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.
Somebody To Love
Galt Macdermot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Somebody to love?
Each morning i get up i die a little
Can't barely stand on my feet
Take a look in the mirror and cry
Lord, what you're doing to me
I have spent all my years in believing you
Somebody, somebody
Can anybody find me someone to love
I work hard everyday of my life
I work till i ache my bones
At the end i take home my
Hard earned pay all of my own
I get down on my knees and i start to pray
'til the tears run down from my eyes, lord
Somebody, somebody
Can anybody find me somebody to love
Everyday i try and i try
But everybody want to put me down
They say i'm goin' crazy
They say i got a lot of water in my brain
Got no common sense
I got nobody to believe
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Ooh, somebody
Somebody can anybody find me
Somebody to love
Got no feel, i got no rhythm
I just keep losing my beat
I'm ok, i'm alright
Ain't gonna face no defeat
I just got to get out of this prison cell
One day i'm gonna be free, lord
Find me somebody to love
Find me somebody to love
Find me somebody to love
Find me somebody to love
Find me somebody to love
Find me somebody to love
Find me somebody to love
Find me somebody to love
Find me somebody to love
Somebody, somebody, somebody, somebody
Somebody find me somebody
Find me somebody to love
Can anybody find me
Somebody to love
Find me somebody to love!
Find me somebody to love!
The lyrics of "Somebody to Love" by Galt MacDermot revolve around the singer's desperate plea for someone to love. The song speaks to the universal human experience of wanting to find a meaningful relationship or partnership that will bring happiness and comfort to one's life. The opening lines, "Can anybody find me / Somebody to love?" set the tone for the rest of the lyrics, which are filled with a sense of loneliness and frustration.
The singer speaks about how every morning he wakes up feeling like he is dying a little, and he can barely stand on his feet. He looks in the mirror and cries, wondering what is going on with his life. He has spent all his years believing in something, but he cannot find any relief. He is looking for someone to love, someone who will be there for him and make him feel better.
Throughout the song, the singer expresses his struggle to find love and acceptance. He talks about working hard every day of his life but feeling like he is getting put down by everyone around him. He feels like he is going crazy and that no one believes in him. Despite all of this, he continues to search for someone to love who will make him feel better and provide him with the support he needs.
Overall, the song is a powerful expression of human longing for love and acceptance, something that everyone can relate to on some level.
Line by Line Meaning
Can anybody find me
The person is desperately looking for someone to love.
Somebody to love?
The person is questioning if anyone can help them find love.
Each morning I get up I die a little
The person feels unhappy and unfulfilled with their life every day.
Can't barely stand on my feet
The person feels physically and emotionally drained.
Take a look in the mirror and cry
The person is unhappy with their appearance and their life.
Lord, what you're doing to me
The person is feeling helpless and hopeless, and questions why God is causing them such suffering.
I have spent all my years in believing you
The person has believed in God their entire life but is starting to doubt their faith due to their unhappiness and suffering.
But I just can't get no relief, lord
The person is unable to find any relief or happiness in their life.
Somebody, somebody
The person is calling out for help to find someone to love.
I work hard everyday of my life
The person works hard every day to make a living.
I work till I ache my bones
The person works so hard that they are physically exhausted and in pain.
At the end I take home my
After working hard, the person takes their hard-earned pay home.
Hard earned pay all of my own
The person is proud that they are able to provide for themselves with their own hard work.
I get down on my knees and I start to pray
The person turns to prayer for comfort and hope.
'Til the tears run down from my eyes, lord
The person is so upset and emotionally overwhelmed that they cry while praying.
Everyday I try and I try
Despite their struggles, the person keeps trying every day to find love.
But everybody want to put me down
The person feels like everyone in their life is trying to bring them down or discredit them.
They say I'm goin' crazy
Other people in the person's life attribute their unhappiness to mental instability.
They say I got a lot of water in my brain
People are making fun of the person and claiming they are not smart or rational.
Got no common sense
The person feels like they lack basic understanding or knowledge.
I got nobody to believe
The person feels like no one believes in them or their struggles.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
This is an expression of frustration and anger.
Ooh, somebody
The person again calls out for help in finding someone to love.
Find me somebody to love
This is the person's main refrain, repeatedly asking for help in finding love and happiness.
Got no feel, I got no rhythm
The person feels like they have no emotional connection or sense of timing in life.
I just keep losing my beat
The person feels like they are unable to keep up with the pace of life or find a steady rhythm.
I'm ok, I'm alright
Despite their struggles, the person is trying to put on a brave front and convince themselves they are doing okay.
Ain't gonna face no defeat
The person is determined not to let their struggles bring them down or defeat them.
I just gotta get out of this prison cell
The person feels trapped in their current life situation and wants to find a way out.
One day I'm gonna be free, lord
The person hopes that one day they will be able to find freedom and happiness in their life.
Somebody find me somebody
This is the person's plea again for help in finding someone to love.
Find me somebody to love
This is the person's main refrain, repeatedly asking for help in finding love and happiness.
Can anybody find me
The person is still asking for help in finding someone to love.
Somebody to love
This is the person's ultimate goal, to find someone to love and be loved in return.
Contributed by Hannah R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.