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)
Joy
Harry Nilsson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She said, 'Come here, I'm going to make you my Joy Boy'
Well, things went good, things went bad
Now every time I think of Joy it makes me sad
It makes me sad
The other day, I met a girl named Joy
Well, she took me for a ride, sort of a joy ride
Now every time I think of Joy, I get all weird inside
Joy to the world was a beautiful girl
But to me Joy meant only sorrow
Now, if you haven't got an answer, you'd never have a question
And if you never had a question, then you'd never have a problem
But if you never had a problem, well everyone would be happy
But if everyone was happy, there'd never be a love song
Joy to the world was a beautiful girl
But to me Joy meant only sorrow
The other day, I met a girl named Joy
She said, 'Come here, I'm going to make you all clammy inside'
Well, things went good, things went bad
Things went good and things went bad
Good, bad, good, bad, good, bad
Joy to the world was a beautiful girl
But to me Joy meant only sorrow
Joy to the world was a beautiful girl
But to me Joy meant only sorrow
The song "Joy" by Harry Nilsson is a tale about a man who meets a girl named Joy. This girl promises to make him happy and turns him into her "Joy Boy." At first, he finds her exciting and fun, describing her as a beautiful girl whom he is eager to be with. However, as their relationship develops, things get complicated, and he realizes that every time he thinks of Joy, he becomes sad. He can't seem to shake off his feelings of sorrow whenever he recalls their time together.
Nilsson suggests that the world would be a happier place if there were no questions or problems, but that's not realistic. He acknowledges that problems are part of life and that love songs usually grow out of those problems. Interestingly, even though Joy is a beautiful girl, to Nilsson, she signifies sorrow. His experience with her shows him that even happiness can be fleeting and that everything in life comes with a mix of joys and sorrows.
Overall, the song is a commentary on the complexity of human emotions and relationships, as well as a reminder that happiness is often fleeting and always comes with its opposite.
Line by Line Meaning
The other day, I met a girl named Joy
I recently met a woman named Joy
She said, 'Come here, I'm going to make you my Joy Boy'
She expressed interest in me and referred to me as her 'Joy Boy'
Well, things went good, things went bad
Our relationship had its ups and downs
Now every time I think of Joy it makes me sad
Thinking about Joy now brings me sadness
It makes me sad
The thought of Joy brings me negative emotions
Joy to the world was a beautiful girl
The person I knew as Joy was a lovely woman
But to me Joy meant only sorrow
Despite her beauty, my association with Joy brings me only pain
Now, if you haven't got an answer, you'd never have a question
If you don't seek information, you won't have anything to question
And if you never had a question, then you'd never have a problem
Without inquiry, you can avoid difficulties
But if you never had a problem, well everyone would be happy
With no obstacles, everyone would feel content
But if everyone was happy, there'd never be a love song
However, without heartbreak or longing, there would be no inspiration for love songs
She said, 'Come here, I'm going to make you all clammy inside'
Joy promised to make me feel an intense emotional response
Things went good and things went bad
Our relationship had a mix of positive and negative experiences
Good, bad, good, bad, good, bad
Our interactions were a cycle of highs and lows
Lyrics © Royalty Network, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: HARRY NILSSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind