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)
Are You Sleeping
Harry Nilsson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Do you know if I am by your side?
Does it matter if you hear me?
When the morning comes I'll be there by your side
And in the morning when I wake up
She may be telling me goodbye, la la la la
And in the evening if we break up
There was a time, we had a time
There was a time, we had a time
There was a time, there was a time
When you were mine
We had a time, we had a time
We had a time, oh what a time
There was a time, there was a time
When you were mine
And in the evening if we go out
Night time will find us at the show
Or we may decide to stay inside
You never know, you never know
You never know, you never know
You never know
Are you sleeping or can you hear me?
Do you know if I am by your side?
Does it matter if you hear me?
When the morning comes I'll be there by your side
La la la
La la la
The lyrics to Harry Nilsson's song "Are You Sleeping?" seem to be an intimate conversation with a sleeping partner. The singer is asking if his partner is sleeping and if they can hear him. He is questioning if his words matter to his partner, if it is important for them to hear him. Then the singers shifts to the morning and states that he will be there by their side when they wake up. This shows the singer's dedication and love for his partner.
However, the following verses show a sense of uncertainty in the relationship. The singer expresses fear of his partner leaving him in the morning and confusion if she decided to break up with him in the evening. He reminisces on the good times they had in the past and tries to hold onto those memories. He also describes a night out or possibly staying in, highlighting that he still wants to make plans and spend time with his partner.
Overall, the lyrics of "Are You Sleeping?" convey a sense of love, fear, and uncertainty in a relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Are you sleeping? Can you hear me?
Asking if the person is paying attention or ignoring the singer's words
Do you know if I am by your side?
Inquiring if the person is aware of the singer's presence
Does it matter if you hear me?
Questioning if the person cares about what the singer has to say
When the morning comes I'll be there by your side
Assuring that the singer will be there for the person when the morning arrives
And in the morning when I wake up
Describing a future event from the singer's perspective
She may be telling me goodbye, la la la la
The singer is anticipating a potential breakup and expressing disappointment with a whimsical phrase
And in the evening if we break up
Imagining a possibility of a split during the evening
I'm wondering why, I'm wondering why
Expressing confusion and uncertainty about what went wrong
There was a time, we had a time
Reflecting on a past relationship
When you were mine
Recalling a moment when the person belonged to the singer
We had a time, oh what a time
Remembering a happy moment from the past
And in the evening if we go out
Picturing a future activity between the two
Night time will find us at the show
Imagining a specific evening itinerary with the person
Or we may decide to stay inside
Anticipating a different choice for the evening
You never know, you never know
Conveying a sense of unpredictability in life's outcomes
La la la
A nonspecific melody used for emphasis or decoration
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HARRY NILSSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Cerph
Are you sleeping? Can you hear me?
Do you know if I am by your side?
Does it matter if you hear me?
When the morning comes, I'll be there by your side
And in the morning, when I wake up
She may be telling me goodbye- la la la la
And in the evening, if we break up
I'm wondering why yiyiee
I'm wondering why yiyiee
Ya ya ya
Ya ya ya
Ya ya ya
There was a time, we had a time
There was a time, we had a time
There was a time, there was a time
When you were mine
We had a time, we had a time
We had a time, oh what a time
There was a time, there was a time
When you were mine
And in the evening, if we go out
Night time will find us at the show- la la la la
Or, we may decide to stay inside
You never know, you never know
You never know, you never know
You never know
whoa whoa whoa
whoa whoa whoa
whoa whoa whoa
Are you sleeping, or can you hear me?
Do you know if I am by your side?
Does it matter, if you hear me?
When the morning comes, I'll be there by your side
La, la la, la la, la la la la
La, la la, la la la la la
daniel holbrook
this whole album is like a comfort album for me, whenever i'm in a funk it just makes me feel a little better. it's one of those things i wish more people knew about
S.O.
I found this record at a shop in my town & I can’t get enough of it now
Drinks With Ron
Same. Best 25 cents I’ve ever spent 🤣
springing
Fantastic album, flow
Vic
When I was a kid, my father used to play this while driving, travelling around Europe with my brother, so great tunes and nostalgia moments
Seamus Kane
The very underrated Mr Nilsson and this great film The Point. I first saw it when I was 14. It just appeared from nowhere on BBC 2. My brother and I have loved it since then.
Dion McGee
When it first came out on TV I was too young to remember much, except I was a.Beatles music lover by 5 or 6, possibly before even then. Nilsson, who quickly became good friends with the lads from Liverpool, created the Point for TV, and it was a yearly TV special as I was growing up. So alongside the Beatles (and also early Rolling Stones, CSN & Y, Don McClean's American Pie and it's enigmatic album cover, Moody Blues and soon Pink Floyd) the music from the Point was something my sister and I waited for every year. Never missed it as long as they played it. Eventually the annual special broadcast ended and the Great Draught occured. But somewhere my mother bought a copy of the Point on vinyl, color booklet included, with Harry's pal Ringo narrating the story. So the music wasn't lost to me in childhood. I held onto the vinyl version for decades until storage and a flood ended my first record collection. Goodbye every original Beatles album, Floyd etc. . Never found the Point on cassette, almost forgot it existed until well into the CD era. Aprox 500 CDs before I stumble across a CD of the Point at Tower records. Not the iconic Tower building in LA, but it's neighbor in Orange County. What a strange trip it's been.
Julia Figliotti Riley
This song - and this movie - have always stuck with me. Thanks very much for this entire experience, Harry Nilsson.
Elaine Campbell
The absolutely best set of songs for keeping a young child soothed and settled. What a great story too when they are old enough to understand it!
ContentBot2.9
My favorite song off the album