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)
Black Sails
Harry Nilsson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Black patch on your eye
You shiver your timbers, baby
And I'll shiver mine
A treasure map is hidden on your legs
Your veins are very close
Someday, I'll wrap my big yardarms around your legs
And sail away
I'll bury my heart on some island
And take you there someday to find it
I want you, I need you, I love you
No other man will ever reap your rays
Well, you're so veiny
You probably think this map belongs to you
But I'm so crazy, what can I do?
So raise the anchor
Hoist the canvas
Sail me to my heart
Harry Nilsson's song Black Sails is a pirate-inspired love song filled with metaphors and innuendo. The lyrics describe a swashbuckling adventure with the object of the singer's affection, who is also a pirate. The first verse talks about the appearance of the woman, who has a black patch on her eye and black sails in the moonlight. The singer talks about shivering his timbers and the woman shivering hers, which is a reference to a pirate's ship shaking during rough sea conditions.
The second verse reveals that the woman has a treasure map hidden on her legs and her veins are very close. This could be a reference to the woman's body being the treasure that the singer wants to discover. He talks about wrapping his big yardarms (a nautical term for a ship's arms used to hold up sails) around her legs and sailing away. The chorus talks about burying his heart on an island and taking her to find it someday. The singer wants this woman and loves her intensely, and he believes that no other man will ever reap her rays.
The final verse is filled with clever wordplay. The singer describes the woman as "so veiny" and she probably thinks the map belongs to her. The word "veiny" is a slang term to describe someone who is full of themselves or arrogant. The singer is admitting that he's crazy for this woman and wants to sail her to his heart. The song is an adventurous tale of love that's infused with pirates and nautical terms.
Line by Line Meaning
Black sails in the moonlight
The ship is setting sail under the cover of darkness.
Black patch on your eye
The woman is wearing an eyepatch, implying she may be a pirate or a lover of pirates.
You shiver your timbers, baby
The woman is showing off her physical prowess and strength.
And I'll shiver mine
The artist is implying that he is just as strong as the woman.
A treasure map is hidden on your legs
The woman's legs are a metaphor for a valuable treasure.
Your veins are very close
The singer is emphasizing the intimacy of the situation.
Someday, I'll wrap my big yardarms around your legs
The singer is suggesting that he will eventually embrace the woman's legs and take control of the situation.
And sail away
The artist is proposing that they leave their current situation behind and start a new life together.
I'll bury my heart on some island
The artist is going to leave his heart behind on an island, symbolizing his devotion to the woman.
And take you there someday to find it
The artist wants to share the experience of finding his heart with the woman he loves.
I want you, I need you, I love you
The singer is confessing his love and desire for the woman.
No other man will ever reap your rays
The artist is suggesting that he is the only one who can fully appreciate the woman's beauty and worth.
Well, you're so veiny
The singer is playing with the word 'veiny' to imply that the woman is covered in veins that resemble a treasure map.
You probably think this map belongs to you
The singer is teasing the woman, implying that she thinks she has the upper hand but he knows the truth.
But I'm so crazy, what can I do?
The singer is acknowledging that he may be acting irrationally because of his intense love for the woman.
So raise the anchor
The artist is ready to leave and start their new life together.
Hoist the canvas
The artist is encouraging the woman to take control of the ship and navigate their journey together.
Sail me to my heart
The singer is asking the woman to navigate them to the island where he has left his heart.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: HARRY NILSSON, HARRY EDWARD NILSSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
mortensen egbert
(1:58) "You're so vain/you probably think this map belongs to you." NIce permutation on the Carly Simon song.
Ted Cassidy
Harry also claimed in a 1982 interview that he sang on "You're so Vain".
Marta Garczewska
Reallynice
Margaret Nash
❗👋👋💫🐺🤙💕🎶🕊🌊🌀🌈
🎈🎶🎈🥁👯SHEROS👯🎸🎶💥
🎓NILSSON👑☝😎👉🎯
Sr Ginger Ale
too boring...
John
Just listen to it again, and focus on the words, imagine being on the ocean with your sweetheart in the moonlight.