“Sunday Best” stands as a quiet testimonial to the fervent commitment that Handsome Ghost holds to its craft. The song includes gentle crescendos and nuances that do not interfere with the peacefulness of the melody or the sentiment within the lyrics, but significantly enhance the attractiveness of the song.
Handsome Ghost explains that “Sunday Best” is about attending a funeral with somebody you love who is mourning someone you did not know. From there, the interpretation is left to the listener. The song begins with an attention-gripping acoustic guitar riff and sonic accompaniment. When the vocals enter, we learn that the death was expected, but that didn’t prevent the news from coming as a shock. The voice inflection at the word “shock” reinforces the effect of the news and evidences the care that Handsome Ghost placed in the writing and recording of the song.
Just prior to the second verse, there is a crescendo (at 1:30) in which the notes create the sense of bubbles accelerating as they rise to the surface of a deep body of water. The relationship described during second verse allows fundamentally different conclusions, but we want to believe it was the person’s father who sadly passed. And we choose to view the final lines of “I am gonna try” as being akin to the final scene of the movie “Saving Private Ryan.” In the final scene, the elderly gentleman seeks reassurance that he lived up to his commitment to lead a good life, a commitment made upon the death of someone he respected.
Handsome Ghost is multi-instrumentalist Eddie Byun and vocalist Tim Noyes. They collaborated in the writing and the production of “Sunday Best.” As a second connection with “Saving Private Ryan,” like the Tom Hanks character in the movie, Noyes' previous profession was teaching. We recognize the importance of teachers, but we're pleased that Noyes made the change.
“Sunday Best” by Handsome Ghost
Lyrics of “Sunday Best” by Handsome Ghost (some best guesses)
Too soon
Awaking in the dark
We knew
Still came as a shock
And we drive
Back to your hometown
Low white
Roses on the ground
So you speak your mind
In your Sunday best
Share some secret code
That I don't know yet
Here was good to you
It was sweet and pure
All the nights that you
Could've begged him for
In this hotel bed
When you switched the light
I am gonna try
I am gonna try
I am gonna try
Now I am gonna try
