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)
As I Wander Lonely
Harry Nilsson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Crisp cloud lines crystal pretty
Wind sweeps the streets and swirl by lovers
Strolling through their own world
Basking in each others glow
While I wander lonely
I hear the church bells ringing
Mixed choirs of Sunday singing
Wondering wondering what will spring be
Whether spring will comfort me
While I wander lonely
Soon I'll find a change
Watching hours pass I walk away the day
Hiding from the room where my memory keeps
Replaying scenes
Of shattered dreams
Cars pass reflective windows
Night falls and still the wind blows
I turn to home and think tomorrow
That's the day I'll meet her
That's the day my love will turn
While I wander lonely.
The lyrics of Harry Nilsson's song "As I Wander Lonely" paint a picture of a solitary person wandering the streets of a city, observing the world around them and contemplating their own life. The first verse sets the scene with descriptions of clear, sparkling air and beautiful cloud formations, contrasting with the loneliness the singer feels. The second verse shifts to the sound of church bells ringing and voices singing, as the singer muses about the arrival of spring and whether it will bring comfort to their solitude. The third verse brings a sense of restlessness, with the singer watching time pass and trying to escape painful memories, before returning to hopeful thoughts of finding love.
Overall, the song seems to be about the difficulty of finding connection and comfort in the midst of loneliness. The singer is surrounded by beauty and life, but these things only serve to emphasize their own isolation. However, there is a sense of hope in the idea of a new love that could bring meaning and joy to their life.
Line by Line Meaning
Clear air and sparkling city
The city looks beautiful in the clear, fresh air.
Crisp cloud lines crystal pretty
The lines of clouds in the sky are clear and beautiful.
Wind sweeps the streets and swirl by lovers
The wind blows through the streets and creates a romantic atmosphere for the lovers.
Strolling through their own world
The lovers are lost in their own world as they walk together.
Basking in each others glow
The lovers are happy and content in each other's company.
While I wander lonely
The singer is walking alone, feeling lonely and disconnected from the world around him.
I hear the church bells ringing
The singer hears the bells of a nearby church ringing.
Mixed choirs of Sunday singing
The church choir is singing on a Sunday morning.
I wander down the sidewalk
The singer continues walking down the sidewalk.
Wondering wondering what will spring be
The singer is wondering what the coming spring season will bring.
Whether spring will comfort me
The singer is hoping that the coming spring will bring him some comfort.
While I wander lonely
The singer is still feeling lonely as he walks.
Soon I'll find a change
The singer is hoping that things will soon change for the better.
Watching hours pass I walk away the day
The singer is spending his day walking and watching the hours go by.
Hiding from the room where my memory keeps
The singer is avoiding a room where memories of his past are stored.
Replaying scenes of shattered dreams
The singer is replaying memories of his dreams that failed to come true.
Cars pass reflective windows
Cars drive by, and their reflections can be seen in the windows.
Night falls and still the wind blows
Even as night falls, the wind continues to blow.
I turn to home and think tomorrow
The singer heads home, thinking about what will happen tomorrow.
That's the day I'll meet her
The singer is hopeful that he will meet the person he's been waiting for tomorrow.
That's the day my love will turn
The singer believes that tomorrow will be the day when his feelings of love will finally be realized.
While I wander lonely.
The song ends with the singer still feeling lonely as he walks home, but hopeful for tomorrow.
Contributed by Brooklyn V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.