Phil Collins
By: Brooke Thompson
She calls out to the man on the street
"Sir, can you help me?
It's cold and I've nowhere to sleep,
Is there somewhere you can tell me?"
He walks on, doesn't look back
He pretends he can't hear her
Starts to whistle as he crosses the street
Seems embarrassed to be there
Oh
Think twice
'Cause it's another day for you and me in
paradise
Oh
Think twice
'Cause it's another day for you
You and me in paradise
(Do think about it)
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 can't walk but she's trying
(Chorus repeats)
Just think about it
Oh lord!
Is there nothing more anybody can do?
Oh-oh whoa lord!
There must be something you can say
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 in there
(chorus repeats)
Another day in paradise, ooh
It's just another day
For you and me
In paradise
It's just another day
For you and me
In paradise
(Para, paradise)
(Paradise) Another day
For you and me (Ooh-ooh)
(Just think about it) In paradise
(Paradise) It's just another day
For you and me
(Just think about it) In paradise
(Para, paradise)
(Ooh-ooh, in paradise) It's just another day
For you and me
(Hmm-mmm, paradise)

Phil Collins was born on January 30, 1951. About
twenty years later, he joined the band Genesis.
He started out as a drummer, but in 1976 he was
their lead singer, once Peter Gabriel left the
band. He began touring with Genesis as well as a
less popular band called Brand X. A few years
later, in 1981, his solo career took off. Some
songs were even used in movies later on; such as
Brother Bear and Tarzan. His songs were often
listened to and he led a life of stardom when the
majority of his songs became top hits; like “You
Can’t Hurry Love”, “Another Day in Paradise”,
“You’ll be in My Heart”, and many others.
“Another Day in Paradise” received a Grammy,
and was one of the last songs of his that was
popular (“Phil Collins”).
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 “She
calls out to the man on the street”
 Phil
Collins repeats this phrase a couple
times. From the meaning behind the song, I
think he does that because he’s trying to
show that the homeless people are trying to
reach out to people for help and are
constantly rejected.
Back

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 can't walk but she's trying
 In
this stanza, Collins uses an AB rhyme
scheme, which is the one he uses most often.
A rhyme scheme is not always present in
every stanza.
Back
 Collins
says “Cause it’s another day for you
and me in paradise” in a mocking way. It
almost seems ironic.
 He is boasting about how he is living in
“paradise”, but expressing how upset he is
about the poor and homeless.
Back
 Phil
Collins gives off a conflicting mood. He
says “Cause it's another day for you and me
in paradise”. This shows that he is thankful
for everything that he has.
 Then he says “Just think about it”, showing
that he has remorse for the homeless people
and wants others to show the same amount
of remorse that he has for all of them.
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 The
contrast of paradise and being homeless
expresses the pain he feels for the people on
the streets.
 Paradise-a state of supreme happiness

I feel as if Collins wants everyone to reach the
state of “Paradise”. He is reaching out to the
public through this song to get others to take
action on everything achieving this happiness.
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
People now more than
ever are having a hard
time to live off the
streets. Prices of common
items are increasing, job
opportunities are
decreasing, and pay
checks are also
decreasing. The homeless
used to have the option to
stay in a shelter, but now
those shelters are
reaching maximum
capacity (especially in
NYC) (Moriarty).
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 Homeless
shelters are becoming popular
places for people in New York to stay. As the
years progress, the amount of people are
steadily increasing (Markee).
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 It
is said that one in every twenty people
who live in New York City have been
homeless before, which averages 100,000
people a year! This statistic is overwhelming.
 Collins noticed this when he walked the
streets of NYC and was appalled; and thus,
wrote this song ("Gospel").
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 New
York is ranked number three, out of all
the states, for the amount of homelessness.
As beautiful of a state that it is, as Collins
noticed, it is still one of the states with the
most homeless people (Kasindorf).
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 When
someone is homeless, it is obvious that
their health is decreased; not only physically,
but psychologically as well. Living on the
streets puts the people through stressful
events affecting their health. Also, they are
exposed to more amounts of harmful
chemicals, elements, diseases, etc., so they
are more prone to getting sick. The damage
of these effects can be shown on the
homeless people’s faces hints this line in
Collins’ song ("The Role of Health").
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 People
who are homeless are offered as
much help that people are willing to give
out. For example, there is at least one
shelter set up in every city in New York to
help the homeless. Websites give information
on where the shelters are located, if there is
vacancy, how many are located in the
specific city, and the requirements to be
eligible to stay at the shelter ("New York
Homeless").
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