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)
Mucho Mungo/Mt. Elga
Harry Nilsson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sweetest little thing I've ever seen
Must have been a sweet dream
Brought you here
Brought you through the sorrow and the tears.
C'est la, c'est la, c'est la vie
Sail upon the ocean, sail with me
Looking for the sunshine through the haze.
But wait, what's this?
I see, could it be?
Mount Elga, Mount Elga, a high mountain
I climb as I'm dreaming ah-ah
Mount Elga, Mount Elga, a high mountain
I climb as I'm dreaming, catchin me hell.
To climb this hill
The more I try to climb
I'm slipping still.
Me body run down
Me feeling weak
The more I try to climb up
This mountain peak.
Mucho Mungo, sweet thing
Sweetest little thing since sweet sixteen.
C'est la, c'est la, c'est la vie
Sail across the ocean, sail with me.
The song Mucho Mungo/Mt. Elga by Harry Nilsson is a combination of two songs that are connected through a dream. The dream features two different experiences - one where the singer is with his sweet love, which is the "Mucho Mungo" part of the song, and the other experience is climbing a high mountain called Mt. Elga. The lyrics are interesting because they seem to have no logical connection - one moment the singer is describing a sweet love, and the next moment he is talking about a dream climb up a mountain.
However, upon closer inspection, it is clear that the two separate parts of the song have a deeper connection. The sweet love is a dream that brought the singer through "the sorrow and the tears," which could symbolize the hardships of life. The climb up the mountain is also a dream, which represents the effort it takes to overcome the obstacles of life. The refrain "C'est la, c'est la, c'est la vie" ties everything together, meaning "that's life." Life is filled with both sweet love and difficult climbs, and it is something we must accept and embrace.
The song's lyrics showcase Harry Nilsson's unique style of storytelling and songwriting, as he weaves two different experiences together into a cohesive whole. The music itself is a blend of rock, pop, and folk, with Nilsson's signature piano playing and vocal range.
Line by Line Meaning
Mucho Mungo, sweet thing
Referring to a person or a thing that the singer likes, admires, or is interested in
Sweetest little thing I've ever seen
Expressing how much the singer likes or admires the person or thing
Must have been a sweet dream
Assuming that the person or thing is too good to be true
Brought you here
Unknown how the person or thing came into the artist's life, but they are glad they did
Brought you through the sorrow and the tears
The person or thing helped the artist through difficult times
C'est la, c'est la, c'est la vie
This is life or that's how it goes
Sail upon the ocean, sail with me
Inviting someone to go on an adventure or journey with the singer
Sail into tomorrow every day
Looking forward to the future, one day at a time
Looking for the sunshine through the haze
Searching for happiness or clarity in a confusing or difficult situation
But wait, what's this?
Expressing surprise or confusion
I see, could it be?
The singer is wondering if something they see is real or not
Mount Elga, Mount Elga, a high mountain
Describing the thing the artist sees and is trying to climb
I climb as I'm dreaming ah-ah
The singer is unsure if they are dreaming or if what they are experiencing is real
I climb as I'm dreaming, catchin me hell
The singer is experiencing difficulty while climbing the mountain, either physically or mentally
To climb this hill
Referring to the challenge that the singer is trying to overcome
The more I try to climb
Expresses the artist's effort and determination
I'm slipping still
Despite the effort, the artist is not making progress
Me body run down
The singer is physically exhausted
Me feeling weak
The singer is emotionally or mentally drained
The more I try to climb up
The artist is still putting in effort, even though it is not paying off
This mountain peak
Referring to the obstacle the artist is trying to overcome
Sweetest little thing since sweet sixteen
Repeating the admiration the artist has for the person or thing
C'est la, c'est la, c'est la vie
Repeating that this is life or that's how it goes
Sail across the ocean, sail with me
Repeating the invitation to go on an adventure with the artist
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@vincenzostr4488
Mucho Mungo, sweet thing
Sweetest little thing I've ever seen
Must have been a sweet dream
Brought you here
Brought you through the sorrow and the tears.
C'est la, c'est la, c'est la vie
Sail upon the ocean, sail with me
Sail into tomorrow every day
Looking for the sunshine through the haze.
But wait, what's this?
I see, could it be?
Mount Elga, Mount Elga, a high mountain
I climb as I'm dreaming ah-ah
Mount Elga, Mount Elga, a high mountain
I climb as I'm dreaming, catchin me hell.
To climb this hill
The more I try to climb
I'm slipping still.
Me body run down
Me feeling weak
The more I try to climb up
This mountain peak.
Mucho Mungo, sweet thing
Sweetest little thing since sweet sixteen.
C'est la, c'est la, c'est la vie
Sail across the ocean, sail with me
@SALVADOR2225
Mucho Mungo, sweet thing
Sweetest little thing I've ever seen
Must have been a sweet dream
Brought you here
Brought you through the sorrow and the tears.
C'est la, c'est la, c'est la vie
Sail upon the ocean, sail with me
Sail into tomorrow every day
Looking for the sunshine through the haze.
But wait, what's this?
I see, could it be?
Mount Elga, Mount Elga, a high mountain
I climb as I'm dreaming ah-ah
Mount Elga, Mount Elga, a high mountain
I climb as I'm dreaming, catchin me hell.
To climb this hill
The more I try to climb
I'm slipping still.
Me body run down
Me feeling weak
The more I try to climb up
This mountain peak.
Mucho Mungo, sweet thing
Sweetest little thing since sweet sixteen.
C'est la, c'est la, c'est la vie
Sail across the ocean, sail with me.
@rosaretto7079
Che delizia risentirti❤
@egirl622
These guys made better music when drunk than a lot of modern pop stars make when sober.
@lhmmhl1
Their first mistake is making music sober.
@lucianobianchini9320
@@lhmmhl1there was a brasilian singer called Raul Seixas whose said: see the poet inspired by coca cola what more dull poetry would express...
@hrromanslaparsso4403
No way you can re-create something so prefect such as these two making an album at that time of their lives.
@lonniemorrison2987
Always puts a smile on my face.
@OddVenturesOne
Very relaxing song, penned by lennon for nilsson
@HarryNilssonCatalogue
People hate on Nilsson's later career so much that they must have missed songs like this. Sure he was drunk, but wasn't everyone back then?
@KevyNova
I love Harry’s later albums most of all. Knnillssonn is his best album.
@brandonmclendon5368
This sounds like Beautiful Boy from Double Fantasy