Four Seasons In One Day

Melbourne is famous for it's four seasons in the one day, which makes the Crowded House 1991 hit 'Four Seasons In One Day' very relatable. Today alone, it was freezing cold and raining, then the sun came out and it was warm, and then a few minutes later it was grey and windy and the bitter cold returned, before the sun came out again just before it rained again. And the day proceeded to follow this irregular pattern, which is ironically normal weather behaviour for Melbourne. The past week in particular has been crazy weather, which explains why this song has been stuck in my head pretty much all week.

The first time I ever heard the song, I didn't know who the band was, but I thought the style and voice reminded me a lot of the Beatles slower stuff. I don't know if anyone else experienced that, but that's what I always thought. Anyway, it's such a beautiful song; it's so melancholy and poetic, it hits you straight away in the first verse:

Four seasons in one day

Lying in the depths of your imagination

Worlds above and worlds below

The sun shines on the black clouds hanging over the domain

The song is absolutely faultless, however it is really short. I find that has been the case with these types of gentle, yet heartbreaking songs, like Elliot Smith's  'Between the Bars'  (where I spoke about how those precious songs are ephemeral) as well as the Beatles 'For No One'. I love 'Four Seasons In One Day' so much and it rightfully has been placed as a classic, along with their other song 'Don't Dream It's Over', which is perfect to listen to on a rainy day. Sorry for talking about the weather so much, it's just that this year has been crazier weather than usual, which is saying something.