29 Best Songs With Days Of The Week In The Title
Whether you have the Monday blues or are looking forward to Saturday night, the days of the week pop up in the songs we love. Whatever your favorite day of the week may be, you are certain to find a song about it.
Here are some of the best songs with days of the week in the title.
1. “Monday, Monday” – The Mamas & The Papas
Song Year: 1966
Many of us don’t care for Mondays because it is the start of the work week. But when your woman leaves you on a Monday, all the more reason to sing about it.
The Mamas & The Papas scored their only number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with the single. The song also won them a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group.
2. “Ruby Tuesday” – The Rolling Stones
Song Year: 1967
‘Ruby Tuesday’ is a song written about Keith Richards’ girlfriend at the time, Linda Keith, a fashion model with ruby red hair. She was instrumental in the discovery of Jimi Hendrix.
Richards’ lyric about the way she would ‘change with every new day’ and yet he will miss her, suggests their relationship would not last. The song would become the Stones’ fourth number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100.
3. “Sunday Bloody Sunday” – U2
Song Year: 1983
One of U2’s signature songs, ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’, is a politically-motivated anthem about The Troubles in Northern Ireland. The lyrics paint a picture of the destruction that the war brought to their homeland.
The track is widely regarded as one of the best protest songs of all time. Rolling Stone voted it as one of 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.
4. “Saturday Night” – Bay City Rollers
Song Year: 1973
S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night! The Scottish pop band Bay City Rollers chanted the catchy hook to the top of the charts in both the US and Canada.
The song is a celebration of going out on a date with your favorite girl on Saturday night, dancing the night away, and having a ball. The Rollers did have a ball with this song as it was their only number-one hit.
5. “Friday On My Mind” – The Easybeats
Song Year: 1965
There are a lot of great songs written about Friday. After a long work week, Friday is the much-anticipated start of the weekend. No band captures the sentiment quite like The Easybeats.
The Australian rock band had an international hit with the single, charting in the Top 10 in several countries. The song begins with the bad feeling Monday brings, Tuesday a bit better. The week goes by so slowly when you are anticipating having a great time on the weekend.
6. “Blue Monday” – New Order
Song Year: 1983
New Order formed when Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis died by suicide. He took his life on a Sunday, which prompted the lyrics to ‘Blue Monday’.
Although the song is an upbeat synth-pop dance track, the lyrics reflect some of the gloomy feelings their former bandmate struggled with during his life. It was released as a 12-inch single and became the best-selling 12-inch single of all time.
7. “I Met Him on a Sunday” – The Shirelles
Song Year: 1958
Pioneers of the girl group genre, The Shirelles first released ‘I Met Him on a Sunday’ in 1958. They would end up with seven Top 20 hits.
The girl sings about her relationship with a boy who she met on a Sunday. They dated on Wednesday, she kissed him on Thursday and never heard from him on Friday. When he showed up on Saturday, it was ‘bye bye baby’.
8. “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)” – Elton John
Song Year: 1973
In glam rock fashion that could only be Elton John, ‘Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)’ was the first single released from his chart-topping album, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.
The song is fast-paced as the action on a Saturday night. Getting drunk, looking for girls, and getting into brawls are all just another night out at the pub. John’s energetic piano playing is pure rock and roll that we could only feel on a Saturday night.
9. “Tuesday Afternoon” – The Moody Blues
Song Year: 1968
The Moody Blues released ‘Tuesday Afternoon’ as their second single following ‘Nights In White Satin’ from the album, Days of Future Passed, in 1967. A year later it was released as a single.
Lead singer-guitarist Justin Hayward wrote the song while revisiting a park that his mother used to take him to when he was growing up. The song is mellow and dreamy, the trees drawing you near as you drift into self-reflection.
10. “I Don’t Like Mondays” – The Boomtown Rats
Song Year: 1979
In 1979, a sixteen-year-old girl went on a shooting spree in San Diego, California, killing two adults and injuring several children. When asked why she did it, she replied without remorse, ‘I don’t like Mondays’.
Bob Geldof wrote the song about the girl whose ‘silicon chip inside her head gets switched to overload’. He also looks at the girl from her parents’ perspective, taken totally by surprise as to why their daughter would do such a thing.
11. “Saturday Night Special” – Lynyrd Skynyrd
Song Year: 1975
A Saturday night special is an inexpensive handgun that, according to Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd, is only good for putting ‘a man six feet in the hole’.
The lyrics recount several scenes involving the cheap firearm. Whether a cheating spouse, a lying poker buddy, or a self-inflicted mishap, each results in dire consequences. The song was selected as the first single from their album, Nuthin’ Fancy.
12. “Black Friday” – Steely Dan
Song Year: 1975
A financial crisis in 1869 over the price of gold in America dubbed ‘Black Friday’ inspired the swing-pop duo Steely Dan to write a song about it. It was included on their fourth album, Katy Lied.
The lyrics tell the story of someone who sees the crisis unfolding and plans to grab what he is owed and hide in a small town in Australia. There seems to be little remorse in his actions as he looks forward to a life of ‘no socks and shoes’ while feeding the kangaroos.
13. “Manic Monday” – The Bangles
Song Year: 1986
Pop group The Bangles summarized how most of us feel about Monday: we wish it was still Sunday. The song, written by Prince, has been compared to the 1966 classic, ‘Monday, Monday’ from The Mamas & The Papas.
Awoken from a pleasant dream by an early alarm clock, not knowing what to wear, rushing so as not to miss the train to work, all puts the manic into our Mondays. The Bangles narrowly missed a number-one hit with the track, peaking at number two on charts in the US, the UK, and Canada.
14. “Saturday in the Park” – Chicago
Song Year: 1972
Singer-songwriter Robert Lamm recounts a relaxing day in Central Park in New York City on the 4th of July with Chicago’s ‘Saturday in the Park’. The song was a hit, peaking at number three and lifting their album Chicago V to number one on the Billboard 200.
The lyrics do capture a relaxing day in the park, with people laughing and smiling, enjoying ice cream while a man sings songs with his guitar. It seems like a long wait to get there, but celebrating a day in the park makes every Saturday feel like the 4th of July.
15. “Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon” – Queen
Song Year: 1975
‘Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon’ is the shortest track on one of the greatest albums of all time, Queen’s A Night at the Opera, running a mere one minute and eight seconds.
Written by Freddie Mercury, the song takes us day-by-day through the activities of the singer: off to work on Monday, bicycling Wednesday evening, and Thursday at the zoo. The week happily ends with what we have all been waiting for, lazing on a Sunday afternoon.
16. “Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.” – Simon & Garfunkel
Song Year: 1964
‘Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.’ is the title track from Simon & Garfunkel’s debut studio album. The record’s lack of success spurred Paul Simon to complete his debut solo album while Art Garfunkel returned to Columbia University in New York.
The song is about a man watching his lover sleep early in the morning, so beautiful. But his heart breaks, for he has to leave her because he made the mistake of robbing a liquor store.
17. “Friday I’m in Love” – The Cure
Song Year: 1992
The Cure takes us through the week with ‘Friday I’m in Love’ from their album, Wish. Often considered a goth or an alternative rock band, the Cure scored an international hit with this pop song.
The singer does not care what happens on a Monday, it can be blue or black. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are all insignificant as well. It does not matter what happens as long as you make it to Friday when you have the freedom to be in love.
18. “Rainy Days and Mondays” – Carpenters
Song Year: 1971
Comparing a Monday with a gloomy, rain-filled day pretty much sums it up. The singer has a serious case of the blues, with ‘nothin’ to do but frown’.
The soft rock duo Carpenters had a hit single with ‘Rainy Days and Mondays’, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. The feelings of loneliness and sadness are universal, and the juxtaposition of rainy days and Mondays is songwriting at its best.
19. “Gloomy Sunday” – Billie Holiday
Song Year: 1941
Not every song about the weekend is a happy one. One of the most melancholy songs ever recorded is ‘Gloomy Sunday’, a Hungarian composition first published in 1933 during the Great Depression.
The song gained popularity when it was recorded by jazz singer Billie Holiday in 1941. The lyrics are from someone contemplating suicide. There is a real sense of despair in the message, although the music lends to a feeling of peace and tranquility.
20. “Thursday” – Pet Shop Boys
Song Year: 2013
From their album, Electric, the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys released ‘Thursday’. It would be the highest-charting single from the album.
The singer is trying to convince his lover to come over on Thursday and stay for the weekend. It feels like an attempt to save a relationship, a plea for one more chance to try and find the happiness they once shared.
21. “Come Monday” – Jimmy Buffet
Song Year: 1974
Finally a song about someone looking forward to Monday. Jimmy Buffet’s ‘Come Monday’ was written to his wife while he was in California on tour. He looks forward to escaping the brown haze of L.A. and having his wife back by his side.
The song reached number three on the Adult Contemporary chart and is one of his more popular songs to perform in concert.
22. “Thursday’s Child” – David Bowie
Song Year: 1999
David Bowie was inspired by the Eartha Kitt biography titled, ‘Thursday’s Child’, a book he read when he was 14 years old. The image of the cover stuck with him, and the title became a song he released on his album, Hours.
The song is from someone reflecting on their past, somewhat depressed at the lack of achievement. That is until he meets someone new and the future is something to look forward to, a beacon of hope.
23. “Another Saturday Night” – Sam Cooke
Song Year: 1963
Sam Cooke wrote the hit single ‘Another Saturday Night’ while staying in a motel in the UK that did not allow female guests. He laments having just been paid and has no honey to help him spend his money. When a friend sets him up with his sister, she reminds him of a cat by the name of Frankenstein.
The song reached number one in Canada and peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was released on Cooke’s final studio album, Ain’t That Good News, before his untimely death.
24. “Tuesday’s Gone” – Lynyrd Skynyrd
Song Year: 1973
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Tuesday’s Gone’ from their debut album is a remarkably sad song that pulls at the heartstrings. Not something that you would normally expect from the whiskey-soaked Southern rock band.
Tuesday is a reference to a woman that the singer must leave, the train a metaphor for his journey into the uncertain future. He laments that ‘she had to be free’ and that he must somehow find a way to carry on.
25. “Sunny Sunday” – Joni Mitchell
Song Year: 1994
One of the shortest songs Joni Mitchell ever wrote, ‘Sunny Sunday’, was released on her Grammy Award-winning album, Turbulent Indigo.
The song is about a woman who treats one sunny day like the next, pulling down the shades, and hiding from the light. Every night she takes her pistol and shoots at the streetlight, but always misses. If she ever hits it, it will be a sign for her to leave and move on.
26. “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” – Katy Perry
Song Year: 2010
Some of the best parties we have ever been to are those that you can’t remember. Such is the case with Katy Perry’s ‘Last Friday Night’ (T.G.I.F.)’ from her third studio album, Teenage Dream.
The lyrics come from a teenage girl who is trying to piece together the clues of what happened at her Friday night house party. From too many shots to dancing on tabletops, you tell yourself, never again. But the fun is too addictive and you look forward to next Friday night when you can do it all over again.
27. “Pleasant Valley Sunday” – The Monkees
Song Year: 1967
Written by Carole King and her then-husband Gerry Goffin, ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’ became a hit for the pop-rock group, The Monkees. The song reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one in Canada.
The song is a tongue-in-cheek look at life in the suburbs, with rows of houses that all look the same and everybody barbecuing. It is enough to numb the soul and the narrator longs for a change of scenery.
28. “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” – Johnny Cash
Song Year: 1970
‘Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down’ was written by Kris Kristofferson and became a hit for Johnny Cash. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs.
The lyrics tell the story of a man waking up on a Sunday morning, getting himself together, and walking the lonely, empty streets. Bells echo in the distance, like the dreams of yesterday. The wish of being stoned is to escape the loneliness that consumes him.
29. “Friday” – Joe Jackson
Song Year: 1979
From his album, I’m the Man, Joe Jackson’s ‘Friday’ is about everybody’s favorite day of the week: payday.
The song is about a woman named Gilly, a bit of a wild child. All she cares about is getting through the work week and making it to Friday. Don’t we all just want to make it to that magic day?
Top Songs With Days Of The Week In The Title, Final Thoughts
If there were eight days a week like the Beatles suggested, there would certainly be a song about the eighth day. When emotions like love, sadness, and loneliness fill our days, so too will creative inspiration. Regardless of the genre of music – country, folk, pop, or rock & roll – there will always be songs about days of the week that we will spend our days listening to. These are just some of the best songs with days of the week in the title.
