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)
Goin' Down
Harry Nilsson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Goin' down
Deeper than the deepest ocean
Deeper than the deepest ocean can go
You know I'm goin' down.
Goin' down now
Don't ask a drowning man how far down
All I know's I'm goin' down.
Down, deeper than the ocean
Deeper than emotion that's bringing me down
Down, deeper than the ocean
Deeper than emotion that's draggin' me down.
Down now, deeper than the deepest heartache
Lower than the lowest heartbreak can take
You know I'm goin' down.
Goin' down now
Deeper than the deepest ocean
Deeper than the deepest ocean can go
You know I'm goin' down.
Down, deeper than the ocean
Deeper than emotion that's bringing me down
Down now (you can turn me on, pretty mama, but you first have to turn me on)
Deeper than the deepest ocean (you can turn me down, pretty mama, but you first have to turn me on)
Deeper than the deepest ocean can go (you can turn me on, pretty mama, but you promise not to turn me down)
You know I'm goin' down.
Down
Don't ask me how far down
Don't ask a drowning man how far down
All I know's I'm goin' down.
...
Nilsson's song Goin' Down portrays a sense of hopelessness and despair, with a strong focus on the feeling of sinking deeper and deeper. The lyrics use the ocean as a symbol for the depth of emotions that the singer is experiencing, and how these emotions are dragging him down to a place he can't escape from. The repetition of the phrases "deeper than the deepest ocean" and "don't ask me how far down" convey a sense of hopelessness and helplessness, as though the singer is resigned to his fate and has given up any attempt of trying to escape.
The final lines of the song, "Don't ask a drowning man how far down, all I know's I'm goin' down," is particularly symbolic, as it suggests that even if help was offered, the singer feels too far gone to be saved. The use of the phrase "drowning man" reinforces the feeling of hopelessness, as drowning is often used as a metaphor for being overwhelmed by emotions and unable to stay afloat.
Overall, Goin' Down is a poignant portrayal of the depths of despair and hopelessness that can sometimes consume us, and the feeling of being unable to escape from these emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
Goin' down
I am descending into a state of sadness and despair.
Deeper than the deepest ocean
My emotional state is reaching depths like that of the ocean.
Deeper than the deepest ocean can go
I am falling further than even the ocean can reach.
You know I'm goin' down.
It is clear that I am spiraling into a darker place.
Don't ask me how far down
I am unable to tell you exactly how low I have sunk.
Don't ask a drowning man how far down
It is pointless to ask someone who is struggling if they know how deep their pain goes.
All I know's I'm goin' down.
The only thing I am certain of is that I am slipping further into sadness.
Deeper than emotion that's bringing me down
My despair is heavier and more crushing than any emotion that contributed to it.
Down now, deeper than the deepest heartache
My sorrow is surpassing even the most intense heartbreak imaginable.
Lower than the lowest heartbreak can take
My sadness is taking me to depths beyond even the most devastating heartbreak could cause.
Goin' down now
I am continuing to descend into an even darker emotional state.
You can turn me on, pretty mama, but you first have to turn me on
Although someone may be able to excite or interest me, I am still sinking into sadness.
You can turn me down, pretty mama, but you first have to turn me on
Although someone may reject or disappoint me, my sadness is still the primary force guiding my emotions.
You can turn me on, pretty mama, but you promise not to turn me down
Although someone may lift my spirits, I am still begging to not be pushed back into despair.
Down
Once again acknowledging how far I have fallen emotionally.
Contributed by Charlie T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.