“Have a Nice Day” by Stereophonics

As the story goes, “Have a Nice Day” originated with a taxi ride the Stereophonics took, in San Francisco, as tourists. The taxi driver himself, by the looks of things, was an eccentric poet. So he began dropping some deep, introspective lines on the crew, if you want to term his utterings as such. And those musings ended up serving as the lyrical basis of this piece.

That noted, it has been ascertained by some analysts that “Have a Nice Day” doesn’t really have a meaning. And yes, there’s a lot being put forth which, in a way, does not seem to have any sort of comprehensive connection.

But such isn’t necessarily the case. Instead, the worldview of the aforementioned cab driver takes front and center. But where the problem lies, if you will, is that what he believes doesn’t really sound logical, or let’s say that he reads like someone who perhaps has too much negativity on his mind.

And at the center of his beliefs is this sort of disdain for the world, so to speak. For instance, as relayed in the second verse, he commences his conversation with the Stereophonics “straight off” with “coming here is hell”, with said “hell” being a reference to San Francisco. Later on, it is also revealed that he ‘hates tourists’, including his passengers. 

And concerning the cabby’s beef with society at large, that would have something to do with residents ‘dressing the same’, with the only actual difference between people, in his perception, being their “accents”. Also, under his estimation, true “artists” are a thing of the past. In his eyes, the artists we have today the types who are only in it for the dough.

Have a nice day!

With all of that noted, of course the title/chorus, “have a nice day”, which is also spoken by the cabbie upon the Stereophonics exiting his vehicle, is sarcastic. Or put otherwise, that sentiment is totally out of place in terms of all of the other disturbing things he has said.

So in interpreting the matter, it can be said that the cabbie was suffering from a split personality. Anyone who has regularly patronized inner city cabs knows that sometimes you may come across such a driver, one who is talkative and also not quite all there. And that’s not to say that dude is clinically crazy. But if anything, it’s clear that he’s in a location in life that he’s not pleased with and is perturbed accordingly.

When did the Stereophonics release “Have a Nice Day”?

“Have a Nice Day” was formally launched on June 11 of 2001, from the Stereophonics “Just Enough Education to Perform” album.

Credits

“Have a Nice Day” was composed by Kelly Jones (who is a founding member of the group). The music production duo, Bird and Bush, is credited with the song’s production.

Chart

“Have a Nice Day” was No. 5 in the UK, becoming the band’s 5th single to chart top-5 in the UK. In Scotland and Ireland, it peaked at No. 2 and No 5 respectively.

Stereophonics’ “Just Enough Education to Perform” Album

“Just Enough Education to Perform” was released as Stereophonics’ 3rd studio album on the 11th of April, 2001.

Recording took place in the following UK based recording studios:

• Real World Studios, located in Box, a village in Wiltshire
• Monnow Valley Studio located in Rockfield, Whitecastle

The 45 minutes and 46 seconds long album was jointly produced by a production duo from New Zealand, made up of Marshall Bird and Steve Bush. The album was released on V2 Records, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group.

In the United States, “Just Enough Education to Perform” peaked at No. 188 on the Billboard 200. By 2009, it had recorded sales of almost 100,000 copies in the US. In the UK, its performance was more impressive as it reigned atop the OCC for two consecutive weeks in 2001. It repeated a similar performance in January of the following year. The album ended up becoming one of UK’s best-selling albums of 2001 and 2002. The UK’s BPI has certified it 6x platinum. Aside from the OCC in the UK, the album topped the OCC charts in Scotland as well as the IRMA in Ireland.

This album produced three singles that enjoyed top-ten statuses in the UK. One such single was “Have a Nice Day”.