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)
Think About Your Troubles
Harry Nilsson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Think about your troubles
Pour yourself a cup of tea
Then think about the bubbles
You can take your teardrops
And drop them in a teacup
Take them down to the riverside
To be swept up by a current
Then taken to the ocean
To be eaten by some fishes
Who were eaten by some fishes
And swallowed by a whale
Who grew so old
He decomposed, ooh
Doo-doo
Doo-doo
He died and left his body
To the bottom of the ocean
Now everybody knows
That when a body decomposes
The basic elements
Are given back to the ocean
And the sea does what it oughta
And soon there's salty water (not too good for drinking)
'Cause it tastes just like a teardrop (so they run it through a filter)
And it comes out from a faucet (and it pours into a teapot)
Which is just about to bubble
Now
Think about your troubles
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Ah, ah, ah, ah
Ah, ah, ah, ah
The song 'Think About Your Troubles' by Harry Nilsson is a song about finding a way to deal with your problems. The opening lines invite the listener to sit at the breakfast table, pour tea into a cup, and then ponder about the bubbles in the tea. The lyrics suggest that even small things like bubbles can help one in thinking deeply.
The second verse of the song recommends a unique way to deal with your tears. Instead of crying and holding them within, you can drop them into a teacup and then throw them down into a river, where they will eventually wash away and end up being eaten by fishes. The fishes who eat these tears will, in turn, be eaten by larger fishes, and eventually, they will be taken by a whale. The whale will grow old, die and decompose, and eventually, its body parts will give the ocean its basic elements back.
The final verse of the song describes a full circle of life, where the salty water from the ocean is filtered and poured back into the teapot. The song's central message is to acknowledge your problems, but not to let them consume you entirely. Instead, it suggests that you should deal with them bit by bit, to move past them.
Line by Line Meaning
Sit beside the breakfast table
Take a moment to sit down and relax
Think about your troubles
Reflect on your worries and problems
Pour yourself a cup of tea
Make yourself a warm beverage
Then think about the bubbles
Notice the small, fleeting moments of joy
You can take your teardrops
Your sadness and pain can be transformed
And drop them in a teacup
Small actions can help ease emotional pain
Take them down to the riverside
Release your negative emotions into the world
And throw them over the side
Let go of your troubles and move on
To be swept up by a current
Your pain is a part of something larger
Then taken to the ocean
Your emotions are part of the natural world
To be eaten by some fishes
Nature has a way of turning negative into positive
Who were eaten by some fishes
The good deeds of others will be passed on
And swallowed by a whale
The cycle of life and death is endless
Who grew so old
Even the largest creatures will eventually perish
He decomposed, ooh
Death is part of the natural order of things
Doo-doo
Humorous acknowledgement of death and decay
He died and left his body
The physical form is temporary
To the bottom of the ocean
The earth receives and recycles everything
Now everybody knows
This is common knowledge
That when a body decomposes
The process of decay is natural
The basic elements
All matter is composed of fundamental building blocks
Are given back to the ocean
Everything returns to its source
And the sea does what it oughta
Nature follows its own rules
And soon there's salty water (not too good for drinking)
The natural world is not always accommodating to human needs
'Cause it tastes just like a teardrop (so they run it through a filter)
Even something useless or unpleasant can be purified or transformed
And it comes out from a faucet (and it pours into a teapot)
Human intervention enables us to access and manipulate nature
Which is just about to bubble
The cycle of life, death, and rebirth continues
Now
Return to the present moment
Think about your troubles
Remember your experiences, but don't let them control you
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Expressing emotion through music
Ah, ah, ah, ah
Reveling in the beauty and absurdity of existence
Ah, ah, ah, ah
Cherishing the fleeting moments of joy and connection
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HARRY NILSSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
dimndsnperls
🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶
Sit beside the breakfast table
Think about your troubles
Pour yourself a cup of tea
Then think about the bubbles
You can take your teardrops
And drop em in a teacup
Take em down to the riverside
And throw them over the side
To be swept up by a current
Then taken to the ocean
To be eaten by some fishes
Who were eaten by some fishes
Then swallowed by a whale
Who grew so old, he decomposed
He died and left his body
To the bottom of the ocean
Now everybody knows
That when a body decomposes
The basic elements
Are given back to the ocean
And the sea does what it ought'a
And soon there's salty water
(Not too good for drinking)
'Cause it tastes just like a teardrop
(So we run it through a filter)
And it comes out from the faucet
(And pours into a teapot)
Which is just about to bubble
Now
Think about your troubles❣❣❣
Mary Mayer
The second time I ate LSD I sat and listened to this album by myself. I love this album and I have passed it on to my children and grandchildren.....thank you Harry
Daniel Plainview
Thank you to my oldest brother who introduced me to this album. Your music shaped me forever
Adam
He wasn't really your brother, he found a diary and a picture and assumed the story he began to tell people as if it was his life. But you took care of that swiftly once you figured it out. But Bandy saw ya...
jameson
This song is so amazing. I listen to it everyday.
cuttinupthecarpet
Me too
Rocky Funkenmeister
I can play it on loop for hours. God Bless Harry
Avery Joycelyn Barakuda Block
Are you there/ here?
5Q: Do you really?
Do you (still) start your day
with it?
Jeannette Johnson
The whole album is amazing.
dimndsnperls
🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶
Sit beside the breakfast table
Think about your troubles
Pour yourself a cup of tea
Then think about the bubbles
You can take your teardrops
And drop em in a teacup
Take em down to the riverside
And throw them over the side
To be swept up by a current
Then taken to the ocean
To be eaten by some fishes
Who were eaten by some fishes
Then swallowed by a whale
Who grew so old, he decomposed
He died and left his body
To the bottom of the ocean
Now everybody knows
That when a body decomposes
The basic elements
Are given back to the ocean
And the sea does what it ought'a
And soon there's salty water
(Not too good for drinking)
'Cause it tastes just like a teardrop
(So we run it through a filter)
And it comes out from the faucet
(And pours into a teapot)
Which is just about to bubble
Now
Think about your troubles❣❣❣
Tony Saladino
I has the coolest choir teacher during the first year at a new school in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The school has been torn down now, but we performed this whole album for the Christmas Concert. (circa 1969)