"Day by Day" is a

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

ballad from the 1971

Stephen Schwartz Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as ''Godspell'' (1971), ''Pippin'' (1972), and ''Wicked'' (20 ...

and

John-Michael Tebelak John-Michael Tebelak (September 17, 1949 – April 2, 1985) was an American playwright and director. He is best known for creating the musical ''Godspell'', based on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, with the composer Stephen Schwartz, who wrote t ...

musical ''

Godspell ''Godspell'' is a musical composed by Stephen Schwartz with book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set to lyrics from traditional hymn ...

''. It is the third song in the show’s score and is reprised as the closing number for the 1973

film version A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

Lyrics

The song's refrain follows a prayer ascribed to the 13th-century English bishop Saint Richard of Chichester:
:May I know Thee more clearly,
:Love Thee more dearly,
:Follow Thee more nearly. The version in ''Godspell'' follows more closely the wording in Hymn 429 of the 1940 ''Hymnal'': :Day by day, :Dear Lord, of thee three things I pray: :To see thee more clearly, :Love thee more dearly, :Follow thee more nearly, :Day by day.'' "Day By Day" was first a hit in Australia, where both

Judy Stone Judith Anne Stone AM (born 1 January 1942) is an Australian pop and country music singer. For much of the 1960s she was a regular performer on the music variety ''Bandstand'', Stone's top 20 singles on the national charts are "I'll Step ...

and

Colleen Hewett Colleen Hewett (born 16 April 1950) is an Australian singer and actress. Hewett's top 40 singles on the Kent Music Report include " Super Star", " Day by Day" (both 1971), "Carry That Weight" (1972), "Dreaming My Dreams with You" (1980) ...

released competing versions of the track in late 1971. Hewett's version reached #2 in the Kent Music Report, while Stone's take reached #25. In 1972, a version of the song from the album ''

'' (1971) by the original off-Broadway cast was released as a single in the US, and attributed simply to the group name "Godspell". Robin Lamont was the lead singer, uncredited. "Day By Day" spent 14 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at the #13 position on July 29, 1972. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the No. 90 song for 1972.

Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1972 This is a list of ''Billboard'' magazine's Top Hot 100 songs of 1972. The Top 100, as revealed in the year-end edition of ''Billboard'' dated December 30, 1972, is based on Hot 100 charts from the issue dates of December 4, 1971 through November 18, ...

Chart history

Weekly charts

;Godspell ;Holly Sherwood ;Colleen Hewett ;Judy Stone

Year-end charts

Cover versions

*The instrumental cover band

Hot Butter Hot Butter were an American instrumental band fronted by the keyboard player and studio musician Stan Free. The other band members were John Abbott, Bill Jerome, Steve Jerome, and Danny Jordan and Dave Mullaney. They were best known for their 19 ...

released a version on their 1972 album ''

''. * The jazz duo

Jackie & Roy Jackie and Roy was an American jazz vocal team consisting of husband and wife singer Jackie Cain (1928-2014) and singer/pianist Roy Kral (1921-2002). They sang together for 56 years and made almost 40 albums. Kral's 2002 obituary in ''The New Y ...

covered the song (Track 1) on the 1972 CTI labeled album

Time & Love ''Time & Love'' is an album by American vocalists Jackie Cain and Roy Kral featuring performances recorded in 1972 and released on the CTI label.

. *

The 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire includes pop, R&B, soul, jazz, light opera, and Broadway. Formed as the Versatiles in late 1965, the group changed its name to "the 5th Dimension" by 1966. Betwee ...

's version was recorded for the ''

Living Together, Growing Together "Living Together, Growing Together" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1973 film ''Lost Horizon'', and originally performed by James Shigeta and the Shangri-La chorus in the film. Fifth Dimension recording "Living Together ...

'' album, released in 1973. *Another instrumental version, in the song's initial

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

, was used as the theme music for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

's ''

Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It w ...

'' in the 1970s. *In March 1972,

Holly Sherwood Holly Sherwood is an American rock music, rock singing, vocalist, best known for her work with Jim Steinman, providing both lead and backing vocals. Acting career At the age of three, Holly Sherwood began her professional career as the star of P ...

released "Day by Day" (which also incorporated a medley of two other numbers from the show) as her first single, produced by Tony Orlando for Rocky Road Records. Her version went to #104 on the US Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart, #91 Cash Box, and #29 in the United Kingdom. *

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

and

Ray Conniff Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s. Biography Conniff was born November 6, 1916 in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United St ...

and His Singers both released versions in 1972 on albums that were both called ''

Alone Again (Naturally) "Alone Again (Naturally)" is a song by Irish singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan. It was recorded in 1972 at the same time as his album '' Back to Front'' and was a worldwide hit. The single spent six non-consecutive weeks at number one on ''Bi ...

''. *The song was also covered by Irish pop singer Alma Carroll in 1972. *The song was covered by British pop singer

Cilla Black Priscilla Maria Veronica White (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer, actress and television presenter. Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her ...

who released it on her 1973 album '' Day by Day with Cilla'' which was her seventh and last studio album with producer

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...

. *

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

recorded a live version dated September 1973 and released on his 1974 gospel album ''Help It Along''. * Pat Lundy released a cover in 1976. *Christian rap/rock group

DC Talk DC Talk (stylized as dc Talk) is a Christian hip hop, Christian rap and Christian rock, rock trio. The group was formed at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1987 by tobyMac, Toby McKeehan, Michael Tait, and Kevin Max, Kevin Max Smith ...

covered the song (with additional lyrics) on their 1995 album ''

Jesus Freak ''Jesus freak'' is a term arising from the late 1960s and early 1970s counterculture and is frequently used as a pejorative for those involved in the Jesus movement. As Tom Wolfe illustrates in ''The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test'', the term "fre ...

''. **Christian rock group

House of Heroes House of Heroes is an American alternative rock band from Columbus, Ohio. They have released six albums: ''What You Want Is Now'' (2003), ''House of Heroes'' (2005), ''The End Is Not the End'' (2008), ''Suburba'' (2010), ''Cold Hard Want'' (20 ...

covered DC Talk's version of the song on their 2013 album ''The Knock-Down Drag-Outs''. *A previously unreleased version by the 1970s British vocal group

Design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

was included on their 2012 CD ''One Sunny Day: Singles and Rarities 1968–1978''. *

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...

released a version on her ''

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...

'' LP in 1985. *

Homer Simpson Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared, along with the rest of his family, in ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' short "G ...

sings a version of "Day by Day" in the episode entitled "

Pulpit Friction "Pulpit Friction" is the eighteenth episode of the twenty-fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the 526th episode overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 28, 2013. The ...

" on the TV series ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

''.

In popular culture

*In the 2000 film '' Meet the Parents'', Greg Focker (

Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known as ...

) is asked by Jack Byrnes (

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...

) to say

Grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...

before dinner, resulting in Greg reciting the lyrics from "Day by Day." *In the 2001 film ''

Wet Hot American Summer ''Wet Hot American Summer'' is a 2001 American teen comedy film directed by David Wain from a screenplay written by Wain and Michael Showalter. The film features an ensemble cast, including Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Molly Shannon, Pau ...

'', summer camp counselors Susie (

Amy Poehler Amy Poehler (; born September 16, 1971) is an American comedian, actress, writer, producer, and director. After studying improv at Chicago's Second City and ImprovOlympic in the early 1990s, Poehler co-founded the improvisational-comedy trou ...

) and Ben (

Bradley Cooper Bradley Charles Cooper (born January 5, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and two Grammy Awards, in addition to nominations for nine Academy Awards, si ...

) direct a group of kids to sing and dance “Day by Day” in similar style and costume to the original Godspell Broadway cast, which they perform at the talent show. The audience claps along happily, but after the performance ends with a glowing luminescent cross on the wall, it is met with overwhelming boos. The host comments it is one of his favorite Broadway numbers, but erroneously pronounces it as “Day Bidet.”

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Day by Day (Godspell song) 1970s ballads 1971 songs 1971 singles 1972 singles Bell Records singles American folk rock songs Folk ballads Rock ballads Songs written by Stephen Schwartz (composer) Colleen Hewett songs Andy Williams songs Songs from musicals