Badfinger - Day After Day - Lyrics Meaning

"Day After Day" is a 1971 song by the band Badfinger. Pete Ham was the song's songwriter and vocalist. George Harrison served as the original producer of the track since Badfinger was the first act on The Beatles' Apple label. Todd Rundgren is credited with the song's final mix after Harrison left the project for the Concert for Bangladesh. The instantly recognized slide guitar parts are credited to Harrison and Ham.

The lyrics are sometimes misconstrued as a love song about a man or woman awaiting the return of their significant other. However, most people view the lyrics as a recollection of someone expecting a child. It appears to be a father or mother speaking to their child as they are older and reminiscing. Remembering the day they learned they were expecting, waiting for the child's arrival, holding them as a baby, feeling each tear that they wept, and providing them with unconditional love. You get a sense from the tone of the lyrics that the child's presence will fill a certain void being felt by the writer. There is a sense of loneliness and strong need.

The song, released in the U.S. in November 1971, became Badfinger's highest charting single in the states. Sadly, in a sad touch of irony, an inebriated Pete Ham, at the age of 27, hanged himself in the garage of his home as his girlfriend Anne was expecting. Ham, by most accounts, was despondent over issues the band had with corrupt management, which left them broke and fighting internally. Ham's daughter Petera was born one month following his death.