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)
Who Done It?
Harry Nilsson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And all the windows were tight
And there were thirteen people in the house
The owner and his wife
The butler and his wife
Cook with her knife
A couple named Smythe
The Andersons were there
And the scary caretaker and me
The clock struck one, there was the sound of a gun
And I heard somebody run away
And the twelve who were alive had terror in their eyes
And I overheard the Andersons say
Who could have done it?
Who could have done it
And I wonder where's the cook and her knife
Madam, said Adam, with his wife by his side,
It was the shot we heard that took her life
The other couple named Sloan and I ran to the phone
To call the police, but just then
All the power went out
And we heard a great shout
And we knew for some-one else it was the end
And when the power came on
We were shocked with alarm
For instead of being twelve we were ten
Who could have done it?
Who could have done it?
The Andersons were such a nice pair
Now the owner and his wife
Both afraid of their life
So they hurried to the door to run away
But before they got there
There was a whistle through the air,
Then another, then they both had passed away
There were seven of us let now
Afraid of death now
But I knew it wasn't me or the Sloans
Cause when the power went out
And we heard the others shout
We were out there in the hallway on the phone
That left the butler and his wife
And the couple named Smythe
And the old scary caretaker too
So the Sloans and I
Who were both afraid to die
Had to think of something quick we could do
So we called the Smythes
And the butler and his wife
And we gathered in the drawing room
But before we could call for the caretaker too
It was too late for he had met his doom
It looked like poison
That left five, five, five were still alive
The Sloans, the Smythes and myself
Once again the lights went out
and I heard a great shout
From both the Smythes and the Sloans
And then the light went on again
And I looked around again
And everybody was dead
And I was alone
Well, I must have past out
For the next thing I knew
I was awakened with my hands in chains
There was a man with a gun
And he said don't bother son
You'll have plenty of time to explain
I was rushed to a car
Then taken to a cell
And a lawyer came in and said his name
He said I'm sure you told the truth
But the truth is my boy
To believe it the judge would be insane
Now before I pass sentence on you
Have you anything to say?
I said, are you kidding?
I said, this must be a dream
I said, this can't be real
You don't believe a word that I have said
And then he looked me in the eye
And said have mercy on his soul
And I was hanged
By the neck
Until dead
Have mercy
Hey
Wait a minute, hey stop
Would you mind rewinding that last sentence
I mean, hang by the what?
Until when?
Hey, listen. I think you made a little
I mean I think you made a large mistake here
First of all
I was in Colorado,
Having breakfast with a nun, okay?
What do you mean, there is nothing to get hung up about
I mean, you should be up here
Hey, have you ever heard of the word appeal?
Well, I'm about to appeal you of that bench in a minute
Unless you change that decision
Listen, I got a lot, I mean I had a lot of friends in this town
Hey I want to see my congress, man.
The lyrics to Harry Nilsson's "Who Done It?" tell the story of a murder mystery in which the singer is falsely accused and hanged. The song describes a rainy night where thirteen people are in a house, and suddenly, a gunshot is heard, followed by multiple deaths, leaving only the singer alive. Despite claiming innocence, they are sentenced to death and hanged. The final lines of the song reveal that the singer was, in fact, in Colorado having breakfast with a nun, and the entire story was a misunderstanding.
Line by Line Meaning
It was a rainy night
The story takes place on a stormy night
And all the windows were tight
All the windows were closed shut
And there were thirteen people in the house
There were 13 people in the house at the beginning of the story
The owner and his wife
The owner of the house and his wife were both present
The butler and his wife
The butler and his wife were both present
Cook with her knife
The cook was holding a knife
A couple named Smythe
A couple with the surname Smythe were present
The Andersons were there
A family with the surname Anderson were present
With another strange pair
Another strange couple were present
And the scary caretaker and me
The caretaker of the house and the artist were also present
The clock struck one, there was the sound of a gun
At one o'clock, the sound of gunfire was heard
And I heard somebody run away
Someone was heard running away
And the twelve who were alive had terror in their eyes
The twelve remaining people were terrified
And I overheard the Andersons say
The singer overheard the Anderson family talking
Who could have done it?
The Andersons wondered who the culprit was
Who could have done it
The Andersons repeated their question
And I wonder where's the cook and her knife
The artist wondered where the cook and her knife were
Madam, said Adam, with his wife by his side,
A character saying 'Madam' addressed a woman named Adam who was with her spouse
It was the shot we heard that took her life
Adam claimed that the gunshot killed someone
The other couple named Sloan and I ran to the phone
The Sloans and the artist ran to the phone
To call the police, but just then
They attempted to call the police but something happened
All the power went out
All the power in the house went off
And we heard a great shout
A loud noise was heard
And we knew for some-one else it was the end
Someone had met their end
And when the power came on
The power returned
We were shocked with alarm
They were shocked and surprised
For instead of being twelve we were ten
Two individuals were missing
Now the owner and his wife
The owner of the house and his wife were being focused on again
Both afraid of their life
Both of them were scared for their lives
So they hurried to the door to run away
They rushed to the door to escape
But before they got there
They were stopped before they could reach the door
There was a whistle through the air,
There was a whistling sound
Then another, then they both had passed away
Two more people passed away
There were seven of us let now
Only seven people were left
Afraid of death now
They were all afraid of death
But I knew it wasn't me or the Sloans
The artist and the Sloans were not the ones responsible for the killings
Cause when the power went out
The power outage points towards someone else as the culprit
And we heard the others shout
They heard shouts from the other characters
We were out there in the hallway on the phone
They were in the hallway making a phone call
That left the butler and his wife
The butler and his wife were suspects
And the couple named Smythe
The Smythes were also suspects
And the old scary caretaker too
The caretaker was also a suspect
So the Sloans and I
The singer and the Sloans decided to do something
Who were both afraid to die
They were both afraid of death
Had to think of something quick we could do
They needed to come up with a plan
So we called the Smythes
They contacted the Smythes
And the butler and his wife
They reached out to the butler and his wife
And we gathered in the drawing room
They all assembled in the drawing room
But before we could call for the caretaker too
They were unable to reach the caretaker in time
It was too late for he had met his doom
The caretaker had already been killed
It looked like poison
The method of killing was poison
That left five, five, five were still alive
Only five people were still alive
The Sloans, the Smythes and myself
The artist, the Sloans and the Smythes were still alive
Once again the lights went out
The lights went off again
And I heard a great shout
Another loud noise was heard
From both the Smythes and the Sloans
The Smythes and Sloans were heard shouting
And then the light went on again
The lights came on again
And I looked around again
The artist surveyed the scene
And everybody was dead
All the other characters had been killed
And I was alone
The artist was the only one left
Well, I must have past out
The singer fainted
For the next thing I knew
The singer woke up in a different situation
I was awakened with my hands in chains
The singer had been restrained in some way
There was a man with a gun
A man with a gun was present
And he said don't bother son
The man with the gun told the artist not to resist
You'll have plenty of time to explain
The singer would have the chance to explain themselves
I was rushed to a car
The singer was quickly transported to a vehicle
Then taken to a cell
The artist was taken to a jail cell
And a lawyer came in and said his name
A lawyer arrived and introduced himself
He said I'm sure you told the truth
The lawyer believed the artist was telling the truth
But the truth is my boy
However, the truth was something else
To believe it the judge would be insane
If the judge believed the truth, they would be considered insane
Now before I pass sentence on you
Before the lawyer makes a decision about the singer's fate
Have you anything to say?
The lawyer gave the singer a chance to speak
I said, are you kidding?
The singer was flabbergasted by the situation
I said, this must be a dream
The artist couldn't believe what was happening
I said, this can't be real
The artist believed the situation was unbelievable
You don't believe a word that I have said
The singer believed their story was not being believed
And then he looked me in the eye
The lawyer stared at the singer intensely
And said have mercy on his soul
The lawyer pleaded on the artist's behalf
And I was hanged
The artist was sentenced to hanging
By the neck
The artist was hung by their neck
Until dead
The singer died by hanging
Hey
A conversation restarts
Wait a minute, hey stop
An interruption to the story
Would you mind rewinding that last sentence
The story is being rewound
I mean, hang by the what?
The singer questions their supposed execution method
Until when?
The artist is confused about the sentence parameters
Hey, listen.
The artist is trying to get someone's attention
I think you made a little
The singer is pointing out a mistake
I mean I think you made a large mistake here
The mistake is significant
First of all
The artist is trying to set the record straight
I was in Colorado,
The artist's location is explained
Having breakfast with a nun, okay?
The artist is in an unlikely situation
What do you mean, there is nothing to get hung up about
The singer is trying to point out their innocence
I mean, you should be up here
The artist is questioning their imprisonment
Hey, have you ever heard of the word appeal?
The singer is inquiring about the legal process
Well, I'm about to appeal you of that bench in a minute
The singer is becoming angry and frustrated
Unless you change that decision
The prosecutor is being challenged
Listen, I got a lot, I mean I had a lot of friends in this town
The artist is pleading for help
Hey I want to see my congress, man.
The artist is requesting to see a government representative
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HARRY NILSSON, HARRY EDWARD NILSSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Electric Ark
At the beginning of the song, there are 13 people, gathered in a tight-windowed house on a rainy night. Those in attendance are:
- Owner
- Owner’s Wife
- Butler
- Butler’s Wife
- Cook (w. Knife)
- Smythe 1
- Smythe 2
- Anderson 1
- Anderson 2
- Sloan 1 (aka Strange Pair)
- Sloan 2 (aka Strange Pair)
- The Scary Caretaker
- The Narrator ("Me")
(As a side note, one half of one of the couples is named Adam, but it’s never made clear who.)
At 1am, a gun is heard going off, and SOMEBODY is killed. Interestingly, the audience are not informed who the first victim is, and we will have to a short process of deduction to figure it out.
The Andersons, the Sloans, the Owner and his wife, the butler and his wife, the Smythes, the Scary Caretaker and the narrator are still alive at this point, as established by the following lyrics. Notably, the Cook (w. Knife) are not mentioned after the Andersons question her disappearance, and since the 12 others are accounted for, we have our first victim.
From here, the two Sloans and the narrator rush to the phone, but as they do, the power goes out temporarily, and a cry is heard. When the power comes back on, both the Andersons are dead, leaving 10 alive.
From here, the body count rises rapidly. The owner and wife try to escape, and are quickly cut down by an unidentified object (from the description of a “whistle in the air”, it’s possible that an arrow or dart was the murder weapon - but just as possible that this is an unorthodox description of a firearm discharging).
Now, this is where things get tricky. The narrator (unreliable as he is), describes 7 people left - despite the fact that there have only been 5 deaths so far. 8 people should still be alive. And, in quick succession, the narrator lists them - all 8. Something is wrong here.
So the narrator and Sloans try to gather the remaining guests to the drawing room (naturally), only to find that the Scary Caretaker had been poisoned - leaving the group with 6.
BUT - the very next line references 5 being left alive - we’ve got from 8 to 7, and now 7 to 5. Two people have disappeared.
And their absence is conspicuous, as the narrator describes the 5 remaining as “The Sloans, The Smythes and myself”. Seconds later, the two remaining couples are dead, the narrator is unexpectedly unconscious, and swiftly framed for the 10 murders that have taken place, and hanged (probably).
But if there were 13 at the start… 10 murders… and only one person left… which disappeared?
My guess, as usual - is that the butler did it.
Daniel Ribeiro
It was a rainy night
And all the windows were tight
And there were thirteen people in the house
The owner and his wife
The butler and his wife
Cook with her knife
A couple named Smythe
The Andersons were there
With another strange pair
And the scary caretaker and me
The clock struck one, there was the sound of a gun
And I heard somebody run away
And the twelve who were alive had terror in their eyes
And I overheard the Andersons say
Who could have done it?
Who could have done it
And I wonder where's the cook and her knife
Madam, said Adam, with his wife by his side,
It was the shot we heard that took her life
The other couple named Sloan and I ran to the phone
To call the police, but just then
All the power went out
And we heard a great shout
And we knew for some-one else it was the end
And when the power came on
We were shocked with alarm
For instead of being twelve we were ten
Who could have done it?
Who could have done it?
The Andersons were such a nice pair
Now the owner and his wife
Both afraid of their life
So they hurried to the door to run away
But before they got there
There was a whistle through the air,
Then another, then they both had passed away
There were seven of us let now
Afraid of death now
But I knew it wasn't me or the Sloans
Cause when the power went out
And we heard the others shout
We were out there in the hallway on the phone
That left the butler and his wife
And the couple named Smythe
And the old scary caretaker too
So the Sloans and I
Who were both afraid to die
Had to think of something quick we could do
So we called the Smythes
And the butler and his wife
And we gathered in the drawing room
But before we could call for the caretaker too
It was too late for he had met his doom
It looked like poison
That left five, five, five were still alive
The Sloans, the Smythes and myself
Once again the lights went out
and I heard a great shout
From both the Smythes and the Sloans
And then the light went on again
And I looked around again
And everybody was dead
And I was alone
Well, I must have past out
For the next thing I knew
I was awakened with my hands in chains
There was a man with a gun
And he said don't bother son
You'll have plenty of time to explain
I was rushed to a car
Then taken to a cell
And a lawyer came in and said his name
He said I'm sure you told the truth
But the truth is my boy
To believe it the judge would be insane
Now before I pass sentence on you
Have you anything to say?
I said, are you kidding?
I said, this must be a dream
I said, this can't be real
You don't believe a word that I have said
And then he looked me in the eye
And said have mercy on his soul
And I was hanged
By the neck
Until dead
Have mercy
Hey
Wait a minute, hey stop
Would you mind rewinding that last sentence
I mean, hang by the what?
Until when?
Hey, listen. I think you made a little
I mean I think you made a large mistake here
First of all
I was in Colorado,
Having breakfast with a nun, okay?
What do you mean, there is nothing to get hung up about
I mean, you should be up here
Hey, have you ever heard of the word appeal?
Well, I'm about to appeal you of that bench in a minute
Unless you change that decision
Listen, I got a lot, I mean I had a lot of friends in this town
Hey I want to see my congress, man.
Giorgio Madde'
One of the most beautiful underrated voices ever
Ted Parkinson
I don't think his voice was ever "underrated". His biggest hit was Without You and everyone raves about that amazing performance and he won a Grammy for it (and another one for Everybody's Talkin').
J. Morrison
I can't count the times I sang this driving alone.
Jeannette Johnson
God Harry I miss your genius fierce.
Sarah Gwyllt
Another awesome song.
althea graham
so much fun-this whole album- HARRY!
Alex Zambra
Been looking for this song since 1978 when heard in record ⏺️ store.
Jeannette Johnson
A true genius. Harry you are missed.
Electric Ark
At the beginning of the song, there are 13 people, gathered in a tight-windowed house on a rainy night. Those in attendance are:
- Owner
- Owner’s Wife
- Butler
- Butler’s Wife
- Cook (w. Knife)
- Smythe 1
- Smythe 2
- Anderson 1
- Anderson 2
- Sloan 1 (aka Strange Pair)
- Sloan 2 (aka Strange Pair)
- The Scary Caretaker
- The Narrator ("Me")
(As a side note, one half of one of the couples is named Adam, but it’s never made clear who.)
At 1am, a gun is heard going off, and SOMEBODY is killed. Interestingly, the audience are not informed who the first victim is, and we will have to a short process of deduction to figure it out.
The Andersons, the Sloans, the Owner and his wife, the butler and his wife, the Smythes, the Scary Caretaker and the narrator are still alive at this point, as established by the following lyrics. Notably, the Cook (w. Knife) are not mentioned after the Andersons question her disappearance, and since the 12 others are accounted for, we have our first victim.
From here, the two Sloans and the narrator rush to the phone, but as they do, the power goes out temporarily, and a cry is heard. When the power comes back on, both the Andersons are dead, leaving 10 alive.
From here, the body count rises rapidly. The owner and wife try to escape, and are quickly cut down by an unidentified object (from the description of a “whistle in the air”, it’s possible that an arrow or dart was the murder weapon - but just as possible that this is an unorthodox description of a firearm discharging).
Now, this is where things get tricky. The narrator (unreliable as he is), describes 7 people left - despite the fact that there have only been 5 deaths so far. 8 people should still be alive. And, in quick succession, the narrator lists them - all 8. Something is wrong here.
So the narrator and Sloans try to gather the remaining guests to the drawing room (naturally), only to find that the Scary Caretaker had been poisoned - leaving the group with 6.
BUT - the very next line references 5 being left alive - we’ve got from 8 to 7, and now 7 to 5. Two people have disappeared.
And their absence is conspicuous, as the narrator describes the 5 remaining as “The Sloans, The Smythes and myself”. Seconds later, the two remaining couples are dead, the narrator is unexpectedly unconscious, and swiftly framed for the 10 murders that have taken place, and hanged (probably).
But if there were 13 at the start… 10 murders… and only one person left… which disappeared?
My guess, as usual - is that the butler did it.
Antisexual Gamer
For anyone who didn't figure it out, it's the butler. There is no mention of the butler (or his wife) after the very beginning of the song, whereas all of the other characters are confirmed to be dead.