☝️ Key Points
- The song is written from the first-person perspective and describes a possibly monotonous routine.
- The lyrics emphasize the everyday and predictable activities that the protagonist carries out.
- The protagonist seems to be emotionally absent or unfulfilled, as they do not realize their own sadness.
- The repeated line 'The day before you came' suggests that the appearance of a specific person has caused a significant change in their life.
- It is speculated that this person has transformed the protagonist's life from a monotonous routine into something meaningful and exciting, and that they only realize afterwards how empty or unfulfilled their life was before.
Interpretation
The song 'The Day Before You Came' by
ABBA describes the life of a person before they met someone significant in their life. The lyrics are sung from a first-person perspective and depict a typical, perhaps even monotonous routine. The text repeatedly emphasizes the everyday activities and habits of the protagonist, such as 'Must have left my house at eight, because I always do' and 'I must have gone to lunch at half past twelve or so'.
These routines don't seem particularly exciting, as reflected in lines like 'I must have kept on dragging through the business of the day'. The protagonist doesn't even realize they are sad, suggesting they are living in some sort of autopilot mode and may not be fully emotionally present or fulfilled.
The last line of each verse 'The day before you came' implies that the arrival of this particular person has had a significant impact or change in their life. It suggests that this person has transformed the protagonist's life from a monotonous routine into something meaningful and exciting. It also suggests that the protagonist only realized how empty or unfulfilled their life was before this person arrived.