"Day by Day" is a folk rock ballad from the 1971 Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak musical Godspell. It is the third song in the show's score and is reprised as the closing number for the 1973 film version.
Contents
Lyrics
The song's refrain follows a prayer ascribed to the 13th-century English bishop Saint Richard of Chichester:
May I know Thee more clearly,
Love Thee more dearly,
Follow Thee more nearly.
The version in Godspell follows more closely the wording in Hymn 429 of the 1940 Hymnal:
Day by day,
Dear Lord, of thee three things I pray:
To see thee more clearly,
Love thee more dearly,
Follow thee more nearly,
Day by day.
"Day by Day" was first a hit in Australia, where both Judy Stone and Colleen Hewett released competing versions of the track in late 1971. Hewett's version reached #2 in the Kent Music Report, while Stone's take reached #25.
In 1972, a version of the song from the album Godspell (1971) by the original off-Broadway cast was released as a single in the US, and attributed simply to the group name "Godspell". Robin Lamont was the lead singer, uncredited. "Day by Day" spent 14 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at the #13 position on July 29, 1972. Billboard ranked it as the No. 90 song for 1972.
Other well-known cover versions
In March 1972, Holly Sherwood released a medley including "Day by Day" as her first single, produced by Tony Orlando for Rocky Road Records. Her version went to number 4 on the US Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart, number 91 Cash Box, and number 29 in the United Kingdom.
In popular culture
In the 2000 film Meet the Parents, Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) is asked by Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro) to say grace before dinner, resulting in Greg reciting the lyrics from "Day by Day."