The song “One Day” was first released as a single in 2008 by American-Jewish artist Matisyahu (born Matthew Paul Miller), known for his reggae and alternative rock music and his acting career. The song was included in Matisyahu’s third album Light released in 2009 and it reached #85 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Matisyahu was born in 1979 from a Jewish conservative family, and for the first years of his life he was forced to follow the rigid rules of his religion. As a teenager he got closer to the hippie culture and, by the time he finished high school, he began to explore the essence of religion until a real turning point at the time of a meaningful trip to Israel, during which he became aware of the “real existence of God“.
His work as an artist began in early 2000s and his interest for religion and different kinds of music led him to create a unique sound, consisting of the fusion between reggae and Jewish hymns. The spiritual feature of his music earned him the title of inventor of the Hasidic raggae where the keywords are peace, hope and faith. Accompanying Matisyahu in his career is the band formed by guitarist Aaron Dugan, bassist Josh Werner and drummer Jonah David, with whom he recorded his debut album Shake Off the Dust… Arise in 2004.
“Now, more than a decade later, Matisyahu has formed a band that truly gives itself over to the music on par with his lyrical desire to connect to something beyond the self.“
The connection between Matisyahu’s messages with religion and consciousness is evident in his lyrics. Also the origin of his artistic name comes from his cultural background, in fact Matisyahu means “gift of YAHWEH“.
Matisyahu is also recognized for his social commitment, he participated in the making of the album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur with the cover of John Lennon’s “Watching the Wheels” for the Make Some Noise project, which involved many artists as U2, R.E.M.and The Cure.
His collaboration with singer and songwriter Nadim Azzam, born from Egyptian-Palestinian father and Jewish mother, shows his engagement in celebrating diversity and intercultural relationships and the two of them recently concluded their tour in 12 University campuses. The idea of this tour came from a performance Matisyahu attended in Jerusalem with Palestinian and Israeli artists. The purpose of this tour is to speak to young minds and show the possibility of coexistence of different cultures and beliefs, that can only enrich the world we live in.
“There’s a lot of history [between peoples] and if we dwell in that, to continually say who is right and who is wrong, it goes in circles […] But to come together to make music, to interact as human beings… it supersedes that. And that’s what we’re trying to show.”
“One day” speaks about hope for a brighter day, when children will be able to play in peace and wars will be over. A day when violence will not be on our daily basis, and it is almost like the singer is asking God to give him time to witness this peaceful future.
Lyrics
Sometimes I lay
Under the moon
And thank God I’m breathing
Then I pray
Don’t take me soon
‘Cause I am here for a reason
Sometimes in my tears I drown
But I never let it get me down
So when negativity surrounds
I know some day it’ll all turn around because…
All my life I’ve been waiting for
I’ve been praying for
For the people to say
That we don’t wanna fight no more
There will be no more wars
And our children will play
One day [6x]
It’s not about
Win or lose
‘Cause we all lose
When they feed on the souls of the innocent
Blood-drenched pavement
Keep on moving though the waters stay raging
In this maze you can lose your way (your way)
It might drive you crazy but don’t let it faze you, no way (no way)
Sometimes in my tears I drown (I drown)
But I never let it get me down (get me down)
So when negativity surrounds (surrounds)
I know some day it’ll all turn around because…
All my life I’ve been waiting for
I’ve been praying for
For the people to say
That we don’t wanna fight no more
There will be no more wars
And our children will play
One day [6x]
One day this all will change
Treat people the same
Stop with the violence
Down with the hate
One day we’ll all be free
And proud to be
Under the same sun
Singing songs of freedom like
One day [4x]
All my life I’ve been waiting for
I’ve been praying for
For the people to say
That we don’t wanna fight no more
There will be no more wars
And our children will play
One day [6x]