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)
Caroline
Harry Nilsson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're my kind of girl
Caroline, please be mine
You're my kind of girl
And when in spring time
Daylight surrounds you
There's no one around you but me
Caroline, please be mine
You're my kind of girl
In Harry Nilsson’s song "Caroline," the singer is expressing his desire for Caroline. He repeatedly requests for Caroline to be his, expressing that she is his type of girl. In the second verse, the singer notes that during spring time when daylight surrounds Caroline, there is no one else around her but him. The repetition of the line “Caroline, please be mine” and the focus on Caroline’s surroundings suggest that the singer is trying to convince her to choose him over others. The song offers a simple yet powerful message of love and the pursuit of someone special.
Line by Line Meaning
Caroline, please be mine
I want to be with you, Caroline
You're my kind of girl
You are the type of girl I find attractive
Caroline, please be mine
I really desire to be with you, Caroline
You're my kind of girl
You are exactly the type of girl I am looking for
And when in spring time
During the spring season
Daylight surrounds you
The sun is shining brightly and you are surrounded by light
There's no one around you but me
I am the only person with you, Caroline
Caroline, please be mine
I am really hoping you will choose to be with me, Caroline
You're my kind of girl
You are the type of girl I am attracted to
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: RANDY NEWMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind