Ahbez composed the song "Nature Boy", which became a #1 hit for eight weeks in 1948 for Nat "King" Cole. He lived a bucolic life. From at least as early as the 1940s, he travelled in sandals and wore shoulder-length hair and beard, and white robes. He camped out below the first L in the Hollywood sign above Los Angeles, studied Oriental mysticism, and claimed to live on three dollars a week, sleeping outdoors with his family, and eating vegetables, fruits, and nuts. He was known to friends as ahbe.
Nature Boy
Eden Ahbez Lyrics
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A very strange and chanted boy
They said he wondered very far, very far
Over land and sea
A little shy and sad of eye
But very wise was he
And then one day
And though we spoke of many things
Fools and kings
This he said to me
"The greatest thing you′ll ever learn...
Is just to love, and be love in return"
The opening lines of Nature Boy describe an unusual person, who people view with suspicion and yet he is also highly respected for his wisdom. The word "strange" is often used in a negative context, but here, it highlights the boy's uniqueness. He is not bound by the conventions of society and has wandered far and wide, exploring different lands and cultures. Despite being reticent and downcast, the boy's words reveal him to be a profound philosopher.
The tone of the song shifts in the second verse, where the boy appears to interact with the singer (and possibly the listener). The encounter is referred to as "magic" and it seems to have a significant impact on the singer. The exchange covers a range of topics, but it is the final line that resonates the most, "The greatest thing you'll ever learn...Is just to love, and be loved in return." This is a simple yet profound statement that encapsulates a universal truth about the human experience- that love is the ultimate goal and source of fulfillment.
Line by Line Meaning
There was a boy
Once upon a time, there was a boy
A very strange enchanted boy
This boy was peculiar and had a mystical aura
They said he wandered very far, very far
It was rumored that he traveled to distant lands and across oceans
Over land and sea
His travels took him across various terrains and bodies of water
A little shy and sad of eye
Despite his adventurous nature, he was introverted and appeared melancholy
But very wise was he
However, he possessed great wisdom
And then one day
One fateful day
One magic day he passed my way
He crossed paths with the artist in a serendipitous moment
And though we spoke of many things,
During their conversation, they discussed a variety of topics
Fools and kings
Among them were discussions of simpletons and royalty
This he said to me
The boy imparted some knowledge to the singer
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn...
"The most significant lesson you will learn in life is...
Is just to love, and be loved in return"
...to love others and be loved in return"
Writer(s): Ahbez Eden
Contributed by Natalie A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
David
There was a boy
A very strange enchanted boy
They say he wandered very far, very far
Over land and sea
A little shy
And sad of eye
But very wise was he
And then one day
A magic day he passed my way
And while we spoken of many things
Fools and kings
This he said to me
The greatest thing you'll ever learn
Is just to love and be loved in returm
The greatest thing you'll ever learn
Is just to love and be loved in return
Monica FL
There was a boy
Il y avait un garçon
A very strange enchanted boy
Un garçon très étrange enchanté
They say he wandered very far, very far
Ils disent qu'il errait très loin, très loin
Over land and sea
Sur la terre et la mer
A little shy and sad of eye
Un peu timide et triste de l'œil
But very wise was he
Mais il était très sage
And then one day
Et puis un jour
A magic day he passed my way
Une journée magique, il passe mon chemin
And while we spoke of many things
Et tandis que nous parlions de beaucoup de choses
Fools and kings
Fous et les rois
This he said to me
C'est ce qu'il m'a dit :
" The greatest thing you'll ever learn
" La plus grande chose que vous aurez jamais apprendre
Is just to love and be loved in return "
Est juste d'aimer et d'être aimé en retour "
nelsy million
Behind The Music
"Nature Boy" was Nat King Cole's first big hit, since then it has been covered over 1223 times! The story behind the song is even more sensational.
Joe Moondad has the strange story of eden ahbez:
"In the late 40s, there was a rumor that there was a "hermit," disenchanted and disillusioned with the world, supposedly "out-of-sync" with society, living in California in a cave under one of the L’s in the Hollywood sign.
No one really cared about this strange man, until one night in 1947, when someone tried to enter backstage at the Lincoln Theater in Los Angeles. Nat King Cole was playing there, and the man said he had something for Cole. Of course, the employees didn't let the strange man see Cole, so he gave whatever he had with Cole's manager.
What he had was a song sheet, which Cole would later take a look at. Cole liked the song and wanted to record it, but he had to find the strange man. When asked, the people who saw the man said he was strange, indeed, with shoulder-length hair and beard, wearing sandals and a white robe.
Cole finally tracked him down in New York City. When Cole asked him where he was staying, the strange man declared he was staying at the best hotel in New York - outside, literally, in Central Park. He said his name was eden ahbez (spelled all in lower-case letters). The song he gave Cole was titled, "Nature Boy." It became Cole's first big hit, and was soon covered by other artists through the years, from Frank Sinatra and Sarah Vaughan to Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, most recently.
Of course, the media went crazy about the strange, mysterious man who handed Nat King Cole, one of the biggest hits during that time. Everyone went out to try to find out more about him.
What little they found was that he was once an orphan, who never stayed at one place very long, living in various foster homes. He explained he just never fit in and was always searching, for something.
["They say he wandered very far...
Very far, over land and sea..."
They found out he would hop freight trains and walked across country several times, subsisting solely on raw fruits and vegetables, then one day he completely vanished.
["A little shy and sad of eye...
But very wise was he..."]
He finally showed up again in the Hollywood hills. When a policeman stopped the strange, long-haired man with beard, sandals, and robe, ahbez simply replied, "I look crazy but I'm not. And the funny thing is that other people don't look crazy but they are."
["And then one day...
One magic day he passed my way..."]
He then showed up backstage at Nat King Cole's concert in Los Angeles, to present him with the song, "Nature Boy." No one seems to really know why he selected Cole, there were some rumors that he came out of hiding when he began to hear about the racism going on and trouble throughout the world, and he thought "King" was the best person at that time to pass his message along.
["While we spoke of many things...
Fools and Kings..."]
When he was asked about racism, he replied, "Some white people hate black people, and some white people love black people, some black people hate white people, and some black people love white people. So you see it's not an issue of black and white, it's an issue of Lovers and Haters."
It was that theme of love that he continued to talk about, what was missing in the world, and what would be needed in the future if we are to survive.
ahbez would eventually get his message out, especially after the counter-culture finally caught up with him and the hippie movement began, when other artists such as Donovan, Grace Slick, and the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson sought him out. He also wrote songs for Eartha Kitt and had another song recorded by Sam Cooke.
In 2009, Congressman Bill Aswad recited the last lyrics of the song before the Vermont House of Representatives at the passing of his state's same-sex marriage bill in '09.
Author Raymond Knapp described the track as a "mystically charged vagabond song" whose lyrics evoked an intense sense of loss and haplessness, with the final line delivering a universal truth, described by Knapp as "indestructible" and "salvaged somehow from the perilous journey of life."
["This he said to me...
The greatest thing you'll ever learn...
Is just to love and be loved in return."]
➖➖➖
"George Alexander Aberle (April 15, 1908 – March 4, 1995), known as eden ahbez, was an American songwriter and recording artist of the 1940s to 1960s, whose lifestyle in California was influential in the hippie movement.
He was known to friends simply as ahbe.
Ahbez composed the song "Nature Boy", which became a No. 1 hit for eight weeks in 1948 for Nat "King" Cole.
Living a bucolic life from at least the 1940s, he traveled in sandals and wore shoulder-length hair and beard, and white robes. He camped out below the first L in the Hollywood Sign above Los Angeles and studied Oriental mysticism. He slept outdoors with his family and ate vegetables, fruits, and nuts. He claimed to live on three dollars per week.
In the mid 1950s, he wrote songs for Eartha Kitt, Frankie Laine, and others, as well as writing some rock-and-roll novelty songs. In 1957, his song "Lonely Island" was recorded by Sam Cooke, becoming the second and final Ahbez composition to hit the Top 40.
In 1959, he began recording instrumental music, which combined his signature somber tones with exotic arrangements and (according to the record sleeve) "primitive rhythms". He often performed bongo, flute, and poetry gigs at beat coffeehouses in the Los Angeles area. In 1960, he recorded his only solo LP, Eden's Island, for Del-Fi Records. This mixed beatnik poetry with exotica arrangements. Ahbez promoted the album through a coast-to-coast walking tour making personal appearances, but it sold poorly.
During the 1960s, ahbez released five singles. Grace Slick's band, the Great Society, recorded a version of "Nature Boy" in 1966 and ahbez was photographed in the studio with Brian Wilson during a session for the Smile album in early 1967. Later that year, British singer Donovan sought out ahbez in Palm Springs, and the two wanderers shared a reportedly "near-telepathic" conversation. In the 1970s, Big Star's Alex Chilton recorded a version of "Nature Boy" with the photographer William Eggleston on piano. The song was finally released as a bonus track on the 1992 Rykodisc re-release of the album Third/Sister Lovers.
In 1974, ahbez was reported to be living in the Los Angeles suburb of Sunland, and he owned a record label named Sunland Records, for which he was recording under the name "Eden Abba." From the late 1980s until his death, ahbez worked closely with Joe Romersa, an engineer/drummer in Los Angeles. The master tapes, photos, and final works of eden ahbez are in Romersa's possession.
Ahbez died on March 4, 1995, of injuries sustained in a car accident, at the age of 86. Another album, Echoes from Nature Boy, was released posthumously."
Susan
There was a boy
A very strange enchanted boy
They say he wandered very far,
very far, over land and sea
A little shy and sad of eye
But very wise was he
And then one day
A magic day he passed my way
And while we spoke of many things
Fools and kings
This he said to me
The greatest thing you'll ever learn
Is just to love and be loved in return
The greatest thing you'll ever learn
Is just to love and be loved in return
Sunny Michel
I wish someone would make a movie about this guy.
Literally Shaking
Totally agree. His life story reads like Forrest Gump. Lived a very unique life, somehow managed to bump into, know or interact with famous “movers and shakers” and had success after success without really caring for the financial benefits whatsoever.
Simon Henry
he lived under the hollywood sign and died a pauper
theonlyantony
Do it!!
pevensie lavere
eden ahbez singing this song gives me the feeling of glimpsing the realm beyond this one... thank you eden. xo
tolan65
Same.
tolan65
I is almost as if I am remembering something from another time. Like a message sent from the ether, across space and time.
David
There was a boy
A very strange enchanted boy
They say he wandered very far, very far
Over land and sea
A little shy
And sad of eye
But very wise was he
And then one day
A magic day he passed my way
And while we spoken of many things
Fools and kings
This he said to me
The greatest thing you'll ever learn
Is just to love and be loved in returm
The greatest thing you'll ever learn
Is just to love and be loved in return
Erica
This is my fav version by far.. the mystic in his on tones & vibrations
Jon Doeringer
In 1970, I bought a Life Magazine with an article about this man. He was amazing, looking much like my friends in that year! So far ahead of his time.