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)
Nobody Cares About the Railroads Anymore
Harry Nilsson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We'd board that Silverliner below Baltimore
Trip to Virginia on a sunny honeymoon
Nobody cares about the railroads anymore
We'd tip the porter for a place of our own
Then send a postcard to your mom and dad back back home
Mmm, it did something to you when you'd hear that "All aboard"
Woo-ee, woo-oo-oo-ee, woo-ee
Woo-ee, woo-oo-oo-ee, woo-ee
We had a daughter and you oughtta see her now
She has a boyfriend who looks just like my gal Sal
And when they're married they won't need us anymore
They'll board an aeroplane and fly away from Baltimore
Woo-ee, woo-oo-oo-ee, woo-ee
Woo-ee, woo-oo-oo-ee, woo-ee
When we got married back in 1944
We'd board that Silverliner below Baltimore
Trip to Virginia on a sunny honeymoon
Nobody cares about the railroads anymore
La la la la-la la-la-la la la bye-bye
La la la la-la la-la-la la la don't cry
Mmm, it did something to you when you'd hear that "All aboard"
Nobody cares about the railroads anymore
The song "Nobody Cares About the Railroads Anymore" by Harry Nilsson tells the story of a couple who got married in 1944 and went on a honeymoon trip via the Silverliner train below Baltimore to Virginia. The couple used to enjoy the nostalgia and charm of travelling on railways, tipping the porter for a cozy place to themselves and sending postcards to loved ones. They were excited to hear the conductor announce "All Aboard" which meant that they were heading towards their destination. However, the tone of the song changes as the couple reminisces about the past, realising that things have changed. The railways are no longer relevant or appreciated by people today. They're being replaced by airplanes and other modes of transport, and the couple feels a bit nostalgic about the good old days when railways were the means of travel. In the end, the couple acknowledges that their generation is different, and nobody cares about the railroads anymore.
The song shows how technology and time can cause things that were once considered essential and cherished to become obsolete. The lyrics depict the wistfulness and regret that often come up as people grow older and see the world change around them.
Line by Line Meaning
When we got married back in 1944
Back when we got married in 1944
We'd board that Silverliner below Baltimore
We used to board the Silverliner train from below Baltimore
Trip to Virginia on a sunny honeymoon
We went on a sunny honeymoon trip to Virginia
Nobody cares about the railroads anymore
Railroads are not important to people anymore
We'd tip the porter for a place of our own
We would give a tip to the porter for our own place on the train
Then send a postcard to your mom and dad back back home
After that, we would send a postcard to your parents back home
Mmm, it did something to you when you'd hear that 'All aboard'
It had an impact on us when we heard the conductor say 'All aboard'
We had a daughter and you oughtta see her now
We have a daughter and she has grown up now
She has a boyfriend who looks just like my gal Sal
She has a boyfriend who resembles my old girlfriend, Sal
And when they're married they won't need us anymore
When they get married, they won't need us anymore
They'll board an aeroplane and fly away from Baltimore
They will take a flight from Baltimore and fly away
La la la la-la la-la-la la la bye-bye
Singing 'bye-bye'
La la la la-la la-la-la la la don't cry
Singing 'don't cry'
Contributed by Tristan R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@MarkBlackburnWPG
HARRY NILSSON - Nobody Cares About The Railroads Anymore
Friends at The Sinatra Family Alumni Facebook (private) group – there's 95 of us now – have been sharing pictures of old trains: some of us 'of an age' recall steam engines pulling luxury passenger trains – summoning to mind my favorite such song composed (words & music) and recorded in the early 70s by the late Harry Nilsson. From memory imperfect:
When we got married back in 1944,
we'd board that 'Silverliner' below Baltimore
trip to Virginia on a sunny honeymoon –
Nobody cares about the railroads anymore.
We'd tip that porter for a place of our own,
then send a postcard to your Mom and Dad back home
Did somethin' to ya, when you'd hear that “All aboard!”
Nobody cares about the railroads anymore . . .
Ah …. finally uploaded to YouTube in 2019 with the original album cover. (Hoo-weee, hoo-wee!) And who but Harry could have written this one? (Rhetorical question.)
Thanks Harry for sharing! Celebrated elsewhere this day [search] " Great Melody, Great Lyric, Great Rendition, Songwriting Workshop, Harmony Central "
@user-bt6tl7xr5c
Sad to admit that this band is right and nobody’s doing much to preserve the earth saving railroads we’ve neglected.
@user-bt6tl7xr5c
Thank you for sharing this uplifting time with others!
@bethwarner3632
They really do holler All Aboard!!!
@robboles5233
Not heard this for decades. I bought the album back in the day still love this.
@zenonmaxis
I listen to this song almost every day. Good stuff.
@alexdelarge209
Yes, I'm really this old. 'Everybody's talkin'' got attention from 'Midnight Cowboy', but when "Without You" hit #1 & became 'our song' for every couple in the country in 1971 - yup, me too - We (the imperial 'We') started (re)discovering "Harry"('s) addled, whimsical world of Railroads, Puppy(s), Morning Glory, 'The point' & the APB ....... & we're so better for it.
@desmondenglish3458
Wow, 10th time hearing this and it still impresses me. I miss the age that this song so clearly yearns for(in particular sections at least). overall though, I just appreciate the melody, it has this "bouncy" quality that makes it quite the hum-along humdinger for sure!
@mattiadellamico888
Wonderful piece!
@timfrye3586
Did something to ya indeedy
@amarjitpukhrambam3494
i love this song