Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American … Read Full Bio ↴Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of all time, King is the most successful female songwriter of the latter half of the 20th century in the US, having written or co-written 118 pop hits on the Billboard Hot 100. King also wrote 61 hits that charted in the UK, making her the most successful female songwriter on the UK singles charts between 1962 and 2005.

King's major success began in the 1960s when she and her first husband, Gerry Goffin, wrote more than two dozen chart hits, many of which have become standards, for numerous artists. She has continued writing for other artists since then. King's success as a performer in her own right did not come until the 1970s, when she sang her own songs, accompanying herself on the piano, in a series of albums and concerts. After experiencing commercial disappointment with her debut album Writer, King scored her breakthrough with the album Tapestry, which topped the U.S. album chart for 15 weeks in 1971 and remained on the charts for more than six years.

King has made 25 solo albums, the most successful being Tapestry, which held the record for most weeks at No. 1 by a female artist for more than 20 years. Her record sales were estimated at more than 75 million copies worldwide. She has won four Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. She has been inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a performer and songwriter. She is the recipient of the 2013 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, the first woman to be so honored. She is also a 2015 Kennedy Center Honoree.

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carole_King

Studio albums
Writer (1970)
Tapestry (1971)
Music (1971)
Rhymes & Reasons (1972)
Fantasy (1973)
Wrap Around Joy (1974)
Thoroughbred (1976)
Simple Things (1977)
Welcome Home (1978)
Touch the Sky (1979)
Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King (1980)
One to One (1982)
Speeding Time (1983)
City Streets (1989)
Colour of Your Dreams (1993)
Love Makes the World (2001)
A Holiday Carole (2011)

Someone You Never Met Before
Carole King Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

When the sun goes down
Over the canyon
And you're feeling
Lost and abandoned
Some stranger may knock
Upon your door
And it may be like knowing
Someone you never met before

Now it may be a common sensation
It may lead to sadness or elation
But it's a chance
That you never had before
And it may be like knowing
Someone you never met before

Don't be afraid
The game's not been played
Until you discover your love
She's waiting for you
And all you gotta do
Is let her in, and get her in
And don't live life lonely

So when the sun
Goes down on the city
Don't give in to feeling self-pity
Your lover may be
Knocking on the door
And it may be like knowing

Someone you never met before
Someone you never met before

Overall Meaning

In Carole King's "Someone You Never Met Before," the lyrics depict the idea that anything can happen on any given day. As the sun goes down over the canyon and you feel lost and abandoned, a stranger might knock on your door. This stranger has the potential to change your life, as it may lead to discovering love or even a brand new set of experiences. The song speaks to taking chances and stepping out of one's comfort zone, even though it may lead to sadness or elation.

The chorus encourages not being afraid to take this chance because love is waiting for you. All that needs to be done is to let her in and not live life lonely. The second verse repeats the first, emphasizing that when the sun goes down on the city, do not give into self-pity because one never knows who might be knocking on that door. This final repetition underscores the message that Carole King is conveying throughout the song - take a chance because one never knows what could happen in life.

Line by Line Meaning

When the sun goes down
As night falls

Over the canyon
Upon the landscape

And you're feeling
When you feel

Lost and abandoned
Alone and forsaken

Some stranger may knock
An unfamiliar person could come knocking

Upon your door
To your home's entrance

And it may be like knowing
It might feel like you know

Someone you never met before
Someone completely new to you

Now it may be a common sensation
This experience may not be uncommon

It may lead to sadness or elation
It could result in either sadness or happiness

But it's a chance
Yet it's an opportunity