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)
She Sang Hymns Out of Tune
Harry Nilsson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And carried a yellow balloon
She traded her love
For a Spanish doubloon
And talked to the people
The people who are
Now I have a clock on the wall
It tells me how long she's been gone
Gone to the people
The people who are
She lived in a sorcerer's room
And pounded the table
And brandished the broom
She turned ten thousand
When she touched the moon
And turned to the people
The people who are
Waaa waa waa
Rain came down and scattered away
The old antique caretaker's children that play
Early that morning she passed away
Passed to the people The people who are
She sang!
She sang hymns out of tune
And carried a yellow balloon
She traded her love for a Spanish doubloon
And talked to the people
The people who are
The song She Sang Hymns Out of Tune by Harry Nilsson tells the story of an unconventional woman who lived life on her own terms. She is described as singing hymns out of tune and carrying a yellow balloon, which symbolizes her unique and playful nature. The lyric "she traded her love for a Spanish doubloon" suggests that she was not interested in traditional values like love and romance, preferring to pursue her own interests instead.
The woman is also said to have spoken to "the people who are", which may refer to those who are considered outsiders or non-conformists in society. She is contrasted with the clock on the wall, which represents the rigid and unchanging nature of time. The clock tells us how long she has been gone, indicating that she is no longer with us, but her memory lives on through her interactions with the people.
The woman is further described as living in a sorcerer's room, pounding the table and brandishing the broom, which again emphasizes her rebellious and non-conformist nature. She is said to have turned into the people who are when she touched the moon, suggesting that she was in some way transformed by the experience.
Overall, the song celebrates the unconventional and the unique, suggesting that there is value in exploring life outside of traditional structures and expectations.
Line by Line Meaning
She sang hymns out of tune
She sang with passion, but not necessarily on pitch, expressing her own unique style
And carried a yellow balloon
She was playful and carefree, unafraid to stand out and be different
She traded her love
She made sacrifices and gave up something she valued for something else, possibly material possessions or experiences
For a Spanish doubloon
She exchanged her love for something that may have been highly valued or desired, like treasure or adventure
And talked to the people
She was a social person, interacting with those around her and sharing her experiences and ideas
The people who are
She connected with people who were present and real, rather than focusing on the past or future
Now I have a clock on the wall
The singer has a physical reminder of the passing of time
It keeps time and that isn't all
The clock serves a functional purpose, but also symbolizes the passage of time and loss
It tells me how long she's been gone
The clock reminds the artist of how much time has passed since the person they are missing has passed away or left
Gone to the people
The person has passed on to another realm or has become a part of the collective human experience
The people who are
The singer is again referring to present, real people rather than abstract concepts or past/future events
She lived in a sorcerer's room
She may have lived in a mystical, imaginative place or had an unconventional lifestyle
And pounded the table
She was passionate and expressive, possibly demonstrating frustration or joy
And brandished the broom
She had a playful or mischievous side, using a common household item as a prop
She turned ten thousand
She may have had a transformative experience, reaching a new level of insight, understanding or age
When she touched the moon
Her transformation may have been spurred by a powerful, transcendent experience or accomplishment
And turned to the people
She may have shared or celebrated this transformative experience with others or sought their validation and insight
Waaa waa waa
This may be a vocalization of grief, expressing the singer's sadness and sense of loss in a raw, visceral way
Rain came down and scattered away
A natural event occurs, which may symbolize the fleeting nature of human experiences and life
The old antique caretaker's children that play
The artist observes or reflects on the innocent play of children, possibly juxtaposing their carefree nature with heavier themes of death and loss
Early that morning she passed away
The person the artist is mourning has died
Passed to the people
The person has become a part of the shared human experience and the circle of life
The people who are
Again, the singer focuses on the present moment and real people rather than the past or future
She sang!
A repetition of the first line, emphasizing the significance of her singing and the impression it left on the artist
Lyrics © LITTLE KDOE MUSIC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JESSE LEE KINCAID, LEE KINCAID JESSE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind