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)
Fairfax Rag
Harry Nilsson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Do you have to look away when you pass by the diner
Where the squad car stops for coffee ?
Don't you wish that you were any place else but here ?
And don't you feel kinda funny when a man in a suit says
'Man, do you know where I can get high ?'
Take a walk down any street that you choose
Yeah and you'll wind up with the Fairfax Street
Mid morning paranoia blues.
Do you have to look away when you pass by the diner
Where the squad car stops for coffee ?
Don't you wish that you were any place else but here ?
Do you grab a cigarette when a man in an unmarked
Plymouth pulls you over just to say : 'Hi' ?
Don't you wish that you were any place else but here ?
And do you fumble in your wallet while you're looking for your license
And he tells you not to talk with your mouth full ?
Don't you wish that you were any place else
Don't you wish that you were any place else
Don't you wish that you were any place else but here ?
The lyrics to Fairfax Rag by Harry Nilsson speak to the feeling of being stuck in a mundane and potentially dangerous environment. The repeated question, "Don't you wish that you were any place else but here?" portrays a sense of anxiety and disillusionment with one's surroundings. The references to the squad car stopping for coffee and a man in a suit asking where he can get high suggest a setting where law enforcement and drug use are prevalent. The mention of mid-morning paranoia blues paints a picture of constant fear and uncertainty.
The second half of the song focuses on an encounter with a man in an unmarked Plymouth who pulls the singer over. The combination of him grabbing a cigarette and fumbling for his license shows the nervousness and intimidation the singer feels in the situation. The cop telling him not to talk with his mouth full is a small detail that emphasizes the power dynamic between the two. The final repetition of the line, "Don't you wish that you were any place else but here?" reinforces the desire to escape and the feeling of being trapped.
Overall, Fairfax Rag is a commentary on the negative aspects of living in a certain area and the sense of helplessness that can come with it. The repetition of the chorus highlights the singer's desperation to be anywhere but where they are.
Line by Line Meaning
Do you have to look away when you pass by the diner
Where the squad car stops for coffee ?
Have you ever been in a situation where you have to avoid looking at a place because you don't want to be seen or confronted by someone, like when a police car is parked outside a diner and you don't want to draw attention to yourself?
Don't you wish that you were any place else but here ?
Don't you sometimes feel trapped or uncomfortable in certain situations and wish you could be anywhere else?
And don't you feel kinda funny when a man in a suit says
'Man, do you know where I can get high ?'
Have you ever been approached by someone who looks out of place or suspicious and asked you for something illegal, like drugs, which made you feel uneasy?
Take a walk down any street that you choose
Yeah and you'll wind up with the Fairfax Street
Mid morning paranoia blues.
The streets are not always a safe place to walk and sometimes make you feel anxious or paranoid, like Fairfax Street.
Do you grab a cigarette when a man in an unmarked
Plymouth pulls you over just to say : 'Hi' ?
Have you ever been stopped by an unmarked police car and felt the need to light a cigarette because you were nervous or anxious about what might happen next?
And do you fumble in your wallet while you're looking for your license
And he tells you not to talk with your mouth full ?
Have you ever been asked for your license by a police officer and felt flustered or embarrassed because you couldn't find it right away, only to be told not to talk because you had food in your mouth?
Don't you wish that you were any place else
Don't you wish that you were any place else
Don't you wish that you were any place else but here ?
This is the repeated chorus that summarizes the feeling of being uncomfortable or trapped in a situation and wishing to be somewhere else to escape those feelings.
Contributed by Anthony J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.