DANA New Days … New Ways 1972 (FoD114)

DANA’s tenth single scores an easy ten out of ten. Issued on 25 February 1972, New Days … New Ways was one of her most chart-friendly 45s, yet remarkably never made it into the UK Top 50. So what super-duper records prevented it from being a hit? These were the lowest new entries in the five weekends that followed its release: Floy Joy (The Supremes) #50 w/e 27 February, Heart of Gold (Neil Young) #49 w/e 5 March, Sweet Talkin' Guy (The Chiffons) #50 w/e 12 March, Down By The Lazy River (The Osmonds) #50 w/e 19 March, and Stir It Up (Johnny Nash) #50 w/e 26 March. It's the Americans wot did it!

Now 50 years have passed and gone it's safe to say that no TV footage exists of her performing New Days … New Ways, so a lyric video is long overdue. Even better to add what really is a gem of a film showing her having fun in London in 1971. It ends with her arriving by car at Terminal 1, Heathrow Airport. Presumably she then she turned her eyes toward the sky and disappeared. High in the sky in a ring of sunlight she'll be on her way to Germany to promote Who Put the Lights Out, her seventh single. The original soundtrack to the film (FoD#70) only contained snippets of other peoples music and not hers, so this is an alternative to that. Two DANA treats for the price of one.

She was the first to record this Steve Fenwick/Tony Rockliff composition, followed later in 1974 by Conny Vandenbos from the Netherlands. Her version called Zonder Zorgen was the B-side to the Top 10 single, Een Roosje, M'n Roosje. Philippine singer Grace Anne Rivera released a self-titled album in 1978, which included four songs that DANA had covered, including this one.

New days
New ways
Do, da-do, da-do

New days
New ways
Do, da-do, da-do

A barefoot child
Running wild
Yet she lazed away the hours

But time had flown
Now all she owned
Were faded flowers

Too late to save
The wasted days
Afraid to face the years

She turned her eyes
Toward the sky
And disappeared

High in the sky in a ring of sunlight
She'll be on her way
Free from the life she left behind her
Only yesterday

New days
New ways
Do, da-do, da-do

New days
New ways
Do, da-do, da-do

New days (Too late to save)
New ways (The wasted days)
Do, da-do, da-do (Afraid to face the years)

New days (She turned her eyes)
New ways (Toward the sky)
Do, da-do, da-do (And disappeared)


Flying on the wings of a murmuring wind
Before it's passed and gone
Far away but the memory lingers
On and on and on
And on and on and on and...

New days
New ways
Nah, na-nah, na-nah

New days
New ways
Nah, na-nah, na-nah

Steve Fenwick and Tony Rockliff composition