Can you understand equality among people at the age of 14?
And we are not talking about gender equality, but the financial means with which we live our daily lives. What is it that angered a 14-year-old boy from Australia named Daniel Johns?
Somewhere in Australia in 1994, Daniel Johns, having participated in a band competition called ‘Pick Me,’ used the demo of the song ‘Tomorrow,’ which is the ‘star’ of today's article.
Daniel Johns was inspired by watching a documentary in which a rich man visits a poor community with the aim of “understanding” poverty, but behaves in a superficial, ostentatious and moralising manner. There was a poor guy who drove a rich guy to a hotel to experience the losses of those less fortunate than him. The rich guy just complains because he wants to leave, and the poor guy tells him he has to wait until tomorrow to leave. Daniel felt the need to protest the hypocrisy of people who judge others from a position of comfort.
Through two verses, he gets straight to the point:
You say that money isn’t everything,
But I’d like to see you live without it.”
The song shot to #1 in Australia and Silverchair were almost immediately dubbed the ‘Nirvana of the South.’ However, behind the glamour of success, Daniel Johns struggled deeply to manage all this fame so early in his life. He later admitted that he felt trapped by the image others had of him, as if they could never see him beyond ‘Tomorrow.’
The lyrics were direct, almost raw, leaving no room for misinterpretation. The title ‘Tomorrow’ serves as a commentary on procrastination: ‘Tomorrow’ things will change, “tomorrow” we will do something, ‘tomorrow’ everything will be resolved. And yet, that tomorrow never comes. The moment passes, the intention fades, and reality remains the same.
‘Tomorrow’ is still played today, and Daniels Johns would surely be proud of the messages he conveyed to humanity through his lyrics and songs.
Did you know about ‘Tomorrow’?
📝: Evangelos Mertzanidis
