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)
Jesus Christ You're Tall
Harry Nilsson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I bet nobody I bet nobody I bet nobody wanted to dance with you at all
I said Jesus, I said Jesus there hardly ain't no room here for you at all
I said Jesus. I said Jesus I said Jesus Christ you're tall
Well we could dribble our way down a courtship
Get married for a little while
I would shoot a little love inside your basket mama and in a little while we'd have a child
But he'll get taller as the time goes by
He'd be a little boy, he'd be a little boy
But pretty soon he'll hear the other boys cry
Because they're saying to him
Jesus they'd say Jesus they'd say Jesus Christ you're tall
I bet some day at least some day I hope he finds a basketball
So maybe a big scout from a big town team will come and sign him to the meadow larks
And then someday. Someday he'll play as good as van dyke parks
He'll be famous he'll get married, he'll be happy,
He'll be happy with the girl next door
They'll have a little boy, they'll have a little boy but at birth he'll measure six foot four
Each generation as the time goes by
Will grow and grow until they reach the sky
And finally someday I said someday they'll bump into God
And he'll say "hi"
And then he'll say Jesus, Jesus look at 'em, Jesus Christ they're tall Jesus. Just look at 'em. Jesus
Hey' you guys want to play a little basketball
There will be a big court up in heaven
Softer than the softest cloud
They can play all day, they can play all night they can play as long as they can play
It'll be a half court game until the other boys show it'll be a full court game and then, when it's over we'll hear a high score. It'll be over, then the end amen hey' Jesus, oh Jesus. Sweet Jesus Christ you're tall no nobody. No no nobody
You guys wanna play a little basketball
C'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon Jesus
C'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon Lord
C'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon do a hook shot baby
C'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon shoot that ball
C'mon Jesus let's get together
I loved you a long time ago
Way up in heaven, up in heaven, that's the hell of it baby all night long
The song "Jesus Christ You're Tall" by Harry Nilsson is a playful and irreverent look at the idea of Jesus Christ as a towering, larger-than-life figure. The song is structured around a series of verses that repeat the same basic refrain: "Jesus Christ you're tall." In each verse, Nilsson plays with the notion of Jesus as a physical entity, imagining what it might be like to be so much taller than everyone else in the room.
The song begins by establishing the central metaphor of Jesus as a tall figure who struggles to fit into the world of everyday people. Nilsson imagines Jesus as a wallflower, standing alone at a party because nobody wants to dance with him. He goes on to suggest that Jesus might be interested in playing basketball, given his height, and imagines a scenario in which Jesus's descendants become increasingly tall until they "bump into God" and discover that they are not the tallest beings in the universe after all.
The overall tone of the song is irreverent and playful, with Nilsson poking fun at the idea of Jesus as a towering, larger-than-life figure. However, there is also a sense of wonder and awe at the idea of someone who is so much bigger and greater than anyone else. Ultimately, the song is a celebration of imagination and the power of the human mind to create myths and stories that help us make sense of the world around us.
Line by Line Meaning
Jesus I said Jesus I said Jesus Christ you're tall
The singer is marveling at the height of Jesus.
I bet nobody I bet nobody I bet nobody wanted to dance with you at all
The singer suggests that Jesus's height may have made him unpopular among potential dance partners.
I said Jesus, I said Jesus there hardly ain't no room here for you at all
The singer feels that there is not enough space for Jesus due to his towering height.
Well we could dribble our way down a courtship
The artist refers to the act of dribbling a basketball as a metaphor for courting.
Get married for a little while
The artist suggests that the relationship between two people can be short-lived like a brief marriage.
I would shoot a little love inside your basket mama and in a little while we'd have a child
The singer is describing the act of lovemaking and how it leads to the birth of a child.
He'd be a little boy, he'd be a little boy
The child born to the singer and his partner would be a little boy.
But he'll get taller as the time goes by
The artist suggests that the boy will grow taller every year as he gets older.
But pretty soon he'll hear the other boys cry
Because they're saying to him
Jesus they'd say Jesus they'd say Jesus Christ you're tall
The boy's height will make him stand out and lead to teasing from other children.
I bet some day at least some day I hope he finds a basketball
The artist hopes that the boy will find an activity, like basketball, that he enjoys and excels at.
So maybe a big scout from a big town team will come and sign him to the meadow larks
And then someday. Someday he'll play as good as van dyke parks
The singer imagines that the boy's basketball skills will catch the eye of a scout, leading to his becoming a professional player like Van Dyke Parks.
He'll be famous he'll get married, he'll be happy,
He'll be happy with the girl next door
They'll have a little boy, they'll have a little boy but at birth he'll measure six foot four
The boy will grow up to be happy and successful, marrying a woman who lives nearby and having a son who is also exceptionally tall.
Each generation as the time goes by
Will grow and grow until they reach the sky
Each successive generation in the singer's imagined family will get taller and taller as time passes.
And finally someday I said someday they'll bump into God
And he'll say "hi"
And then he'll say Jesus, Jesus look at 'em, Jesus Christ they're tall Jesus. Just look at 'em. Jesus
The singer believes that his imagined family will grow so tall that they will eventually meet God, who will marvel at their height.
Hey' you guys want to play a little basketball
There will be a big court up in heaven
The singer imagines a basketball court in heaven, where the tall basketball-loving family can continue playing together after they die.
It'll be a half court game until the other boys show it'll be a full court game and then, when it's over we'll hear a high score. It'll be over, then the end amen hey' Jesus, oh Jesus. Sweet Jesus Christ you're tall no nobody. No no nobody
You guys wanna play a little basketball
The song ends with the artist inviting Jesus and anyone else who wants to play basketball to join him and his family on the court in heaven.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HARRY NILSSON, HARRY EDWARD NILSSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind