Born Janis Eddy Fink on 7th April 1951 to a Jewish family in New York City, she was primarily raised in New Jersey, initially on a farm, and attended East Orange High School and the New York City High School of Music & Art. Her parents, Victor (a music teacher) and Pearl, ran a summer camp in upstate New York, and, in that Cold War era, were frequently under government surveillance because of their left-wing politics. (Ian alluded to these years later in her song "God and the FBI"). Young Janis admired the work of folk pioneers such as Joan Baez and Odetta. At the age of twelve, Ian wrote her first song, "Hair of Spun Gold", which was subsequently published in the folk publication Broadside and was later recorded for her debut album.
At the age of thirteen she legally changed her name to Janis Ian, using as her new last name her brother Eric's middle name. Also in that year, Ian wrote and sang her first hit single, "Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)", about an interracial romance forbidden by a girl's mother and frowned upon by her peers and teachers; the girl ultimately decides to end the relationship, claiming the social norms of the day have left her no other choice. Produced by George "Shadow" Morton and released three times between 1965 and 1967, "Society's Child" finally became a national hit on its third release, after Leonard Bernstein featured it in a television special: Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution. The song's content was taboo for some radio stations, and they withdrew or banned it from their playlists; in her 2008 autobiography Society's Child, Ian recalls receiving hate mail and death threats as a response to the song, and mentions that a radio station in Atlanta that played it was burned down. In the summer of 1967, "Society's Child" reached number fourteen on the Billboard Hot 100.
Her most successful single in the United States was "At Seventeen", released in 1975, a bittersweet commentary on adolescent cruelty, the illusion of popularity, and teenage angst, as reflected upon from the perspective of a twenty-four-year-old. It reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Adult Contemporary chart. It won the 1975 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance - Female. The song's album, Between the Lines, reached number one on Billboard's Album chart. It was quickly certified gold, and later earned a platinum certification for sales of over a million copies sold in the U.S.
Ian finally became one of the first "indie artists", resurfacing in 1993, with the worldwide release of Breaking Silence and its title song about incest. She also came out as a lesbian with that release. Her most recent album, Folk Is the New Black, was released in 2006; it is the first in over twenty years for which she did all the songwriting herself.
The Other Side Of The Sun
Janis Ian Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For beyond the other side of the ocean
I'll bet you in the morning
You won't even know I'm gone
Tired of living here
In the middle of a mixed emotion
I might as well be living
On the other side of the sun.
Leaving with the feeling
I don't know how I'm dealing
With loving you
Though once I knew
The special way
And what to do
To make you stay
Forever and ever
Even as I'm leaving
I'll never stop believing
You are the one
Who can make me laugh
And can bring me back
From beyond the other side of the sun.
Rolling down the river
I hope I can deliver the morning
Wishing on a star
For the sun to come out and play
Funny, when it's over
You really don't remember the warnings
You might as well be living
Out beyond the Milky Way
(Forever and ever)
Leaving with the feeling
I don't know how I'm dealing
With loving you
Though once I knew
The special way
And what to do
To make you stay
Forever and ever
Even as I'm leaving
I'll never stop believing
You are the one
Who can make me laugh
And can bring me back
From beyond the other side of the sun.
Leaving with the feeling
I don't know how I'm dealing
With loving you
Though once I knew
The special way
And what to do
To make you stay
Forever and ever
Even as I'm leaving
I'll never stop believing
You are the one
Who can make me laugh
And can bring me back
From beyond the other side of the sun
From beyond the other side of the sun.
The lyrics to Janis Ian's song "The Other Side of the Sun" tell a story of leaving behind a heartbreak and seeking solace on the other side of the ocean. The singer is tired of living in a place full of mixed emotions and wants to escape it all. Despite the pain of leaving, she can’t help but believe in the power of the love that she once knew to make her happy again.
The opening lines of the song depict the singer leaving on a boat to the "other side" of the ocean. Her lover is sleeping and won't even know she's gone until after she departs. The singer is seeking a place where she won't have to live in the midst of mixed emotions. The metaphor of living on the "other side of the sun" emphasizes that this place is far away from where she is now, and indicates the enormity of the journey she is determined to make.
In the chorus, the singer admits to feeling lost in knowing how to deal with loving someone who she thinks might not want her, at least not enough to stay. She remembers a special way to make her partner stay but now feels helpless in making that love last. Despite her doubts, she believes that her love can still make her happy and that it has the power to bring her back.
Line by Line Meaning
Leaving on a boat
I am departing on a boat
For beyond the other side of the ocean
My destination is beyond the ocean
I'll bet you in the morning
I am certain that tomorrow
You won't even know I'm gone
You won't realize that I have left
Tired of living here
I am weary of living in this place
In the middle of a mixed emotion
I am experiencing conflicting feelings
I might as well be living
It would be no different if I lived
On the other side of the sun.
On the opposite side of where the sun rises and sets.
Leaving with the feeling
Departing while feeling
I don't know how I'm dealing
I don't understand how I'm managing
With loving you
My love for you
Though once I knew
Despite having known before
The special way
The unique approach
And what to do
And the necessary actions
To make you stay
To make you remain with me
Forever and ever
For an infinite amount of time
Even as I'm leaving
Despite my departure
I'll never stop believing
I will always hold onto the belief
You are the one
You are the person
Who can make me laugh
Who has the ability to make me laugh
And can bring me back
And has the power to bring me back
From beyond the other side of the sun.
From a distant and unreachable place.
Rolling down the river
Moving along the river
I hope I can deliver the morning
I wish to provide the morning
Wishing on a star
Making a wish upon a star
For the sun to come out and play
For the sun to rise and shine
Funny, when it's over
Ironically, when it concludes
You really don't remember the warnings
You don't recall the cautions
You might as well be living
It is akin to living
Out beyond the Milky Way
Far beyond our galaxy
(Forever and ever)
(For eternity)
From beyond the other side of the sun.
From a distant and unreachable place.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CHARLIE CRAIG, RICK OROZCO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Dunhill An
Leaving on a boat for beyond the other side of the ocean
I'll bet you in the morning you won't even know I'm gone
Tired of living here in the middle of a mixed emotion
I might as well be living' on the other side of the sun
Leaving with the feeling I don't know how I'm dealing with loving you
Though once I knew the special way and what to do
To make you stay forever and ever
Even as I'm leaving I'll never stop believing you are the one
Who can make me laugh and can bring me back
From beyond the other side of the sun
Rolling down the river, I hope I can deliver the morning
Wishing on a star for the sun to come out to play
Funny, when it's over you really don't remember the warning
You might as well be living out beyond the Milky Way (forever and ever)
Leaving with the feeling I don't know how I'm dealing with loving you
though once I knew the special way and what to do
To make you stay forever and ever
Even as I'm leaving I'll never stop believing you are the one
Who can make me laugh and can bring me back
From beyond the other side of the sun
Fale To'omata
As a kid, I first heard this song on my dads transistor radio & never heard it again. I hummed most of the song and sang bits of what I could remember of the chorus for years. Back then, the DJ said the artist was Janis but I couldnt remember her last name. I happened to be humming the tune last year and searched the other side of the sun on utube - and OMG I almost cried when I saw Janis and the title come up. Thank you - now at 51, I finally know the words and I can sing it (pretty badly mind you lol!!) And yes, this kind of music NEVER dates.
Ilongo Drama
i loved this song
Here You Go
Wow!!! We are of the same age (51) and I also used to sing it when I was a kid. And I remember singing it during our Music test and I got a very good grade for singing it. Then, just like you, I stopped hearing this song again and suddenly remember to google it (coz I started to forget the complete lyrics) and luckily I found it here and it really, really made me happy ❤️
Fale To'omata
@Here You Go Im 53 now, I told my kids I use to make up the words and sung it to them as a lullaby. My singing must have been pretty bad as they cant remember me singing the tune or they were so traumatized they blanked it out lmao!!
Amalia SENARA
I also like this so.much the hummimg and all,now.i wanna sing it in wesing just to have to keep.
白英泥
I am also 51 this year......I am from Hong Kong........I like this song very much, lots of memories while listening to it 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧☘☘☘☘☘☘
Dunhill An
Leaving on a boat for beyond the other side of the ocean
I'll bet you in the morning you won't even know I'm gone
Tired of living here in the middle of a mixed emotion
I might as well be living' on the other side of the sun
Leaving with the feeling I don't know how I'm dealing with loving you
Though once I knew the special way and what to do
To make you stay forever and ever
Even as I'm leaving I'll never stop believing you are the one
Who can make me laugh and can bring me back
From beyond the other side of the sun
Rolling down the river, I hope I can deliver the morning
Wishing on a star for the sun to come out to play
Funny, when it's over you really don't remember the warning
You might as well be living out beyond the Milky Way (forever and ever)
Leaving with the feeling I don't know how I'm dealing with loving you
though once I knew the special way and what to do
To make you stay forever and ever
Even as I'm leaving I'll never stop believing you are the one
Who can make me laugh and can bring me back
From beyond the other side of the sun
lilynegrete
I danced this beautyful song with my Grandpa in my 15 years old party so I love it twice, and came to me all kind of memories and fill my heart with love
im 53 now
oscarschmidt
@lilynegrete
Do you know the beat of this danceable song is CHA-CHA-CHA
Miriam Kelly
Shukes, music that NEVER dates...this is Janis's unique talent.Very rare, not relicatable either. And youth passes and this is still alive in my soul, just love these songs that touched my heart and soul and gave me hours of enjoyment. Long live musical talent.John Mayer sings:"give me a song to sing".He's got some "goodens"too!!!!