Recorded 1971 Length 3:50 | Genre Folk rock Writer(s) Stephen Schwartz | |
"Day by Day" is a song from the 1971 Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak musical Godspell.
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Day by Day is the third song in the show’s score and it is also reprised as the closing number for the 1973 film version. Its 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 Judy Stone's take reached #25.
In 1972, a version of the song sung by the original 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.