Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes cred… Read Full Bio ↴Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal overdub experiments, a return to the Great American Songbook, and fusions of Caribbean sounds. Nilsson was one of the few major pop-rock recording artists to achieve significant commercial success without performing major public concerts or touring regularly.

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)

Daybreak
Harry Nilsson Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Here comes the daylight, it's makin' me sad
Here comes the sunlight, makin' me sad
Had a good time last night, best I ever had
Here come the sunshine that's makin' me sad
So sad, so sad, so sad, so sad

Here come the daybreak, it's bringin' me pain
It's causin' me heartache, I wish it would rain

Had a good time last night, just me and my friends
But here come the daylight and now it's the end
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no

Here come the daylight, it's bringin' me down
Causin' me heartache, it's spinnin' my head around, yeah
Here come the daylight, it's bringin' me pain
It's causin' me heartache, I wish it would rain
Had a good time last night, just me and my friends
But here come the daylight and now it's the end
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no (oh no, oh no, oh no)

Here come the sunlight, it's bringin' me down
It's causin' me heartache, it's spinnin' my head around, yeah
Here come the daybreak, it's makin' me cough
It's causin' me sunburn, it's pissin' me off
Had a good time last night in the moon's glimpse

Now all that'll save me is a total eclipse
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no

Overall Meaning

The singer in Harry Nilsson's "Daybreak" is experiencing a sense of melancholy and heartache in the wake of a night of enjoyment. The "daylight" and "sunlight" that are coming are both sources of sadness and are causing pain and heartache for the singer. The enjoyment of the previous night with friends has come to an end, and the beginning of a new day is causing distress in the singer's head and heart. The daylight is a reminder that the fun has ended, and life goes on. The singer wishes for rain to postpone the coming of daylight or a total eclipse to end this turmoil.

The tone of the song is one of despair and sorrow. The lyrics paint a picture of someone coming down from an emotional high, and the reality of everyday life begins to sink in. The coming of daybreak represents the end of the escape and brings back the responsibility and reality of life. The singer is clearly not ready to face the consequences of the previous night's enjoyment and wishes to prolong the moment of refuge.

Overall, "Daybreak" is an emotional and vulnerable song that reflects the often-harsh reality of life, and despite the moments of pleasure, eventually, it all comes to an end.

Line by Line Meaning

Here comes the daylight, it's makin' me sad
The appearance of sunlight is causing the singer to feel sadness.

Here comes the sunlight, makin' me sad
The sunlight, that is now visible, will cause the singer to feel sadness.

Had a good time last night, best I ever had
The singer had a great time the night before, the best they've ever had.

Here come the sunshine that's makin' me sad
The artist feels sadness because of the appearance of sunlight.

So sad, so sad, so sad, so sad
The artist is very sad about the situation at hand.

Here come the daybreak, it's bringin' me pain
The arrival of daybreak is causing the singer to feel pain.

It's causin' me heartache, I wish it would rain
The arrival of daybreak is causing the singer a lot of heartache and they wish that it would rain to help ease their pain.

Had a good time last night, just me and my friends
The artist had a good time with their friends the night before.

But here come the daylight and now it's the end
With the arrival of daylight, the artist's enjoyment from the previous night has come to an end.

Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no
The artist is feeling upset and distraught.

Here come the daylight, it's bringin' me down
The daylight is causing the singer to feel down.

Causin' me heartache, it's spinnin' my head around, yeah
The daylight is causing the artist a lot of heartache and is making them feel disoriented.

Here come the daylight, it's bringin' me pain
The daylight is causing the singer to feel pain.

It's causin' me heartache, I wish it would rain
The daylight is causing the singer a lot of heartache and they wish it would rain to help ease their pain.

Had a good time last night, just me and my friends
The singer had a good time with their friends the night before.

But here come the daylight and now it's the end
With the arrival of daylight, the artist's enjoyment from the previous night has come to an end.

Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no (oh no, oh no, oh no)
The artist is feeling very upset and distressed.

Here come the sunlight, it's bringin' me down
The sunlight is causing the singer to feel down.

It's causin' me heartache, it's spinnin' my head around, yeah
The sunlight is causing the singer a lot of heartache and is making them feel disoriented.

Here come the daybreak, it's makin' me cough
The arrival of daybreak has caused the artist to start coughing.

It's causin' me sunburn, it's pissin' me off
The appearance of sunlight is causing the artist to get sunburnt and it is making them very angry.

Had a good time last night in the moon's glimpse
The artist had a good time the previous night while under the light of the moon.

Now all that'll save me is a total eclipse
The singer feels that the only thing that can help them now is a total eclipse.

Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no
The artist is still feeling upset and distraught.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: HARRY NILSSON, HARRY EDWARD NILSSON

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS