Karen Carpenter's calm, often somber voice was the most distinctive element of their music, settling in perfectly amidst the precise, lush arrangements provided by her brother Richard. The duo's sound drew more from pre-rock pop than rock & roll, but that didn't prevent the Carpenters from appealing to a variety of audiences, particularly Top 40, easy listening, and adult contemporary. While their popularity declined during the latter half of the '70s, they remained one of the most distinctive and recognizable acts the decade produced.
The Carpenters formed in the late '60s in Downey, CA, after their family moved from their native New Haven, CT. Richard had played piano with a cocktail jazz trio in a handful of local Connecticut nightclubs. Once the family had moved to California, he began to study piano while he supported Karen in a trio that featured Wes Jacobs (tuba/bass). With Jacobs and Richard forming her backup band, Karen was signed to the local Californian record label Magic Lamp, who released two unsuccessful singles by the singer. The trio won a Battle of the Bands contest at the Hollywood Bowl in 1966, which led to a record contract with RCA. Signing under the name The Richard Carpenter Trio, the group cut four songs that were never released. Jacobs left the band at the beginning of 1968.
Following Jacobs' departure, the siblings formed Spectrum with Richard's college friend John Bettis. Spectrum fell apart by the end of the year, but the Carpenters continued performing as a duo. The pair recorded some demos at the house of Los Angeles session musician Joe Osborn; the tape was directed toward Herb Alpert, the head of A&M Records, who signed the duo to his record label in early 1969.
Offering, the Carpenters' first album, was released in November 1969. Neither Offering or the accompanying single, a cover of the Beatles' "Ticket to Ride," made a big impression. However, the Carpenters' fortunes changed with their second single, a version of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "(They Long to Be) Close to You." Taken from the album Close to You, the single became the group's first number one, spending four weeks on the top of the U.S. charts. "Close to You" became an international hit, beginning a five-year period where the duo was one of the most popular recording acts in the world. During that period the Carpenters won two Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist of 1970, and had an impressive string of Top Ten hits, including "Rainy Days and Mondays," "Superstar," "Hurting Each Other," "Goodbye to Love," "Yesterday Once More," and "Top of the World."
After 1975's number-four hit "Only Yesterday," the group's popularity began to decline. For the latter half of the '70s, the duo were plagued by personal problems. Richard had become addicted to prescription drugs; in 1978, he entered a recovery clinic, kicking his habit. Karen, meanwhile, became afflicted with anorexia nervosa, a disease she suffered from for the rest of her life. On top of their health problems, the group's singles had stopped reaching the Top Ten and by 1978, they weren't even reaching the Top 40. Consequently, Karen decided to pursue a solo career, recording a solo album in 1979 with Phil Ramone. The record was not completed at that time (though it would be released in 1996), and she returned to the Carpenters later that year. The reunited duo released their last album of new material, Made in America, in 1981. The album marked a commercial comeback, as "Touch Me When We're Dancing" made it to number 16 on the charts. However, Karen's health continued to decline, forcing the duo out of the spotlight. On February 4, 1983, Karen was found unconscious at her parents' home in Downey; she died in the hospital shortly after due to cardiac arrest, which was later due to the strain on her heart caused by years of crash dieting caused by anorexia nervosa.
After Karen's death, Richard Carpenter concentrated on production work and assembling various compilations of the Carpenters' recorded work. In 1987, he released a solo album called Time, which featured guest appearances by Dusty Springfield and Dionne Warwick. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
from http://music.msn.com/artist/?artist=1607403&contenttype=artistsongs
Crystal Lullaby
Carpenters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can't you see his music brings her
Crystal sleep
He's taking her to where the dolls
Rule the world
And in that land of make believe
Is where he'll leave her sleeping
Softly warm
In a crystal lullaby
He's weaving her a paper castle
Where dancing clowns with tassels made of fur
Welcome her into their world
That lives inside the dreams
Of every little girl
She's guarded by a brave tin soldier
Sitting on her shoulder
Taken there
In a crystal lullaby
Sometimes when I listen to
The velvet song that fills the summer afternoon
Something deep within me sighs
And wishes for the peaceful skies
Of long ago
(*) that wrapped my cares
In silver air
And carried them away
Leaving me ...
And a crystal lullaby
Repeat (*)
The lyrics to Carpenters’ song “Crystal Lullaby” depict a dreamlike state induced by music. The mysterious “he” in the song is a musician singing a “velvet song” that brings the listener into a world of imagination where “dolls rule the world”. The dream is cast with such weight that her “heavy eyelids fall” and the listener is transported to a land of make-believe where paper castles, dancing clowns with tassels for fur, and a brave tin soldier all exist.
The singer longs for the same peaceful skies that once enveloped them in their youth, where music and dreams coexisted within the same veil. The lyrics are whimsical but the underlying melancholy is palpable, a wistfulness for a sense of safety and comfort that now only exist in fragments of memory. The music itself is almost shimmery, the melodies creating an otherworldly soundscape that perfectly embodies the subject matter.
Line by Line Meaning
Listen to the song he sings
The singer is asking the listener to pay attention to the song being sung by someone.
Can't you see his music brings her
The singer is asking if the listener can visualize the effect of the musician's music on the woman in the song.
Crystal sleep
The music of the musician brought crystal sleep to the woman in the song.
As her heavy eyelids fall
The woman's eyes close as she falls into a deep sleep.
He's taking her to where the dolls
The musician is leading the woman in the song to a place where dolls rule the world.
Rule the world
The dolls have the power to control the world in which they exist.
And in that land of make believe
The place where dolls rule the world is a land of make-believe.
Is where he'll leave her sleeping
The musician will leave the woman in the song sleeping in the land of make-believe.
Softly warm
The place where the woman is sleeping is comfortable and warm.
In a crystal lullaby
The woman is sleeping in a lullaby made of crystal.
He's weaving her a paper castle
The musician is making a paper castle for the woman to live in while she sleeps.
Where dancing clowns with tassels made of fur
Inside the paper castle, there are dancing clowns with tassels made of fur.
Welcome her into their world
The clowns inside the paper castle welcome the woman into their world.
That lives inside the dreams
The world inside the paper castle exists only in dreams.
Of every little girl
The world inside the paper castle is something that every little girl dreams of.
She's guarded by a brave tin soldier
The woman is protected by a brave tin soldier while she sleeps inside the paper castle.
Sitting on her shoulder
The tin soldier is sitting on her shoulder while she sleeps.
Taken there
The tin soldier was taken to the paper castle by the musician to guard the woman.
Sometimes when I listen to
The singer is talking about times when they listen to music.
The velvet song that fills the summer afternoon
The singer is referring to a song that they associate with summer afternoons.
Something deep within me sighs
The singer feels a deep sense of longing or sadness.
And wishes for the peaceful skies
The singer longs for a peaceful sky.
Of long ago
The singer is referring to a time in the past when the skies were peaceful.
That wrapped my cares
The peaceful sky provided comfort to the singer, allowing them to forget their worries.
In silver air
The sky was silver and ethereal, filling the singer with a sense of calm.
And carried them away
The peaceful sky carried the singer's worries away, leaving them feeling free.
...
The singer uses ellipsis to indicate the end of the stanza.
And a crystal lullaby
The singer wishes for the same sense of calm and peacefulness provided by the crystal lullaby described earlier in the song.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JOHN BETTIS, RICHARD LYNN CARPENTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
J Parker
on Happy
Wrong lyrics shown. Correct ones --- Happy by Carpenters
I've played the game of love before.
Too young to know
How hard the fall could be;
I never thought I'd try again.
Somehow you brought
The gambler out in me.
You can deal me in this time around.
Even though the odds are high,
We'll play them down.
You may be a chance I need to take,
And the hand I'm holdin' says it's no mistake.
Happy is the way I'm feelin',
And I know it comes from being with you.
All at once my life is changin',
And I know it's 'cause I'm fallin' in love with you.
Fallin' in love with you.
Fallin' in love.
Fallin' in love with you.
If this is luck then let it ride.
If it's the starts,
They're surely on my side.
I've never been so safisfied
By love before;
For all the times I've tried.
These beginnings could mean more
Than the brief affair I bargained for.
Little did I know, when we began,
That my time had come to win a hand.
Happy is the way I'm feelin',
And I know it comes from being with you.
All at once my life is changin',
And I know it's 'cause I'm fallin' in love with you.
Fallin' in love with you.
Fallin' in love.
Fallin' in love with you.
Please forgive me if I seem
To be walking through a waking dream.
Laughter never came so easily;
There's a freedom here that's new to me.
Happy is the way I'm feelin',
And I know it comes from being with you.
All at once my life is changin',
And I know it's 'cause I'm fallin' in love with you.
Fallin' in love with you.
Fallin' in love.
Fallin' in love with you.