Born in Brooklyn, Nilsson moved to Los Angeles as a teenager to escape his family's poor financial situation. While working as a computer programmer at a bank, he grew interested in musical composition and close-harmony singing and was successful in having some of his songs recorded by various artists, such as the Monkees. In 1967, he debuted on RCA Victor with the LP Pandemonium Shadow Show, followed by a variety of releases that included a collaboration with Randy Newman (Nilsson Sings Newman, 1970) and the original children's story The Point! (1971).
He created the first remix album, Aerial Pandemonium Ballet, in 1971, and recorded the first mashup song ("You Can't Do That") in 1967. His most commercially successful album, Nilsson Schmilsson (1971), produced the international top 10 singles "Without You" and "Coconut". His other top 10 hit, "Everybody's Talkin'" (1968), was featured prominently in the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy. A version of Nilsson's "One," released by Three Dog Night in 1969, also reached the U.S. top 10.
During a 1968 press conference, The Beatles were asked what their favorite American group was and answered "Nilsson." Sometimes called "the American Beatle," he soon formed close friendships with John Lennon and Ringo Starr, joining them in the Hollywood Vampires drinking club. He and Lennon produced one collaborative album, Pussy Cats (1974). After 1977, Nilsson left RCA, and his record output diminished. In response to Lennon's 1980 murder, he took a hiatus from the music industry to campaign for gun control. For the rest of his life, he recorded only sporadically. In 1994, Nilsson died of a heart attack while in the midst of recording what became his last album, Losst and Founnd (2019).
The craft of Nilsson's songs and the defiant attitude he projected remain touchstones for later generations of indie rock musicians. Nilsson was voted No. 62 in Rolling Stone's 2015 list of the "100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time," where he was described as "a pioneer of the Los Angeles studio sound" and "a crucial bridge" between 1960s psychedelia and the 1970s singer-songwriter era. The RIAA certified Nilsson Schmilsson and Son of Schmilsson (1972) as gold records, indicating over 500,000 units sold each. He earned two Grammy Awards (for "Everybody's Talkin'" and "Without You").
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Nilsson
Discography
Spotlight on Nilsson (1966)
Pandemonium Shadow Show (1967)
Aerial Ballet (1968)
Skidoo (1968) (soundtrack)
Harry (1969)
Nilsson Sings Newman (1970)
The Point! (1970) (studio album and soundtrack)
Nilsson Schmilsson (1971)
Son of Schmilsson (1972)
A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night (1973)
Son of Dracula (1974) (soundtrack)
Pussy Cats (1974)
Duit on Mon Dei (1975)
Sandman (1976)
...That's the Way It Is (1976)
Knnillssonn (1977)
Flash Harry (1980)
Popeye (1980) (soundtrack)
Losst and Founnd (2019)
All I Think About Is You
Harry Nilsson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When all I think about is you?
Not knowing where I'm going, what am I to do
When all I think about is you?
I'll stand an hour knocking
Knowing that my heart is mockin' me
She doesn't live here anymore
I don't know why I bother, what else can I do
When all I think about is you?
Dream maker, heartbreaker, how can dreams come true
When all I dream about is you?
I'll stand an hour knocking
Knowing that my heart is mockin' me
She doesn't live here anymore, oh
How can I run away from darkness at the close of day
When all I think about is you?
Not knowing where I'm going, what am I to do
When all I think about is you?
I don't know why I bother, what else can I do
When all I think about is you?
The lyrics to Harry Nilsson's song "All I Think About Is You" are a poignant portrayal of obsession and unrequited love. The opening lines reveal the singer's longing for escape from the darkness at the close of the day. However, the refrain "When all I think about is you" emphasizes the fact that the singer's thoughts never stray far from the object of their unrequited affections. The lyrics are suffused with a sense of desperation as the singer acknowledges that they are lost, unsure of where they're going or what they should do. The image of standing outside someone's door, knocking for an hour, evokes a sense of futility and the idea that the singer is trapped in a cycle of longing and rejection.
The chorus adds another layer to the sense of helplessness as the singer asks how dreams can come true when all they can dream about is the object of their obsession. The final verse once again reinforces the sense of confusion and desperation as the singer asks how they can run away from the darkness when they can't escape their own thoughts. The final lines "I don't know why I bother, what else can I do when all I think about is you?" underscore the idea that the singer is trapped and unable to escape their feelings.
Line by Line Meaning
How can I run away from darkness at the close of day
When all I think about is you?
Despite the approaching darkness, I can't escape my thoughts of you.
Not knowing where I'm going, what am I to do
When all I think about is you?
I am lost and directionless because my thoughts are consumed by you.
I'll stand an hour knocking
Knowing that my heart is mockin' me
She doesn't live here anymore
I will wait outside for hours even though I know deep down that you are no longer there for me.
I don't know why I bother, what else can I do
When all I think about is you?
I question my own efforts, but can't help but constantly think of you.
Dream maker, heartbreaker, how can dreams come true
When all I dream about is you?
You are the one who inspires my dreams but also the one who crushes them, leaving me hopeless.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HARRY NILSSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Chris Morgan
This has to be the most Hauntingly Beautiful Love Song ever written. I have been listening to this Masterpiece for over 40 years and it still Tears me to shreds every time I hear it. This is the Anthem for anyone who has ever Loved someone and then Lost them, but you still hopelessly go to the places that you used to go with them, in a Lovelorn Daze, knowing that they are no longer there, but you do it anyway, just hoping to see their face again, one more time, so that you could Plead with them to come back to you. It evokes that Yearning feeling that you have when you are in that situation. Anyone who has loved deeply and lost will know exactly what I mean. Heavenly Music.
Thomas Augustyn
I agree completely. I first heard this song in 1978 when a sensed breakup was eminent. It happened and I played the whole album (cassette) over and over. I actually got back together with the same girl 41 years later and played for her explaining it's history. We both looked at each other realizing what a mistake we had made years earlier.
Susan Green
Absolutely
Eleanor Ratcliffe
When it breaks into the violins half of the way through ..I'm reminded that nilsson sadly isn't amongst us anymore ..which is why we must appreciate even more so the wealthy musical legacy he left behind for us
Kevy Nova
This whole album is a masterpiece. What a crying shame that RCA didn’t promote it.
Martine1love
It is a shame. Let us all post his songs on all our social media...
Kevy Nova
@D Cleveland yup. Bad timing.
D Cleveland
Elvis died
B PAGE
This is my all-time favourite song from Harry Nilsson [who wrote and performed the song], when I was 10 years old and I remember the song when my family went to a week holiday in Plymouth and this song was played on a radio on a white Rover V8, my late father`s favourite car and I like to dedicate this song to my family members, who are longer with us, especially to my late brother Nick passed away in February this year.
sally archer
Rest in Peace Nick x