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)
Over the Rainbow
Harry Nilsson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's a land that I've heard of once in a lullaby
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true
Someday I'll wish on a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Way above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me
Over the rainbow, blue birds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can't I?
If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can't I?
The lyrics to Harry Nilsson's "Over the Rainbow" speak of a place that exists only in one's imagination, where dreams come true and troubles disappear. The singer longs to escape their current reality and find this magical place "somewhere over the rainbow, way up high." They have heard of this place before, perhaps in a lullaby, and believe that it is possible for their dreams to come true.
The second verse speaks of the singer's desire to escape and find this place. They want to "wish upon a star" and leave their troubles behind. The metaphor of troubles melting like lemon drops and the image of being high above the chimney tops emphasize the idea of a carefree existence. The singer is convinced that this place exists, and they want to find it.
The repetition of the third verse highlights the idea of longing and the sense of being stuck in one's current reality. The question "why, oh why can't I?" speaks to the universal desire to escape and find a better place. The song ends with a sense of hope that the dreams that one dares to dream can come true.
Line by Line Meaning
Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high
The singer references a place that is beyond the reaches of our world, high up in the sky.
There's a land that I've heard of once in a lullaby.
The land the singer mentions is one that they've only heard of in songs and stories.
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
The sky in this magical place is said to have a beautiful, blue color.
And the dreams that you dare to dream, Really do come true.
The singer believes that the dreams that you wish for, even the most daring ones, can come true in this fantastical land beyond the rainbow.
Someday I'll wish upon a star And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
The singer dreams of a day when they can leave their troubles behind and start again in this beautiful, cloudless place.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops, High above the chimney tops, That's where you'll find me.
The singer emphasizes the fact that they will leave their worries behind, and they will be so high up in this magical place that they'll be above the tallest buildings and structures of the earth.
Somewhere over the rainbow, blue birds fly
The singer sings of blue birds who fly high over the rainbow and beyond the limits of our world.
Birds fly over the rainbow
The singer reminds us that these blue birds are not restricted by the boundaries of our world, and they can fly wherever they wish.
Why then, oh why can't I?
The singer questions why they themselves cannot find a way to leave their troubles behind and fly towards the dreamland over the rainbow.
If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, Why, oh why can't I?
The singer reiterates the fact that, if the blue birds can do it and reach the land over the rainbow, surely, they can too.
Lyrics © CONSALAD CO., Ltd., O/B/O DistroKid
Written by: Yip Harburg, Harold Arlen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@BanjoleleMountaineer
You can't really give Steve Jobs all the credit. Sure, he made the most popular mp3 player. But before the iPod were plenty of very popular mp3 players. Much of "the world" (I'm guessing you're talking about our industrialized world, not the majority of it who do not have ipods) was already listening to mp3s long before Apple jumped on the bandwagon. It's not like he invented the portable mp3 player.
And come to think of it, did he reallly come up with the entire idea and design entirely by himself? It seems like Apple probably have product engineers.
I like Apple's products, even though much of what they do rubs my moral fibers the wrong way. Planned obsolescence to the extreme, where they intentionally make it so you basically need to upgrade to retain functionality. Which long term is going to create a whole lot of electronic trash, that we can send to China to "recycle", since they have much less strict laws on point-source pollution.
Then there's that little thing about Foxconn being the ones who actually produce most of Apple's products, a Chinese company with such poor working conditions that workers regularly kill themselves by hurling their bodies off the building.
Oh, and that habit of taking open source software that has been developed and fine tuned over time, making some changes, and branding it as their own (as they did with OS-X). Unfortunately people don't think of their purchase as a vote or as supporting certain business practices.
@brianrallen
I spend the night in a chair thinking he'll be there
But he never comes
And I wake up and wipe the sleep from my eyes
And I rise to face another day
Without Harry Nilsson.
And the world -- and I -- are the poorer for his loss.
Vale, Harry.
Thank you for your life ...
@margaretgaskell4958
"Over The Rainbow"
Somewhere over the rainbow way up high
There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby
Somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true
Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far
Behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me
Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow.
Why then, oh, why can't I?
If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow.
Why, oh, why can't I?
@georgeross8064
What a special talent. That classical standards album was brilliant. Thank the stars Harry didn't listen to those who told him not to do it. I'm 65, a music teacher......I've been showing The Point to 6 year olds and we're all singing, "Me and My Arrow". And I love to play for them...."sit beside the breakfast table......" They love all this. Here's to you Harry. You're still alive with young people.....
@jmack619
George , you are a gift to these young minds. keep them creating, and dreaming. A bit.
@NILSSONDE
More than you know Drac
@efortlight
Hi! That's fantastic! I'm a 48 yo tenor studied at Temple and fell in love with Harry and his tunes.
I have a 10yo that i would like to educate also and i wanted to ask if you could send me esucative material on the works you mention in your beautifull post!
My email: efortlight@gmail.com
Best holiday regards
Tchantam
@georgeross8064
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x23dchh
@beckyworrell6303
Took years for me to realize that Little Bobby Brady was the voice of Obilo.
@frankjennings4022
This song by Harry and the rendition by Judy Garland are the two most heart gripping performances of this classic ever recorded. Both individuals were wounded spirits and they obtain a depth of emotion not reached by any others.
@RP-yb9to
Yes I totally agree about Harry and Judy’s…and would add Israel’s to make it three
@lunachickfringe5319
This version of Over the Rainbow leaves me speechless. Such feeling & passion, a voice no words can describe. It brings me to tears.
@ronfast2
Harry Fuckin Nilsson.....The most overlooked underappreciated genius of the 60's-90's. The man had the purest voice. This song can bring me to tears. But nevermind that, lets talk songwriting, and humor. Harry brought so much feeling to his stuff. Check out Black Sails from the Pussy Cats album he did with Lennon. Its Harry in his essence. Or the whole Son Of Schmillson album..... We lost him too early! Gawd bless ya whereever ya are Harry!