MacDermot was born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of a Canadian diplomat. He was educated at Upper Canada College and Bishop's University (Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada). He received a Bachelor of Music from Cape Town University, South Africa and made a study of African music his specialty. He also studied the piano privately with Neil Chotem.
MacDermot won his first Grammy Award for the Cannonball Adderley recording of his song "African Waltz" (the title track of the album of the same name) in 1960.
MacDermot moved to New York City in 1964 where, three years later, he wrote the music for the hit musical Hair, which he later adapted for the 1979 film. Its Broadway cast album won a Grammy Award in 1969. The song from the musical Hair "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" reached number one for six weeks in 1969. The song Hair reached number one on the charts in 1969. His next musicals were Isabel's a Jezebel (1970) and Who the Murderer Was (1970), which featured British progressive rock band Curved Air. MacDermot had another hit with the musical Two Gentlemen of Verona (1971), which won the Tony Award for Best Musical. For that show, MacDermot was nominated for a Tony for best music and won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music. His later musicals, however, including Dude and Via Galactica (both 1973) and The Human Comedy (1984), were not successful on Broadway.
MacDermot's film soundtracks include Cotton Comes to Harlem, a 1970 blaxploitation film starring Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques and Redd Foxx, based on Chester Himes' novel of the same name; Rhinoceros (1974) starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, and directed by original Broadway Hair director Tom O'Horgan; and Mistress (1992). MacDermot wrote his own orchestrations and arrangements for his theatre and film scores.
In 1979, MacDermot formed the New Pulse Band, which performs and records his original music. The band played as part of the on stage band in the 2009 Broadway revival of Hair. MacDermot's oeuvre also includes ballet scores, chamber music, the Anglican liturgy, orchestral music, poetry, incidental music for plays, band repertory and opera. In 2009 MacDermot was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame.
Film director Jeff Lunger is in the post-production phase of a documentary on the life and work of MacDermot. Galt Macdermot lived on Staten Island. He has a son, Vincent MacDermot, who plays the trombone and drums on some albums. He also has a daughter, Elizabeth MacDermot, who teaches English at Staten Island Technical High School.
On November 22, 2010, MacDermot was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by SOCAN at the 2010 SOCAN Awards in Toronto.
MacDermot's music is popular with collectors of jazz and funk. Working with jazz musicians such as Bernard Purdie, Jimmy Lewis and Idris Muhammad, MacDermot created pieces that prefigured the funk material of James Brown. In recent decades, his work has become popular with hip-hop musicians including Busta Rhymes, who sampled "Space" from MacDermot's 1969 record Woman Is Sweeter for chart-topper "Woo hah!!", and Run DMC, who sampled the Hair song "Where Do I Go?" for their Grammy Award-winning "Down with the King". Handsome Boy Modelling School ("The Truth"), DJ Vadim, DJ Premier and Oh No have all sampled the same segment from "Coffee Cold", from Shapes of Rhythm (1966). As part of his Special Herbs series, rapper MF Doom sampled three MacDermot songs from Woman Is Sweeter: "Cathedral" for his song "Pennyroyal", "Space" for "Cinqfoil", and "Princess Gika" for "Hyssop". In 2006, rapper, Oh No, released an album produced completely with MacDermot samples, titled Exodus into Unheard Rhythms. Spanish hip-hop group SFDK used MacDermot's "Coffee Cold" for their song "Ternera Podrida" off the 2006 album "Original Rap University". The indie rapper J-Dilla used a sample of MacDermot's song Golden Apples (Part II) on his last album Donuts for his song Mash in 2006.
Hair
Galt Macdermot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm hairy noon and night, hair that's a fright
I'm hairy high and low, don't ask me why, Don't know
It's not for lack of bread, like the Grateful Dead
Darlin', give me a head with hair, long beautiful hair
Shining, gleaming, steaming, flaxen, waxen
Give me down to there hair, shoulder length or longer
Hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair
Flow it, show it, long as God can grow it, my hair
Let it fly in the breeze and get caught in the trees
Give a home to the fleas in my hair
A home for fleas, (yeah) a hive to bees, (yeah) a nest for birds
There ain't no words for the beauty, the splendor, the wonder of my
Hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair
Flow it, show it, long as God can grow it, my hair
I want it long, straight, curly, fuzzy, snaggy, shaggy
Ratty, matty, oily, greasy, fleecy, shining, gleaming
Streaming, flaxen, waxen, knotted, polka dotted
Twisted, beaded, braided, powdered, flowered and confettied
Bangled, tangled, spangled and spaghettied
They'll be ga ga at the go go when they see me in my toga
My toga made of blond, brilliantined, biblical hair
My hair like Jesus wore it, Hallelujah, I adore it
Hallelujah; Mary loved her son, why don't my mother love me?
Hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair
Flow it, show it, long as God can grow it, my hair
Flow it, show it, long as God can grow it, my hair
Flow it, show it, long as God can grow it, my hair
Flow it, show it, long as God can grow it, my hair
The song "Hair" by Galt MacDermot is a powerful anthem about individuality and freedom. The singer sings about his hairy body, which he considers beautiful and unique. He celebrates his hair's wildness and abundance, claiming that it's not just a lack of hygiene or a matter of poverty (like the Grateful Dead's hippie look), but a conscious choice to be different. The chorus asks for more hair, specifically "long beautiful hair, shining, gleaming, steaming, flaxen, waxen, hair that flows down to there." This refrain is repeated several times, symbolizing the desire for self-expression and self-acceptance, even if it goes against conventional norms or expectations.
The second verse describes some of the uses and benefits of hair, beyond its cosmetic value. Hair can act as a shelter or habitat for small creatures, like fleas or bees or birds, creating a micro-ecosystem that sustains life. This image reinforces the idea of interconnectedness and diversity, suggesting that everything has a purpose and a role to play. The list of hair types is extensive, ranging from straight to curly, from fuzzy to oily, from ratty to matty, from braided to beaded, from flowered to spaghettied. This catalogue captures the diversity of human appearances and experiences, suggesting that there's no one way to be or look, and that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The last lines of this verse, which mention a toga made of blond, brilliantined, biblical hair, evoke a religious or mythical context, perhaps alluding to the Greek or Roman culture, where hair was a sign of power and prestige.
Line by Line Meaning
She asks me why, I'm just a hairy guy
She wants to know why I look so hairy all the time, but I have no idea.
I'm hairy noon and night, hair that's a fright
I have hair all over my body, it's scary to see.
I'm hairy high and low, don't ask me why, Don't know
My hair grows everywhere, I can't explain why.
It's not for lack of bread, like the Grateful Dead
I'm not broke like the Grateful Dead, I just have a lot of hair.
Darlin', give me a head with hair, long beautiful hair
I want a woman with beautiful long hair.
Shining, gleaming, steaming, flaxen, waxen
Her hair should shine, sparkle, and be smooth and soft like flax or wax.
Give me down to there hair, shoulder length or longer
I want her hair to be long, down to her shoulders or even longer.
Here, baby, there, momma, everywhere, daddy, daddy
I want to see long hair on every person, girl, and boy, everywhere I go.
Flow it, show it, long as God can grow it, my hair
Let your hair grow long and wild, and show it off like it's something to be proud of.
Let it fly in the breeze and get caught in the trees
I want my hair to be free, blowing in the wind and getting tangled in the branches.
Give a home to the fleas in my hair
I don't mind having fleas in my hair, they can make a home there.
A home for fleas, (yeah) a hive to bees, (yeah) a nest for birds
My hair can be a home for all sorts of creatures, like fleas, bees, and birds.
There ain't no words for the beauty, the splendor, the wonder of my Hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair
My hair is indescribably beautiful, glorious, and wonderful.
I want it long, straight, curly, fuzzy, snaggy, shaggy
I want my hair to be all kinds of textures, from straight and shiny, to curly and fuzzy.
Ratty, matty, oily, greasy, fleecy, shining, gleaming
Even if my hair gets ratty, matted, oily, or greasy, I still want it to shine and gleam.
Streaming, flaxen, waxen, knotted, polka dotted
My hair can be long and flowing like flax, or smooth and polished like wax, or even knotted and polka-dotted.
Twisted, beaded, braided, powdered, flowered and confettied
I want my hair to be twisted, braided, beaded, and decorated with flowers, powder, and confetti.
Bangled, tangled, spangled and spaghettied
I want my hair to be adorned with bangles, tangled and wild, bejeweled and spangled, and even looking like spaghetti.
They'll be ga ga at the go go when they see me in my toga
People will be amazed and impressed when they see me dressed up in my toga.
My toga made of blond, brilliantined, biblical hair
My toga will be made of blonde hair that's been styled with an oily substance, like a biblical figure.
My hair like Jesus wore it, Hallelujah, I adore it
My hair is styled the way Jesus wore his, and I love it and think it's wonderful.
Hallelujah; Mary loved her son, why don't my mother love me?
I wish my mother loved me as much as Mary loved her son, Jesus, especially my love for my hair.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Galt Mac Dermot, Gerome Ragni, James Rado
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind