Saturday

Saturday is, classically, the best day of the week. Surprisingly, not all Saturday songs are as upbeat as one might expect. Sure, there are a bunch of songs that frame Saturdays as celebrations. Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)” off of his seminal record, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Khalid’s “Saturday Nights”, the 80’s inspired “Saturdays (Feat. HAIM)” by Twin Shadow, and the actual 80’s hit, “Saturday Love” by Cherrelle and Alexander O’Neal all comply. These songs seem to suggest Saturday is the day for going out on the town, but, more importantly, making human connections. It’s the day to cherish your loved ones, or meet someone new. The rest of the Saturday songs are not as cheerful but almost always agree with the classic Saturday diagnosis. “Saturday” by Real Estate, “Another Saturday Night” by Sam Cooke, “Sad Saturday” by JOBA, and “Suicide Saturday” by Hippo Campus have a different perspective on Saturdays. These songs are about not having someone to love on Saturday, or the pressures of Saturday’s social scene. Both sets of songs view Saturday in a similar light but don’t always share the same attitude.
Despite these more gloomy interpretations, my favorite Saturday song is Chicago’s swinging “Saturdays in the Park”. This song is, in my opinion, the essence of a perfect Saturday. It’s almost hard to listen to them sing, “Funny days in the park / Every day’s the Fourth of July / People reaching, people touching / A real celebration / Waiting for us all.” Even if you can’t be physically together just yet, Saturdays are days to tell people that you love them.