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Cover of Our Time in Eden by 10,000 Maniacs
Cover: Our Time in Eden

Song · 10,000 Maniacs

“These Are Days” by 10,000 Maniacs

From the album Our Time in Eden (1992)

“These Are Days” by 10,000 Maniacs appears on 48 radio countdowns from 19 stations between 1992 and 2026. It was first released in 1992 on the album Our Time in Eden. Its best result is #9 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1992. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #16 alternative song of 1992, #497 alternative song of all time and #281 of the '90s.

48countdowns
19stations
#9best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
1992–2026years charted

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These Are Days

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"These Are Days" was the first taste of 10,000 Maniacs' 1992 album Our Time in Eden, and it sounds like a band throwing open every window in the house. Natalie Merchant wrote the words and built the melody with guitarist Robert Buck, and producer Paul Fox gave it a bright, generous shine.

Buck is the secret engine, and his credits read like a pawnshop inventory: electric sitar, lap steel, pedal steel, mandocello, banjo, plus acoustic and electric guitars. Dennis Drew fills the corners with Hammond organ, piano and accordion, Steven Gustafson's bass keeps a light step, and Jerome Augustyniak's drums get an extra kick from Paulinho da Costa's percussion. Merchant, who adds piano of her own, floats over the whole jangling carnival in that warm, unhurried voice, sounding in no rush to let the moment go.

Ed Thacker recorded and mixed it, and that November it climbed all the way to the top of Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks. The band kept it close for years afterward: they played it for MTV Unplugged in 1993, and it resurfaced on the 2016 live album Playing Favorites with Mary Ramsey singing lead.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1992 54 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1992 107
1992 9 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1992 91
1992 60 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1992 105
1992 54 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1992 101
1992 17 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1992 100
1992 37 CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON CFNY Top 102 Songs of 1992 102
1993 56 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1993 107
1993 78 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1993 91
1993 39 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1993 101

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1994 230 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 397 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1994 73 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1995 214 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1996 384 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 70 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1999 140 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 470 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 405 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 429 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 137 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 173 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
2000 173 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 175 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 1686 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2001 445 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 175 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 867 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 175 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 175 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 257 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) 885
2005 176 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2007 777 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2007 495 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2008 778 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 801 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 118 WYEP WYEP 913 Essential Songs 913
2010 821 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 849 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 886 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 928 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2021 528 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2022 830 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2023 61 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 1006 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2023 601 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2024 106 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2025 131 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs 800
2026 866 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180

Also listed as: These are Days.

Charting alongside it in 1992

Best songs of 1992 →
  1. 1Friday I'm in LoveThe Cure
  2. 2Under the BridgeRed Hot Chili Peppers
  3. 3DriveR.E.M.
  4. 4OneU2
  5. 5JeremyPearl Jam
  6. 6TomorrowMorrissey

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