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)
The Trial & Banishment
Harry Nilsson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And when the Count heard of his sons disgraceful defeat at the hands of this pointless Oblio he was outraged.
So he went to the King and reminded him of the law of the land which was that ′all things and all people in the Land of Point must have one'.
And since Oblio didn′t have one, he was in violation of that law which called for his banishment.
Now the King, who was a good King, was painfully aware of his duty . . .
Which was to convene the tribunal.
And upon the Count's insistance, that's exactly what he did.
And when the tribunal reviewed the case, they could only arrive at one conclusion - Oblio had no point and was therefore guilty of being in violation of the law.
For Arrow was found guilty of complicity ...
Be banished from the Land of Point to the Pointless Forest.
The next day Oblio′s mother and father and all the town′s people gathered to bid a sad farewell to Oblio and Arrow.
Now everyone thought that banishment to the Pointless Forest was a bit excessive but the law was the law and the people were all good law abiding citizens and - well, it was the first time anything like this had ever happened and no one knew quite whatelse to do.
So Oblio and Arrow set off for the Pointless Forest . . .
Where all things are pointless and nothing is pointed.
And by the way, the distance between the Land of Point and the Pointless Forest is directly proportional to the amount of time it takes . . .
To sing a song.
The lyrics to Harry Nilsson's song The Trial & Banishment tell the story of Oblio, a child living in a place called the Land of Point. In a game against the Count's kid, Oblio outplayed his opponent two out of three times, earning the Count's ire. The Count goes to the King and reminds him of the law of the land that requires everyone and everything to have a point. Since Oblio has no point, he is in violation of that law, and the tribunal convenes to review his case. The tribunal finds Oblio guilty of being in violation of the law and banishes him and his dog, Arrow, to the Pointless Forest. Oblio's family and fellow townspeople gather to say goodbye, and everyone acknowledges that, although the banishment may seem extreme, it is the law.
The song explores themes of conformity, acceptance, and the arbitrary nature of rules and laws. It asks us to consider the question of whether what makes us unique and different is a point, a thing, or something else entirely. It also raises the issue of the role of the individual in a society that values conformity and the dangers inherent in blindly following rules.
Line by Line Meaning
At the end of the game Oblio had beaten the Counts kid two out of three.
After finishing a game, Oblio won twice against the Counts kid.
And when the Count heard of his sons disgraceful defeat at the hands of this pointless Oblio he was outraged.
When the Count found out his son lost against Oblio, he was furious and insulted by the thought that such a 'pointless' person could beat his son.
So he went to the King and reminded him of the law of the land which was that ′all things and all people in the Land of Point must have one′.
The Count went to the King and reminded him of the law that every person and every thing in the Land of Point must have a point.
And since Oblio didn′t have one, he was in violation of that law which called for his banishment.
Oblio was in violation of the law because he did not have a point, and this resulted in his banishment.
Now the King, who was a good King, was painfully aware of his duty . . .
The King, who was a responsible ruler, knew he had to fulfill his duty.
Which was to convene the tribunal.
He had to assemble the tribunal.
And upon the Count's insistance, that's exactly what he did.
The King called for the tribunal at the strong urging of the Count.
And when the tribunal reviewed the case, they could only arrive at one conclusion - Oblio had no point and was therefore guilty of being in violation of the law.
The tribunal had only one verdict: since Oblio had no point, he violated the law.
And so it was that he and Arrow ...
Thus, Oblio and Arrow were condemned.
For Arrow was found guilty of complicity ...
Arrow was also punished since he was found to be involved in the situation.
Be banished from the Land of Point to the Pointless Forest.
Oblio and Arrow were sent to the Pointless Forest as a punishment for violating the law.
The next day Oblio′s mother and father and all the town′s people gathered to bid a sad farewell to Oblio and Arrow.
The next day, Oblio's parents and the entire town came to say goodbye to Oblio and Arrow with sadness.
Now everyone thought that banishment to the Pointless Forest was a bit excessive but the law was the law and the people were all good law abiding citizens and - well, it was the first time anything like this had ever happened and no one knew quite whatelse to do.
The townspeople felt that banishing them to Pointless Forest was overly harsh, but they recognized the law and felt they had to uphold it, especially because a situation like this was unprecedented, and no one knew what else to do.
So Oblio and Arrow set off for the Pointless Forest . . .
So, Oblio and Arrow began their journey to Pointless Forest.
Where all things are pointless and nothing is pointed.
Pointless Forest was a place where everything was pointless and directionless.
And by the way, the distance between the Land of Point and the Pointless Forest is directly proportional to the amount of time it takes . . .
The distance between the Land of Point and Pointless Forest is determined by how long it takes to sing a song.
Writer(s): Harry Edward Nilsson
Contributed by Elizabeth S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.