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)
Driving Along
Harry Nilsson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You can see all the people
Who seem to have nothing to say to each other
Each day they grow farther and farther away from each other
Driving along
You can spot all the problems
On faces so tired of facing each other
Driving along at fifty seven thousand miles an hour
Look at those people standing on the petals of a flower
Look at those petals pumping for a little bit of power
Driving along
You can see all the people
Who seem to have nothing to say to each other
Each day they grow farther and farther away from each other
They seem to say nothing
They seem to go nowhere
They seem to go farther
They seem to go nowhere
They seem to go farther
They seem to go nowhere
They seem to go farther
And farther and farther
The lyrics of "Driving Along" by Harry Nilsson are reflective of the monotony and distance between people in modern society. The song implies an observation from the perspective of someone who is driving and noticing the lack of communication and connection between individuals. Lines such as, "You can see all the people who seem to have nothing to say to each other" and "On faces so tired of facing each other" portray a sense of loneliness and unfulfillment in daily interactions.
The use of the metaphor of driving along at "fifty seven thousand miles an hour" adds to the theme of moving too fast, without taking the time to connect with those around you or appreciate life's beauty. The image of people standing on the petals of a flower and petals pumping for power suggests the insignificance of human beings and their existence in the larger scheme of things.
Overall, "Driving Along" offers a poignant commentary on our society's tendency to disconnect from each other, whether due to busyness, technology, or other obstacles. Nilsson's lyrics encourage the listener to slow down and take notice of the people and world around them before it's too late.
Line by Line Meaning
Driving along
As I am driving, I am observing my surroundings.
You can see all the people
I can see everyone around me.
Who seem to have nothing to say to each other
They are not communicating with each other.
Each day they grow farther and farther away from each other
Their distance from each other is increasing everyday.
Driving along
As I am driving, I am observing my surroundings.
You can spot all the problems
I am able to identify all the issues.
On faces so tired of facing each other
Their faces show the exhaustion they feel towards each other.
Each day they grow farther and farther away from each other
Their distance from each other is increasing everyday.
Driving along at fifty seven thousand miles an hour
I am driving at an incredibly fast speed.
Look at those people standing on the petals of a flower
I see small people on the pedals of a flower.
Look at those petals pumping for a little bit of power
I observe the movement of the flower petals.
Driving along
As I am driving, I am observing my surroundings.
You can see all the people
I can see everyone around me.
Who seem to have nothing to say to each other
They are not communicating with each other.
Each day they grow farther and farther away from each other
Their distance from each other is increasing everyday.
They seem to say nothing
It appears that they are not speaking.
They seem to go nowhere
It looks like they are not moving forward.
They seem to go farther
They are getting more distant.
They seem to go nowhere
It looks like they are not moving forward.
They seem to go farther
They are getting more distant.
They seem to go nowhere
It looks like they are not moving forward.
They seem to go farther and farther
They are just getting more and more distant.
Contributed by Hunter Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@KevyNova
My favorite album growing up was The Point! I knew the whole album by heart but didn’t know who Nilsson was or if he had other albums. Then one day, I found a vinyl copy of Nilsson Schmilsson at the Salvation Army store and bought it. I’ll never forget listening to it for the first time and being blown away. That was the beginning of my obsession with finding everything Harry Nilsson ever recorded!
@timothyransay3777
Rest in peace Kind Sir. God Bless your family and your friends and your viewers. Peace out
@123rockfan
Whenever I feel neither happy or sad, I always come back to Nilsson’s music to make me feel something
@theterrytaylorshow7270
Harry Nillson is the songs of my torment and joy
@Brian-os9qj
A song that is just too good
@jayrob5270
Love this song and the guitar solo is super on point.
@snicker576
I LOVE thst specific guitar tone. I've only heard it on some 1970's recordings
@100sky3
Bowie comes to mind.@@snicker576
@johnr8095
His secret weapon was when he did his high notes. Love when he starts harmonizing with himself or when he gets out of his lower register and does his higher notes. Love his lower notes as well, but there is something really poignant about how he sings the notes in his upper register.
@jamesmeagher7912
Don't talk to me now, I'm driving along!