The Day Begins

"The Day Begins" is the opening track from The Moody Blues 1967 album Days of Future Passed. The song (as well as the entire album) was one of the first in a new symphonic sound from The Moody Blues. Prior to this, The Moody Blues primarily performed American style Rhythm & Blues songs, especially with their 1964 hit single "Go Now", which also appeared on their 1965 debut album The Magnificent Moodies.

Days of Future Passed is a concept album ultimately telling the story of an everyman's day from Dawn to Night, with "The Day Begins" opening the album. Rather than representing a time of the day, "The Day Begins" acts more as an overture the album, and features excerpts from "Dawn is a Feeling", "Another Morning", "Forever Afternoon" (better known as "Tuesday Afternoon"), and "Nights in White Satin."

"The Day Begins" was arranged by Peter Knight and performed by the London Festival Orchestra. The original LP of Days of Future Passed credited "The Day Begins" to Redwave/Knight ("Redwave" being a name used to represent the members of the Moody Blues themselves).

About four minutes into the song, "The Day Begins" features a poem which is known as "Morning Glory." Written by the Moody Blues' drummer Graeme Edge, "Morning Glory" ultimately begins the everyman's day concept of the album. On the album, "Morning Glory" was recited by the Moody Blues' keyboardist Mike Pinder. The opening lines from "Morning Glory" are repeated at the end of "Late Lament", the poem at the end of "Nights in White Satin", which ends the Days of Future Passed, effectively opening and ending the album with the same phrase:

Cold hearted orb that rules the night,
removes the colours from our sight.
Red is grey, and yellow, white,
but we decide which is right,
and which is an illusion.

Beginning with this line, "Morning Glory" primarily describes the morning before the sunrise. After this line, the poems continues to describe the early morning. The final line ultimately then describes the sunrise, beginning the day:

Brave Helios, wake up your steeds.
Bring the warmth the countryside needs.

From here, the album continues to the next part of the day, dawn, with "Dawn is a Feeling."

From 1992 through the early 2000s, the Moody Blues toured with shows backed by live orchestras. During these orchestra-backed performances, the show would begin with the orchestra performing an overture featuring excerpts from many of the Moody Blues' songs. The overture acts in the same manner as "The Day Begins", which is an overture to the songs of Days of Future Passed. Towards the end of the overture, the latter half of "The Day Begins" is played, making use of its excerpts from "Tuesday Afternoon" and "Nights in White Satin." Recordings of the overture from the orchestra-backed performances can be found on the Moody Blues live albums: A Night at Red Rocks with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and Hall of Fame.