about Fridays are often awful? Is it because songs about doom and depression are good, whereas songs about hopefulness and fun generally suck?

Reader Interactions

119Comments

  2. 2.

    DougJ, Head of Infidelity

    @Raven:

    Yup, there used to be a great YouTube of the song Factory Girl with scenes from the movie, but they had to take it down.

  3. 3.

    mpbruss

    I really like Friday I’m in Love by The Cure. That’s a pretty good song that’s kind of about Fridays.

  5. 5.

    BGinCHI

    I fucking love that song, Doug. We were talking about it here on a thread a few months ago, and someone posted the duet with Cash and Kristofferson. Awesome. It’s such a sad and beautiful song, especially if you grew up with a lot of alcoholics.

    Gets me every time.

  13. 13.

    rkdioxin

    “tuesday morning” by Pogues
    “wednesday night prayer meeting” by Charles Mingus
    “holy thursday” by David Axelrod
    “friday i’m in love” by the Cure
    “saturday night is the loneliest night of the week” by Frank Sinatra

  17. 17.

    BGinCHI

    There is a great Graham Parker song called “Saturday Night is Dead.”

    I think it’s on Stick to Me.

  18. 18.

    wrb

    There is Thursday’s Child (Bowie)

    And this kinda covers them all

    Monday’s child is fair of face
    Tuesday’s child is full of grace,
    Wednesday’s child is full of woe,
    Thursday’s child has far to go,
    Friday’s child is loving and giving,
    Saturday’s child works hard for a living,
    But the child who is born on the Sabbath Day
    Is bonny and blithe and good and gay.

  21. 21.

    BGinCHI

    What about “Thursday is My Favorite Day to Watch Gay Pr0n
    Online” by Little Ricky Santorum?

    Great horns.

  26. 26.

    eemom

    Come Saturday Morning. Dunno who did that but I loved it as a kid.

    Come Monday, Jimmy Buffet
    Monday Morning, Fleetwood Mac
    Rainy Days and Mondays, Carpenters
    Saturday Night’s All Right, Elton John

    Does Ruby Tuesday count?

    How about Van Morrison, “What ever happened, to Tuesdayin’ so slow….”

  28. 28.

    Nick

    The Easybeats – Friday on My Mind
    Sam Cooke – Another Saturday Night (my favorite of the lot)
    The Velvet Underground – Sunday Morning
    Smiley Lewis and/or Fats Domino – Blue Monday
    Lynyrd Skynyrd – Tuesday’s Gone

    I own no wednesday or thursday songs.

  29. 29.

    Amir Khalid

    There’s I Don’t Like Mondays by the Boomtown Rats, of course, and then there’s Ruby Tuesday by The Rolling Stones, and then there’s She’s Leaving Home by the Beatles where the story begins on a Wednesday, and then there’s that song by Rebecca Black, and then there’s Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting by Elton John, and then there’s Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2.

    Cheerful songs don’t necessarily suck. Bruce’s Out In the Street about a weekend block party is plenty cheerful and i like it just fine.

  34. 34.

    eemom

    @Amir Khalid:

    She’s Leaving Home by the Beatles where the story begins on a Wednesday

    That’s a good song. “Sheee’s leaving home, bye bye.”

    Then there’s Lady Madonna which uses every day except Saturday.

  35. 35.

    eemom

    @BGinCHI:

    Season of the Witch….great song, brilliantly used at the end of the generally brilliant dark comedy To Die For.

  36. 36.

    CatStaff

    Never on a Sunday – Petula Clark

    Oh, you can kiss me on a Monday a Monday a Monday
    is very very good
    Or you can kiss me on a Tuesday a Tuesday a Tuesday
    in fact I wish you would
    Or you can kiss me on a Wednesday a Thursday a
    Friday and Saturday is best
    But never ever on a Sunday a Sunday a Sunday
    cause that’s my day of rest

  39. 39.

    Commenting at Ballon Juice since 1937

    Sun Comes up Its Tuesday Morning – Cowboy Junkies
    Good Friday – Cowboy Junkies

  42. 42.

    Sarah

    Monday, Monday, The Mamas and the Papas
    Tuesday Afternoon, The Moody Blues
    Wednesday Week, Elvis Costello

    I got nothin’ for Thurs.

    Friday, Joe Jackson
    Saturday Night is the Loneliest Night of the Week, Mr. Frank Sinatra
    The Heart of Saturday Night, Tom Waits
    Sunday in New York, Bobby Darin’s version is great

  44. 44.

    Raven

    Country Joe&The Fish-Thursday

    Now if you’re tired or a bit run down,
    Can’t seem to getcha feet off the ground,
    Maybe you oughta try a little bit of L.S.D.

    Only if you want to

    Shake your head and rattle your brain,
    Make you act just a bit insane,
    Give you all the psychic energy you need —

    Eat flowers and kiss babies
    L.S.D.
    For you and me!

    Thursday
    Some people,
    They find each other.

    I found you,
    I found you,
    I found you.

    I found you,
    I found you,
    I found you.

    Barry Melton’s axe makes me . . .melt.

  45. 45.

    ChrisB

    @BGinCHI:

    I always thought Donovan was really underrated.

    But in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame now.

    Have we missed Monday, Monday by the Mamas and the Papas and Rainy Days and Mondays by the Carpenters?

  46. 46.

    the ghost of cleek

    New Moon On Monday – Duran Duran
    Tuesday Moon – Neutral Milk Hotel
    Wednesday And Proud – Unrest
    Thursday – The Futureheads
    Love You Till Friday – Replacements
    Saturday – Yo La Tengo
    Ugly Sunday – Mark Lanegan

  47. 47.

    Raven

    @ChrisB: Here’s an obscure Donovan song

    To Susan on the West Coast waiting

    I’m writing a note beneath a tree,
    The smell of the rain on the greenery.
    Our fathers have painfully lost their way,
    That’s why, my love, I’m here today
    Hear me when I say there will come a day
    When Kings will know and love can grow.
    To Susan on the West Coast waiting,
    >From Andy in Vietnam fighting.

    It’s the ending song in 84 charlie mopic.

  48. 48.

    Brachiator

    A Sunday Kind of Love, especially the version done by Etta James

    Duke Ellington’s magnificent Come Sunday

  50. 50.

    Brachiator

    From an Internets search. I was going to add the Tori Amos and Charles Mingus songs, and found this while verifying another title

    Top 10 Songs About Wednesday
       1. Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. – Simon & Garfunkel 
       2. Ash Wednesday – Elvis Perkins 
       3. Wednesday – Tori Amos 
       4. Wednesday Week – The Undertones 
       5. Wednesday – Drive-By Truckers 
       6. Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting – Charles Mingus 
       7. Wednesday Morning – America 
       8. (April) Spring, Summer, And Wednesdays – Status Quo 
       9. Wednesday Night Waltz – Chet Atkins 
       10. Wednesday Week – Elvis Costello 

  52. 52.

    Libby's person

    Woot! I’m not a big sports fan, but I am excited that NCSU beat Georgetown! NCSU doesn’t get the attention that UNC-CH and Duke do, but I’ve come to respect what land grant universities do for people in a state. It’s been a while since the Wolfpack had a major sports story to cheer about! (I’ve been connected to all three in one way or another, so I actually like all three.)

    It’s actually a little strange that I had this gut reaction, since I don’t like the effect of big-money sports on universities. More evidence of how hard it will be to reform the system…

  53. 53.

    Phoebe

    @Raven: I like that one.

    The best day-of-the-week song is:

    S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y! NIGHT!

    Kidding. I vote for Sunday Morning Coming Down (Johnny Cash version), second place Ruby Tuesday.

  54. 54.

    Brian R.

    Morphine has a song called “Thursday,” while Tori Amos, Drive-By Truckers and Fischerspooner all do a “Wednesday.”

  65. 65.

    OzarkHillbilly

    You guys are so weak (mind you I did not read every post, just half of them) the album “Days of Future Past”…. the Moody Blues. Hits every day of the week.

    Suckers.

  68. 68.

    bg

    Sunday Kind of Love — sung by the great Etta James or by (believe it or not) Reba McIntire

  70. 70.

    Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason

    I see someone picked up “The Heart of Saturday Night” by Tom Waits.

    But how ’bout this one?

    (Friday left me) Fumblin’ with the Blues
    And it’s hard to win when you always lose
    ‘Cause the night spots spend your spirit
    Beat your head against the wall
    Two dead ends, but you’ve still got to choose

  74. 74.

    forked tongue

    Can’t think of too many about Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday??? Whaaat??? Why, just here in my iTunes, I have:

    Tuesday Evening–John Lee Hooker
    A Week from Tuesday–The Pastel Six
    Everything’s Tuesday–The Chairmen of the Board
    Wednesday Evening–John Lee Hooker (Sense a pattern here?)
    Wednesday’s Child–John Barry
    To Claudia on Thursday–The Millenium
    Thursday–The Futureheads

  77. 77.

    Nicole

    I like “Saturday’s Child” by the Monkees. Probably because I was born on a Saturday.

  78. 78.

    TG Chicago

    Sunday Morning by itself has at least three good options:

    “Sunday Morning” by Velvet Underground (mentioned earlier)
    “Easy (like Sunday Morning)” by the Commodores
    and
    “Sunday Morning” by Margo Guryan. Nice groovy tune from 1968.

    of course, there’s also “Lazy Sunday” by Lonely Island…

  80. 80.

    djinn

    Nick Drake– Sunday, and another Nick Drake song (and my favorite of the batch other than Ruby Tuesday) Saturday Sun. Did someone mention Rainy Days and Mondays?

  81. 81.

    ellenbrenna

    Well, there is Ugly Sunday Morning by Mark Lanegan.

    Tuesday Night by Kristin Hersh
    Wednesday’s Child by Emiliana Torrini

  86. 86.

    Heliopause

    @DougJ, Head of Infidelity:

    I almost prefer the Rebecca Black.

    I will vote for this one. Just about every day-of-the-week song I can think of strikes me as a bit contrived or even lazy. As in, “I can’t think of anything to write about, I’ll just put the day of the week to a couple of chords and call it a night.” Might as well vote for Friday by that standard.

  87. 87.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Can’t believe nobody’s mentioned “Rainy Days and Mondays” (“always get me down”) – Carpenters.

    Also, Brahms wrote a lovely lied called “Sonntag” (“Sunday”), but you probably weren’t looking for lieder.

  88. 88.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Bobby Darin: “Splish splash, I was taking a bath, long about a Saturday night.”

  89. 89.

    Brachiator

    @Steeplejack:

    Lou Rawls does a good, jazzy version of “Stormy Monday” (with Les McCann). The whole album is excellent.

    Agreed!

    The father of a very dear friend of mine wrote one of the songs on this album.

  90. 90.

    Scott Alloway

    @BGinCHI: Cash, Kristofferson, Willie all do great versions but the Kristofferson version I have grabs me where I didn’t know I had places.

  91. 91.

    Svensker

    @Steeplejack:

    My favorite early Airplane song is “It’s No Secret.”

    Good one!

    I actually saw Airplane perform as the opening act for someone (don’t remember who it was, but natural substances may have been involved). It was before Grace and Signe was still singing. We all thought they were amazing. In fact, it was the only part of the show I remember (except how crappy the “light show” was).

    Toldya I was old.

  93. 93.

    p.a.

    @BGinCHI: Squeezing Out Sparks.

    Blue Monday, popularized by Fats Domino, mentions every day of the week. Excellent version by Dr. John on Goin’ Back to New Orleans

    I have a t-shirt that reads “I Give 100% at Work
    15% Monday
    23% Tuesday
    37% Wednesday
    20% Thursday
    5% Friday”

  96. 96.

    SRW1

    Also too, is there a song about every day of the week?

    If you mean a song containing all days of the week:

    Seven drunken nights.

  98. 98.

    Friday Jones

    @eemom: Same comment I was going to make. Fantastic song, and fantastic usage in To Die For.

    And, covered by Hole in an MTV unplugged. A friend (from New Zealand) and I were having the whole, “who do you listen to that you really enjoy but are embarrassed to admit to” conversation. He said Guns and Roses and I said *gulp* Hole.

  99. 99.

    Lawnguylander

    Hole made one great album and one really good album. I don’t see anything to be embarrassed byf there. And who doesn’t want to be the girl with most cake?

  100. 100.

    barbequbob

    Seems to me that Stormy Monday covers all the days of the week

    They call it stormy monday,
    but tuesday’s just as bad,
    wednesday’s worse, and thursday’s oh so sad,
    the eagle flies on friday,
    and saturday I go out to play,
    sunday morning, I get down on my knees and pray.

  101. 101.

    scottinnj

    Rainy Days & Mondays – The Carpenters
    Blue Monday – New Order
    New Moon on Monday – Duran Duran
    Ruby Tuesday – Rolling Stones
    Voices Carry – Til Tuesday
    Jersey Thursday – Donovan
    wednesday – Drive By Truckers
    Wednesday in your garden – Guess Who
    Last Friday Night – Katy Perry
    Black Friday – Steely Dan
    Looking for the Heart of Saturday Night- Madelaine Peyroux
    Satrday Night’s all right for Fighting – Elton John
    Sunday Girl – Blondie
    Sunday Bloody Sunday – U2
    Sunday Morning – Maroon 5

  109. 109.

    moderateindy

    One More Saturday Night -Grateful Dead
    Then god way up in heaven for whatever it was worth
    Thought he’d have a big old party thought he’d call it planet earth

    Almost Saturday Night – John Fogerty

  112. 112.

    opium4themasses

    81. Ellenbrenna: (can’t quote on phone)
    I also immediately thought of Emilliana Torrini’s Wednesday’s child. I am typing it out again in the hopes more people check out her album, Love in the Time of Science.

    I would also reccommend Hooverphonic’s Sunday Morning.

  114. 114.

    Splitting Image

    “Whiskey on a Sunday” has been covered a few times. I have the Irish Rovers version.

  116. 116.

    amcoco

    @DougJ, Head of Infidelity:

    Finally, is it generally true (as I believe) that songs about Sundays and Mondays are usually good, whereas songs about Fridays are often awful?

    Would have to think a bit about Monday songs, and maybe this is generally true, but there are always outliers – contrast U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday” (a “good” song, but not exactly all rainbows and sunshine) with The Cure’s “Friday I’m in Love” (I still remember how guiltily happy this song made me during my angst-ridden, plaid-shirted teen years).

  117. 117.

    Bruce S

    Haven’t sifted through the comments, but Fat’s Domino’s “Blue Monday” and Billie’s “Gloomy Sunday” are great ones.

  118. 118.

    EvolutionaryDesign

    This thread is probably dead, but “Friday’s Dust” by Doves is unimpeachable.

  119. 119.

    Lex

    @BGinCHI: On “Squeezing Out Sparks,” actually. But, yes, a great song. (And if you’re going to be marooned on a desert island with one CD to listen to, “Squeezing Out Sparks” is a contender.)

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