First Day of My Life (Bright Eyes song)

"First Day of My Life"
Single by Bright Eyes
from the album I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
Released	February 7, 2005 (2005-02-07)
Genre	Indie folk
Length	3:09
Label	Saddle Creek
Songwriter(s)	Conor Oberst
Bright Eyes singles chronology
"When the President Talks to God" (2005) "First Day of My Life" (2005) "Easy/Lucky/Free" (2005)
Music video
"First Day of My Life " on YouTube

"First Day of My Life" is a single from the album I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning by American band Bright Eyes, released on February 7, 2005. The song reached number 37 on the UK Singles Chart. ^[1] The video was directed by John Cameron Mitchell.

History

The song was listed at number 266 on Pitchfork Media's "Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s". ^[2]

The music video shows a mix of couples and single people, all wearing headphones while sitting on a couch. The video received a Special Recognition in the 2006 GLAAD Media Awards due to its inclusion of gay and lesbian couples. ^[3]

The song can be heard in the films The Bubble (2006) and Elvis and Anabelle (2007), as well as on the episode of The Sarah Silverman Program entitled "Just Breve" (S03 E08; 2010). It was also featured in the episode of the NBC series Chuck entitled "Chuck Versus the Last Details" (S04 E23).^{[ citation needed ]}

The song has been used for a number of commercials, notably in a 2012 Zillow commercial, as well as in a 2021 Citibank commercial.^{[ citation needed ]}

James Corden selected the song as one of his favorites on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs . ^[4]

In 2013, Stereogum ranked the song number 5 on their list of the 10 greatest Bright Eyes songs, ^[5]

In 2020, Paste ranked the song number 7 on their list of the 15 greatest Bright Eyes songs. ^[6]

The song has also been featured in the Netflix mini series Atypical (S02 E06; 2017), in the Showtime series Ray Donovan (S06 E12), and twice in the CW series Roswell, New Mexico (S01 E06; S02 E05).^{[ citation needed ]}

Track listing

1. "First Day of My Life" (Conor Oberst)
2. "When the President Talks to God" (Oberst)
3. "True Blue" (Oberst)

Personnel

• Conor Oberst – voice, guitar; keyboards and piano on track 3
• Jesse Harris – guitar
• Tim Luntzel – bass

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [7]	Silver	200,000‡
United States (RIAA) [8]	Gold	500,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	February 7, 2005 (2005-02-07)	Triple A radio	Saddle Creek	[9]
United Kingdom	March 21, 2005 (2005-03-21)	7-inch vinyl CD		[10]

References

1. "Bright Eyes". Official Charts Company . Retrieved June 20, 2021.
2. Pitchfork (August 17, 2009). "The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s: 500–201". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on May 9, 2014. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
3. Paul, Aubin. "Bright Eyes given Special Recognition from GLAAD awards". Punk News.
4. Young, Kirsty (February 17, 2012). "Desert Island Discs, James Corden". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
5. Everhart, John (April 25, 2013). "The 10 Best Bright Eyes Songs". Stereogum . Retrieved April 17, 2022.
6. Chelosky, Danielle (August 5, 2020). "The 15 Best Bright Eyes Songs". Paste . Retrieved April 17, 2022.
7. "British single certifications – Bright Eyes – First Day of My Life". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved April 9, 2021.
8. "American single certifications – Bright Eyes – First Day of My Life". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved December 29, 2022.
9. "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records . No. 1592. February 4, 2005. p. 22. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
10. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week . March 19, 2005. p. 31.