In the mid 1970s, Chapin focused on social activism, including raising money to combat hunger in the United States and co-founding the organization World Hunger Year, before returning to music with On the Road to Kingdom Come. He also released a book of poetry, Looking...Seeing, in 1977.
His fellow Long Islanders loved him for his support of local artists, as well. He and his wife Sandy raised funds for the Performing Arts Foundation, a now-defunct local theatre group. They also supported the Long Island Ballet. The band shell at Huntington's Hecksher Park is named for Harry Chapin.
Chapin died on July 16, 1981 in an automobile accident on the Long Island Expressway at the age of 38. He was headed west from Huntington Bay, where he lived with his wife and three children, to perform a concert in Eisenhower Park in Nassau County when his car was struck by a truck. An autopsy showed that he had suffered a heart attack, but it could not be determined whether that occurred before or after the collision. Supermarkets General, the owner of the truck, paid $12 million in the ensuing litigation.
Empty
Harry Chapin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Empty morning, day won't start.
Well, I got no place to go now,
I really do not know how
To like my life, now that you're gone.
Empty mailbox, empty head.
Empty promise, empty bed.
But no one's here, You must be gone.
I guess I took you for granted,
I thought of us as one.
But now the laugh's on me 'cause your half of me
Just took off with the sun.
Empty pocket, empty day.
Empty feeling won't go away.
Well, I never meant to use you,
And I never thought I'd lose you.
But no one's here and you are gone.
Empty closet, empty heart.
Empty morning, day won't start.
Well, I got no place to go now,
I really do not know how
To like my life, now that you're gone.
I got an empty icebox, I got an empty head.
And it's an empty morning in my empty bed.
There's nothing in the mailbox there's nothing in my heart.
And I'm feeling kind of lonely 'cause the day won't start.
The song "Empty" by Harry Chapin depicts the emptiness and loneliness that a person feels after their loved one leaves them. The lyrics paint a picture of a person who is struggling to come to terms with the fact that their partner is no longer with them. The emptiness is not only present in their surroundings, but also in their heart and mind. The empty closet signifies the absence of the partner's clothes and belongings, which makes the person feel like a part of them is gone as well. The empty morning indicates how difficult it is for the person to start their day without the presence of their partner. They feel lost and hopeless, not knowing how to like their life now.
The person cannot believe that their partner left them, and the promise of staying together seems empty now. The thought of them leaving seems surreal, but the reality of the situation is that they have left. The person admits that they took their partner for granted and didn't realize how important they were until they were gone. They thought of themselves as a unit, but now they feel like half of them is gone with their partner.
The chorus repeats the same lines about the emptiness in their closet, heart, and morning, emphasizing the extent of their loss. The last verse describes the emptiness in their icebox and head, highlighting how the person's emptiness permeates everything around them.
Overall, the song is a poignant reminder of the pain that comes with losing someone you love and how it can leave you feeling empty and lost.
Line by Line Meaning
Empty closet, empty heart.
My closet is empty, and so is my heart.
Empty morning, day won't start.
My day is starting empty and won't begin.
Well, I got no place to go now,
I have nowhere to go anymore.
I really do not know how
I don't know how I'll cope.
To like my life, now that you're gone.
I don't know how to move on now that you're not around.
Empty mailbox, empty head.
My mailbox is empty, and so is my mind.
Empty promise, empty bed.
Your promise seems empty, and my bed is empty.
I really can't believe in the thought of you just leaving.
I can't accept that you've left me behind.
But no one's here, You must be gone.
Since nobody's around, you must have left.
I guess I took you for granted,
I realized too late that I didn't appreciate you enough.
I thought of us as one.
I always assumed that we were united.
But now the laugh's on me 'cause your half of me
I'm the one who was wrong. Your half of our relationship left.
Just took off with the sun.
You disappeared as if following the sun.
Empty pocket, empty day.
I'm broke and have nothing to do.
Empty feeling won't go away.
I have an unending feeling of emptiness.
Well, I never meant to use you,
I didn't intend to exploit you.
And I never thought I'd lose you.
I didn't expect to lose you.
But no one's here and you are gone.
You're not here, and there's nobody else around.
I got an empty icebox, I got an empty head.
My fridge is empty, and so is my mind.
And it's an empty morning in my empty bed.
I wake up alone every day in a vacant bed.
There's nothing in the mailbox there's nothing in my heart.
Neither my heart nor my mailbox has anything in it.
And I'm feeling kind of lonely 'cause the day won't start.
I feel lonely because my day doesn't seem to begin.
Lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HARRY F. CHAPIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@12speeder
Had this album for a while when it first came out, hadn't played the whole thing--then I found myself divorce, in a pretty much empty house, nothing to do-so I put on this album and came to this song. I was actually looking for something to cheer me up. Thanks a lot Harry (I said sarcastically), but it one hell of a good song, covers most of the bases. Thanks for posting.
@adreabrooks11
Those background lines:
"Guess I gotta be
"Like the circus man;
"Swallow the knife
"As well as I can"
They get me every time! Under-rated part in an under-rated song.
@kris33078
Thanks for posting, have moved to many miles, to keep my records, been waiting to hear this. Love this song.
@brandonjoncas1582
If i ever had the blessing of having some of this mans masterpieces i wouldent be losing em any time soon personally :)
@mllm1
I love this song. I related to it when I was a young man and single. Now I’m happily married thank god, but I still love this song.
@jackied8812
sad but light hearted at the same time..such simple lyrics and an honest voice singing them, making them come alive..I love the voice over who sings "guess I gotta be like the circus man, swallow the knife as well as I can." So true!
@kris33078
Love this record.
@eternalise
Was just sitting on my empty bed, in my empty room on an empty morning, strumming my (empty - I don't use picks so I never drop them in the hole) guitar and attempting to write again (lyrics were never my strong point) and had to stop and do a little research...I've always said that the best songs are the ones that come easily and feel familiar, as though they always were - It reminded me of my first real band; a "working" band, playing 3 sets of covers a night, new and old, mainly for the joy of playing that 4th set-if allowed-which would consist entirely of our originals, and the biggest compliment was when we'd sneak an original in with the covers some nights and people would come up and ask "what was that? I can't remember the name and it's driving me crazy, I love that song!" or some such thing and we'd say "that was the first time we've played that, it's an original" and realize people thought something we'd created fit in with the classics and hits we surrounded it with.
It was a big deal because my brother and I, the songwriters, would thoroughly check to be sure those "gifts" weren't already a song our subconscious was presenting as something new before we put our names on them. I wince when I hear obviously ripped off songs/melodies or over-used chord progressions because I've scrapped so many songs over the years once I realized I was unknowingly (at first) aping something I'd heard somewhere before, and was naive enough to think others did the same.
TL;DR: To make a long story short (too bad I don't possess Harry's penchant for story telling as this concept itself could make a decent story-song) I ended up scrapping the song I was working on when I realized did it first and better, and ended up listening to this entire album again for the first time in 20 years instead. I'd played a "Taxi" or a "W O L D" over the years but hadn't seriously sat down and devoted my full attention to an entire album of Harry's in ages and it was well worth the song I had to sacrifice to get here. "Harry, keep the change."