‘September’ is a song by the American band Earth, Wind & Fire released as a single in 1978. Initially included as a track for The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1, ‘September’ was very successful commercially and reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart, No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart. The song remains a staple of the band's body of work and has been sampled, covered, remixed, and re-recorded numerous times. It was added to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important" in 2018.
Using a chord progression written by Earth, Wind & Fire guitarist Al McKay, vocalist Maurice White and songwriter Allee Willis wrote the song over one month. Willis was initially bothered by the gibberish "ba-dee-ya" lyric White used through the song, and begged him to rewrite it: "I just said, 'What the f*** does 'ba-dee-ya' mean?' And he essentially said, 'Who the f*** cares?' I learned my greatest lesson ever in songwriting from him, which was never let the lyric get in the way of the groove." The song was included on the band's first compilation—The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1—solely to boost sales with original content.
According to Maurice White, he got the idea for this song in an unlikely place: a hotel room in Washington DC while there was some kind of protest going on below. Said White, "There's all these cats screaming and throwing things and going crazy and this tune just evolved." Although several theories about the significance of the date have been suggested, the songwriter Maurice White claimed he simply chose the 21st due to how it sounded when sung. His wife, Marilyn White, however, claimed that September 21 was the due date of their son, Kahbran, according to lyricist Allee Willis.
‘September’ has been one of the biggest commercial and critical successes of Earth, Wind & Fire's career, and vocalist Philip Bailey considers it one of the group's best songs. The song was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry and certified gold in the US (until the RIAA lowered the sales levels for certified singles in 1989, a Gold single equaled 1 million units sold.) ‘September’ was later certified Gold for digital sales by the RIAA, and has sold over 2 million digital copies in the US as of September 2017. Record World called it a "smooth, quick song that captures the mood of autumn nostalgia, and should capture radio audiences too." In 2021, Rolling Stone included ‘September’ at No. 65 on their updated list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."
Labels – ARC, Columbia
Songwriters – Al McKay, Maurice White, Allee Willis
Producers – Charles Stepney, Maurice White
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]Do you remember
The twenty-first night of September?
Love was changin' the minds of pretenders
While chasin' the clouds away
Our hearts were ringin'
In the key that our souls were singin'
As we danced in the night, remember
How the stars stole the night away, oh yeah
[Chorus]
Hey, hey, hey
Ba-dee-ya
Say, do you remember?
Ba-dee-ya
Dancin' in September
Ba-dee-ya
Never was a cloudy day
[Post-Chorus]
Ba-du, ba-du, ba-du, ba-du
Ba-du, ba-du, ba-du, ba-du
Ba-du, ba-du, ba-du-da
Ba-du, yeah
[Verse 2]
My thoughts are with you
Holdin' hands with your heart to see you
Only blue talk and love, remember
How we knew love was here to stay
Now December
Found a love we shared in September
Only blue talk and love, remember
True love we share today
[Chorus]
Hey, hey, hey (Yeah, yeah, yeah)
Ba-dee-ya
Say, do you remember?
Ba-dee-ya (Oh)
Dancin' in September
Ba-dee-ya (Hey)
Never was a cloudy day
And we'll say ba-dee-ya (Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya)
Say, do you remember?
Ba-dee-ya (Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya)
Dancin' in September
Ba-dee-ya (Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya)
Golden dreams were shiny days (Dee-ya)
[Bridge]
The bells was ringin', oh-oh
Our souls were singin'
Do you remember never a cloudy day? Yow
[Chorus]
And we'll say ba-dee-ya (Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya)
Say, do you remember?
Ba-dee-ya (Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya)
Dancin' in September
Ba-dee-ya (Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya)
Never was a cloudy day (Dee-ya)
And we'll say ba-dee-ya (Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya)
Say, do you remember?
Ba-dee-ya (Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya)
Dancin' in September
Ba-dee-ya (Ba-dee ya, dee-ya)
Golden dreams were shiny days (Dee-ya)
[Outro]
Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya, dee-ya
Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya, dee-ya
Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya, dee-ya, dee-ya
Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya, dee-ya
Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya, dee-ya
Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya, dee-ya, dee-ya