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The moment Keith Urban created the upbeat guitar riff that propels “Days Go By,” he knew he was on to something – even though it was unlike anything he’d recorded in the past.
“There’s a Celtic overtone in there,” explains the new CMA Male Vocalist of the Year. “It was kind of an Irish jig thing.”
He originally thought the song would be built around the line all of the time instead of days go by. But that changed when he hooked up with his songwriting buddy Monty Powell, who co-wrote Keith’s previous No. 1 “Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me.”
“I thought I had a good chorus already,” says Keith. “But Monty talked me into changing the lyric and the title – and it felt even better after that.”
In fact, Keith felt so good about it that he included two versions of the tune on his album, Be Here. The second version – called “These Are the Days” – is more of an instrumental jam.
“We just wanted to keep playing the song!” laughs Keith. “We thought about doing one of those things where you break down at the end of the song and slowly build it back up – but we had already done that with ‘Somebody Like You.’ So we thought, ‘Let’s just write part two of the song and tack it on the end!’ ”
Keith felt the song set the theme for the entire album. “At this point in my life,” he explains, “and at this point in our world, there is no more positive message than the one conveyed in ‘Days Go By,’ ” explains Keith. “It comes down to embracing life one day at a time and urging people to try to be grateful for what they have.”
“Days Go By” went on to become the fastest-rising hit of Keith’s career and a third consecutive No. 1. “I’m so glad that the song has connected with people in the way that it has.” But before it was released, he had doubts the song would make that connection. It became Urban’s fifth Number One single, spending four weeks at the top of the Billboard U.S. Hot Country Songs chart in late 2004.
“I was worried the lyrics were just a little too simple,” says the star. “But it’s a simple message, and there’s nothing wrong with that. You realize there’s a reason why clichés exist: They resonate with the truth.”
– ALANNA HORNER – Country Weekly Magazine Read more here at Country Weekly
Buy the song download https://itunes.apple.com/ca/music-video/days-go-by/id719882605
Lyrics:
Oh yeah yeah
I’m changing lanes and talkin’ on the phone
Drivin’ way too fast.
And the interstate’s jammed with gunners like me
Afraid of comin’ in last.
But somewhere in the race we run,
We’re coming undone
And days go by,
I can feel ’em flyin’
Like a hand out the window in the wind.
The cars go by,
Yeah it’s all we’ve been given,
So you better start livin’ right now
‘Cause days go by,
Oh and a woo-hoo
Out on the roof just the other night
I watched the world flash by,
Headlights, taillights,
Running through a river of neon signs.
But somewhere in the rush I felt,
We’re losing ourselves
And days go by,
I can feel ’em flyin’
Like a hand out the window in the wind.
The cars go by,
Yeah it’s all we’ve been given,
So you better start livin’ right now
Days go by,
Oh and a woo-hoo
Yeah the days go by
Oh and a woo-hoo
We think about tomorrow then it slips away.
Oh, yes, it does.
We talk about forever but we’ve only got today
And the days go by,
I can feel ’em flyin’
Like a hand out the window as the cars go by
Yeah it’s all we’ve been given,
So you better start livin’,
You better start livin’,
Better start livin’ right now!
‘Cause days go by,
I can feel ’em flyin’
Like a hand out the window in the wind.
The cars go by,
Yeah it’s all we’ve been given,
So you better start livin’ right now
‘Cause days go by,
Oh and a woo-hoo
Yeah these days go by
Oh and a woo-hoo
Oh!
So take ’em by the hand,
They’re yours and mine.
Take ’em by the hand,
And live your life.
Take ’em by the hand,
Don’t let ’em all fly by!
Come on, come on now,
Yeah!
Come on now!
Oh and a woo-hoo!
Don’t you know the days go by
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