“One Sweet Day” by Mariah Carey (ft. Boyz II Men)

“One Sweet Day” is one of those rare types of songs that is so emotional that even if a listener isn’t familiar with all the lyrics per se, they still know what it is generally about.  And that would be the death of a loved one. More specifically, the singers are actually addressing such an individual, i.e. a person who is dearly-departed from their lives.

The first verse, which is handled by Boyz II Men, relays a sentiment of regret that they never took the opportunity to tell this person how much he and she meant to them.  During the second verse, Mariah expresses shock over just how suddenly this person has passed away.  In other words it never crossed her mind that she would have to live without him or her.  And basically the third verse, which features all of the artists, is likewise a combination of the first two in sentiment.

Meanwhile the bridge lets it be known that their lives will never be the same after the passing of this person(s).  And this is not to imply that they are all singing about the same individual.  Rather the lyrics have a general applicability whereas they can be relayed by anyone suffering from a comparable loss, which is one of the reasons why One Sweet Day proved to be so popular.

And that titular metaphor, if you will, is what the chorus is based on.  You see the singers are not accepting that they will never see their loved ones again.  Instead they are looking forward to meeting reuniting “one sweet day”.  Or stated otherwise, they believe that said individual(s) soul is now in Heaven.  So when the singers themselves ultimately pass away and get their also, they expect it to be a grand reunion with the addressee(s).

Conclusion

So as can be ascertained by the reader, this is a sweet song in and of itself. Indeed just writing about it can make one sentimental. And ultimately the artists did not just dedicate it to their particular deceased loves one who inspired them to write it in the first place. Rather, with the AIDS epidemic being a hot topic during the 1990s, they related it to those who were suffering and dying from that disease also.

“And I know you’re shining down on me from Heaven
Like so many friends we’ve lost along the way
And I know eventually we’ll be together
One sweet day”

Music Video

The direction of the music video to this track was helmed by an old school artist named Larry Jordan.

One Sweet Hit!

“One Sweet Day” was one of Mariah Carey’s greatest hits and by extension, Boyz II Men’s.  In fact in terms of popular reception it is one of the greatest songs in history. For instance, it set a record on the Billboard Hot 100 – which itself was nearly 40 years old by the time this song came out – by holding down the number 1 spot for 16 weeks. And this record remained intact for nearly 25 years. Furthermore, it also reached number one in New Zealand, on Canada Top Singles and on the UK R&B Chart.

Overall One Sweet Day charted in over a dozen countries. And in most cases made it onto the top 10 of the list it was featured on. The track has also been certified triple-Platinum in the USA and double-Platinum in Australia.

Additionally it earned the performing artists a number of accolades. Some of these honors included a Billboard Music Award, an ASCAP Award and a couple of BMI Pop Music Awards, including Song of the Year for 1997.

And in 2011 the readers of the highly-distinguishable Rolling Stone magazine (and website) voted this the ‘Best Collaboration of All Time”.

Concerning the aforementioned Billboard record, no artist was able to tie it until 2017.  Said track was “Despacito” by Daddy Yankee and Luis Fonsi featuring the Biebs. And the record was finally broken in 2019 by Lil Nas X via “Old Town Road” alongside Billy Ray Cyrus (which stayed at number 1 for 19 weeks).

When was “One Sweet Day” Released?

Mariah Carey is the headline artist of this track. It came out, via Columbia Records, as part of her album “Daydream” on 3 October 1995. And about a month later it was also issued as the second single from that project.

Did Mariah Carey write “One Sweet Day”?

Yes. Miss Mariah wrote this song along with the members of Boyz II Men – Wanyá Morris, Nathan Morris, Shawn Stockman and the since retired Michael McCary. And the other co-writer is Walter Afanasieff. Additionally all six of these artists are credited with producing “One Sweet Day”.

It is actually Carey who is recognized as having initiated the writing of this tune. And what prompted her to do so was the death of a friend and fellow musician, David Cole (1962-1995), who was best known as one of the co-founders of C+C Music Factory. It is important to note that Cole was suffering from AIDS at the time of his death.

It was also Carey’s idea to enlist Boyz II Men, who were at their peak around that time, to collaborate on the song. And as fate would have it one of their members, Nathan Morris, was in the process of penning a similarly-themed and -sounding tune, as someone close to the band had recently passed away also. And that individual was named Khalil Rountree, who was the group’s manager and “like a surrogate father” to the boyz.

In relation to the aforementioned reference to the AIDS epidemic and how it inspired the penning of this classic, Mariah Carey’s own elder sister, Alison Carey, was diagnosed with HIV in 1989. However, the good news is that as of the year 2020 Alison is still going strong.

Did “One Sweet Day” win a Grammy?

Interestingly enough the song managed to be nominated for a two Grammys also but did not win any. This is despite the fact that Mariah and Boyz II Men performed it at that ceremony. Indeed there was actually a controversy concerning the way Carey was treated that night (considering her “Daydream” album earned her six nominations in total, though she didn’t win any).