A Red Letter Day
Writers - Tennant/Lowe
First released - 1996
Original album - Bilingual
Subsequent albums - PopArt
Other releases - single (UK #9, US Dance Sales #8)
Very nearly a gay pride anthem. Neil longs for that special day—a virtual holiday marked red on the calendar—when "all of those who don't fit in, who follow their instincts and are told they sin" won't have to justify themselves or struggle anymore just to live ordinary lives. "I want what you want," he sings, asserting the fundamental equality of all people, stressing their similarities, not their differences. Apparently but not necessarily contradicting this interpretation, Neil has specifically pointed out that this song is "about waiting for someone to tell you they love you."
Perhaps punning on the "Red" of the title, but also adding greatly to the song's anthemic quality, the Boys commissioned an all-male Russian chorus to contribute support vocals. Also, the chord progressions are very similar to (though not exactly like) those of the "Ode to Joy" in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
Annotations
- A surprising number of people—invariably for whom English is not their native language—have written to me through the years to ask me just what is a "red letter day." It's simply an English idiom for a "special day," an expression inspired by the fact that holidays are often highlighted on calendars with red letters and/or numbers. The lyrics themselves point in the direction of a holiday with the line "Like Christmas morning when you're a kid…."
- "The Waiting for Godot and so much modern time" – This line refers clearly yet somewhat cryptically to the play Waiting for Godot (written 1948-1949 but not first performed until 1953) by the Irish author Samuel Beckett (1906-1989). Generally regarded as a work in the "absurdist" vein, it's widely recognized as one of the most culturally significant plays of the twentieth century. Although the absent figure of "Godot" is often interpreted as symbolizing God, Beckett specifically refuted this reading, going so far to say that if it had occurred to him that people would interpret it as such, he would have chosen a different name.
- "What on earth does it profit a man?" – Based on the words of Jesus as recorded in the biblical Gospel According to Matthew (16:26): "What does it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul?"
- The chord structure of the song comes from the choral "Ode to Joy" in the fourth movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony Number 9 in D Minor (1824).
Mixes
Officially released
- Mixer: Bob Kraushaar
- Album version (5:09)
- Available on Bilingual
- Album version (5:09)
- Mixer: Mike "Spike" Drake
- 7" Mix (4:34)
- Expanded Single Version (5:36)
- Available on the Further Listening bonus disc with the Bilingual reissue
- Moscow Mix (5:39)
- Mixer: Pet Shop Boys
- PSB Extended Edit (5:39)
- Mixer: Basement Jaxx
- Basement Jaxx Vocal Mix (6:52)
- Basement Jaxx Vocal Mix Edit (6:30)
- Basement Jaxx Nite Dub (6:07)
- Mixer: Motiv 8
- Motiv 8 Twelve-Inch Master Mix (6:58)
- Motiv 8 Cyber Dub (7:09)
- Mixer: Trouser Enthusiasts
- Trouser Autoerotic Decapitation Mix (10:07)
- Available on the Bilingual "Special Edition" bonus disc
- Trouser Enthusiasts Congo Dongo Dubstramental (8:07)
- Mixer: unknown
- Bilingual Promo Mix (5:23)
- Live version (3:47)
- A bonus track on the "I Get Along" single
Official but unreleased
- Mixer: Basement Jaxx
- Basement Jaxx 10" Mix
- Basement Jaxx Dub
- Mixer: Motiv 8
- Motiv 8 7" Mix
- Motiv 8 Single Mix
- Mixer: Trouser Enthusiasts
- Trouser Enthusiasts 12" Mix
- Mixer: unknown
- Radio Mix
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