‘Saturday in the Park’ is a song written by Robert Lamm and recorded by the group Chicago for their 1972 album Chicago V. It was very successful upon release, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and became the band's highest-charting single at the time, helping lift the album to No. 1. Billboard ranked it as the No. 76 song for 1972. The single was certified Gold by the RIAA, selling over 1,000,000 units in the U.S. alone.
Cash Box said that "The hornrockers paint a scene of inner-city greenery that's sure to grow to Top 10 by summer's end." Record World called it "a medium-paced rocker with an appropriately summery feel" and with "crisp, tight instrumental arrangements".
According to fellow Chicago member Walter Parazaider, Lamm was inspired to write the song during the recording of Chicago III in New York City on Saturday, July 4, 1970: “Robert came back to the hotel from Central Park very excited after seeing the steel drum players, singers, dancers, and jugglers. I said, 'Man, it's time to put music to this! “However, Lamm recalls the story differently, as he told Billboard magazine: “It was written as I was looking at footage from a film I shot in Central Park, over a couple of years, back in the early ‘70s. I shot this film and somewhere down the line I edited it into some kind of a narrative, and as I watched the film, I jotted down some ideas based on what I was seeing and had experienced. And it was really kind of that peace and love thing that happened in Central Park and in many parks all over the world, perhaps on a Saturday, where people just relax and enjoy each other’s presence, and the activities we observe and the feelings we get from feeling a part of a day like that.”
Like most Chicago singles, ‘Saturday In The Park’ didn't chart in the UK. In America, however, it was their biggest chart hit to that point and also their first Gold single, which at the time meant selling more than a million copies. Movies to use the song include The Spirit of '76 (1990), My Girl (1991), and Little Nicky (2000). TV series to feature the song include The Sopranos (2002), My Name Is Earl (2005) and Fringe (2011).
Label – Columbia
Songwriter – Robert Lamm
Producer – James William Guercio
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1: Robert Lamm, Peter Cetera, Both]Saturday in the park
I think it was the Fourth of July
Saturday in the park
I think it was the Fourth of July
People dancing, people laughing
A man selling ice cream
Singing Italian songs
[Chorus: Robert Lamm (Peter Cetera)]
Eh Cumpari, ci vo sunari
Can you dig it? (Yes, I can)
And I've been waiting such a long time
For Saturday
[Verse 2: Robert Lamm, Peter Cetera, Both (Background)]
Another day in the park
I think it was the Fourth of July
Another day in the park
I think it was the Fourth of July
People talking, really smiling
A man playing guitar (Play the song, play the song, play on)
And singing for us all
[Chorus: Robert Lamm (Peter Cetera)]
Will you help him change the world
Can you dig it? (Yes, I can)
And I've been waiting such a long time
For today
[Bridge: Both]
Slow motion riders fly the colours of the day
A bronze man still can tell stories his own way
Listen children, all is not lost
All is not lost, oh no, no
[Verse 3: Robert Lamm, Peter Cetera, Both]
Funny days in the park
Every day's the Fourth of July (Yes it is)
Funny days in the park
Every day's the Fourth of July
People reaching, people touching
A real celebration
Waiting for us all
[Chorus: Robert Lamm (Peter Cetera)]
If you want it, really want it
Can you dig it? (Yes, I can)
And I've been waiting such a long time
For the day, yeah yeah yeah