Songs. We listen to them, we dance to them and we enjoy them. But I have never thought about lyrics, context and about what the author wants to tell us. One of my favourite songs is “Another day in paradise “ written by Phil Collins, which was released as the first single from his number-one album “ But Seriously on 9^th October 1989. The tone of the album is serious, as the title suggests. Instead of focusing entirely on personal relationships, dark psychedelics, and simple fun, Collins expands his focus on the exploration of socio-economic and political themes. The single ”Another day in paradise” was written to bring attention to the problem of homelessness in the world, especially in Great Britain. As Phil Collins was born in Cheswick, London, the situation in England has always been close to his heart. I have chosen this song, because it has great musical frame and it is not another song about love, but about a serious social problem.

As we know, homelessness didn't arise in one day or month. It was a chain of events which made situation dramatically. Historically, the homelessness in Great Britain began after The Second World War. Bombs damaged the city and made one -six^th of Greater London's population homeless. Some Londoners resorted to squatting as a way of finding a home, and from then on squatting continued to thrive in London. The 1948 National Assistance Act ended the Poor Law and it imposed a duty on the local authority. Although well intentioned, this legislation was an inadequate response to homelessness. According to the BBC website, by the 1970s, 30,000 squatters in London included the citizens of the Free and Independent Republic of Frestonia. Frestonia was the name adopted by the residents of Freston Road, a street in the north western boundary of Notting Hill, London W11, also known as Notting Dale. When homelessness re-emerged as a political issue in the UK in the 1960s and early 1970s, it was associated mainly with poor families and older single men.

One of the first artist which paid attention to homelessness was Ralph McTell. He wrote a song entitled “Streets of London”. The song contrasts common problems of everyday people with those of the homeless, lonely, elderly, and ignored and forgotten members of the society. In the lyrics we can find a proof that this song is about poor people. Ralph McTell wrote ” Carrying her home in two carrier bags” which means that the girl or lady doesn't have much things.

The1980s was a period of political changes, and many important reforms were considered as unimportant. In that period situation of poor people began to change and a number of people sleeping in the streets increased dramatically. One of the reasons was inadequate institutional support for mental disabled patients. Such people after long, even whole their live treatment, were released, and very often had no place to go. Because of it, they started to live in streets. Another big group of the homeless were young people with a wide range of problems. They were drug addicts' children, pestering at home. A lot of them were addicted to drugs and alcohol. In 1980s British government had financial problems which transferred duties concerning childcare to local authorities. In 1989 the Government set up Children's Act. Under this act local service department had a duty to provide accommodation to homeless children under 18, if they had no adults who could take care of them. In that period of time, young people had no outlook on their future, they did not feel the necessity of changes. But it is not true. Lots of famous people were homeless in their lives. One of them was Cary Grant, an Oscar winning actor. One of his friends said about him: “Cary then volunteered for summer work as a messenger and gofer on the military docks, often sleeping in alleys at night if he didn't make enough money to rent a cot in a flophouse.” (Eliot, 31).

Not only in Britain but in the whole world there was also a big group of people called Hidden Homeless. These people were predominantly young and single very often immediately after leaving family home they wanted to become independent. Tyler present data concerning number of homeless people. In the 1980s and early 1990s In Britain there were about 400,000 hidden homeless. 75,000 of people stayed in bed & breakfast lodgings, 10,000 were squatters, 220,000 shared overcrowded accommodation with friends or family. The rest were those of high risk of eviction. For many, such temporary accommodation was far from temporary, with some homeless people being shunted from one hostel or bed and breakfast establishment to another for several years. Big influence on this situation had raising costs of housing. In the 1980s and 1990sthe institutions responsible for people in need focused on mainly on families with children forgetting about single citizen.

We cannot forget about migration. In the years immediately after the war, new arrivals began from all over Europe. These included a small number of German war prisoners, a larger group of refugees from the Communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union :130,000 Poles arrived during the first few years after the war, and 14,000 Hungarians after the failure of the 1956 uprising in Hungary In Britain the percentage of people born outside the country increased by one per cent to 5.8 per cent between 1961 and 1991. Caribbean, Polish, Irish, Pakistani and Vietnamese migrants settled in the west of England. Some 83,000 immigrants from the Commonwealth settled in the UK between 1968 and 1975, largely through gaining work permits or obtaining permission to join relatives. Immigrants came to Great Britain without money, place to stay, or work. Most of them didn't have any legal permission to stay, so they were hiding from the police and immigrants department. They came to have better life, but they ended on the streets.

I've been listening to my favourite song many times but quite recently I realized the depth of the lyrics. The title is “Another day in paradise”. Personally I think that Phil Collins chose the best possible title. On the first sight I thought that it was a simple song about love, luck, paradise and maybe heaven. But after I had listened to it for a few times I realized that I was wrong. The title is very sarcastic, because this song has nothing to do with positive spheres of life, but it presents a very dark site of existence. I think that Phil Collins was shocked by a number of homeless people who lived on London streets. The four^th word of the title contains some warning and the author wants us to think about sense of life. This words are also used in the refrain, where they follow the words ” Oh, think twice”. It means that we shouldn't be thoughtless. In his song Phil Collins wrote “She calls out to the man on the street, Sir can you help me?” The meaning of this phrase is easy to interpret. I think, that it is calling for help, but no one reacts, no one wants to help. We know it from the words: “He walks on, doesn't look back, He pretends he can't hear her. He starts to whistle as he crosses the street, Seems embarrassed to be there”. The society ignores the poor people, rich think it is not their problem. The common believe is that there are others, who should help. The words “Its cold and I've no where to sleep,” make us sure, that the person who is saying these words has nowhere to live.

Another important line tells us about the situation in shelters “Probably been moved on from every place” As we know shelters are overpopulated, especially in winter, so a lot of poor people spend days and nights without any shelters. The words “cause she didn't fit in there” suggest that she was different from other homeless. Personally I think that she was an immigrant, maybe she had problems with the language. In this song author the tells us that the homeless is very difficult. “She's got blisters on the soles of her feet, She can't walk but she's trying”. They have problems with health, but also with spiritual life. The girl is calling the lord. “Oh lord”. I think that it is her way of praying, because is in despair and can not see any perspectives for herself. Lot of homeless people are religious. God is very often the only one who they can talk to. They are very lonely, and they search for any compassion and understanding.

In this song Phil Collins want us to think about homeless people and about how we can help them. We shouldn't be insensitive like that man, whom the girl asks for help. We should ask the homeless if they need a helping hand. Their life is difficult and sometimes very short. They have no place to stay, no food to eat, no clothes to wear. It is our duty to help them. Not only by helping individuals, but by helping particular organizations.

Appendix:

Another day In paradise - Phil Collins

She calls out to the man on the street
Sir can you help me?
Its cold and I've no where to sleep,
Is there somewhere you can tell me?

He walks on, doesn't look back
He pretends he can't hear her
He starts to whistle as he crosses the street
Seems embarrassed to be there

Oh, think twice, cause its just another day for you
And me in paradise
Oh, think twice, cause its just another day for you,
You and me in paradise

She calls out to the man on the street
He can see she's been crying
She's got blisters on the soles of her feet
She cant walk but she's trying

Oh, think twice, cause its just another day for
And me in paradise
Oh, think twice, cause its just another day for you,
You and me in paradise

Oh lord, is there nothing more anybody can do
Oh lord, there must be something you can say

Oh, think twice, cause its just another day for
And me in paradise
Oh, think twice, cause its just another day for you,
You and me in paradise

You can tell from the lines on her face
You can see that she's been there
Probably been moved on from every place
cause she didn't fit there

Oh, think twice, cause its just another day for
And me in paradise
Oh, think twice, cause its just another day for you,
You and me in paradise

Just think about it

Its just another day for you and me in paradise
Its just another day for you and me in paradise

Works Cited

1. Eliot, Marc. “Cary Grant: A Biography”, 2004,

2. Dar, Sarah. "Migration and settlement." 12 Feb. 2008. 28 Apr. 2009 <http://www.connectinghistories.org.uk/Learning%20Packages/Migration/migration_settlement_20c_lp_04b.asp#aims>.

3. Homelessness. 26 June 2001. 28 Apr. 2009 <http://www.homelesspages.org.uk/>.

4. Hope,Christopher. "Record migration into Britain is result of Government policy failings." 18 Nov. 2002. 28 Apr. 2009 <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/4957813/Record-migration-into-Britain-is-result-of-Government-policy-failings.html>.

5. "Museum of London." Homelessness. 28 Apr. 2009 <http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/Collections/OnlineResources/X20L/Themes/1387/1144/>.

6. "Short History of Immigration." Uk Race. 25 Oct. 2007. 28 Apr. 2009 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/uk/2002/race/short_history_of_immigration.stm#1980s>.

7. Tyler, Richard. "Britain hidden Homeless." 28 July 2004. 28 Apr. 2009 <http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/jul2004/home-j28.shtml>.

1

Hućko Anna | 7

---