About Perfect Day

"Perfect Day" is a song written by American musician Lou Reed in 1972. It was originally featured on Transformer, Reed's second post–Velvet Underground solo album, and as a double A-side with his major hit, "Walk on the Wild Side". Its fame was given a boost in the 1990s when it was featured in the 1996 film Trainspotting and after a star-studded version was released as a BBC charity single in 1997, reaching number one in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Norway. Reed re-recorded the song for his 2003 album The Raven.

The original recording, as with the rest of the Transformer album, was produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson (who also wrote the string arrangement and played piano on the track). The song begins with a short melodic introduction of multiple broken chords, consisting of FM, Gm and Bbm (The Tonic). Its verse is a circle of fifths progression in Bb minor. The song then moves into the chorus, which is written in the parallel major key to the verse. The song has a sombre vocal delivery and a slow, piano-based instrumental backing. The song was written after Reed and his then fiancée (later his first wife), Bettye Kronstad, spent a day in Central Park. The lyric is often considered to suggest simple, conventional romantic devotion, possibly alluding to Reed's relationship with Bettye Kronstad and Reed's own conflicts with his sexuality, drug use and ego.