She was born Laura Nigro on 18th October 1947 in the Bronx, New York, of Italian-American and Jewish-American parents. As a child, she taught herself piano, read poetry, and listened to her mother's records by Leontyne Price, Billie Holiday and classical composers such as Ravel and Debussy. She composed her first songs at age eight. While in high school, she sang with a group of friends in subway stations and on street corners.
As a teenager she experimented with using different names, and Nyro was the one she was using at the time. She sold her song "And When I Die" to Peter, Paul and Mary for $5,000, and made her first extended professional appearance in 1966, at age 18, singing at the "hungry i" coffeehouse in San Francisco. Mogull negotiated her a recording contract, and she recorded her debut album, More Than a New Discovery, for the Verve Folkways label. The album provided material for other artists, notably the 5th Dimension.
In 1967, Nyro made only her second major live appearance, at the Monterey Pop Festival. Although some accounts described her performance as a fiasco that culminated in her being booed off the stage,[8] recordings later made public contradict this view.[
Nyro was best known by the general public – and had the most commercial success – as a songwriter rather than a performer. Her best-known songs include "And When I Die" (made a hit by Blood, Sweat & Tears), "Stoney End" (covered by Barbra Streisand), "Wedding Bell Blues", "Stoned Soul Picnic", "Sweet Blindness", "Save the Country" (all covered by The 5th Dimension), and "Eli's Coming" (a hit for Three Dog Night). Ironically, Nyro's own best-selling single was "Up on the Roof", a cover of the Carole King-Gerry Goffin hit originally recorded by The Drifters in 1962.
She died on 8th April 1997.
In 2012 she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Emmie
Laura Nyro Lyrics
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Emily and her love to be,
Carved in a heart on a berry tree
But it's only a little farewell love spell,
Time to design a woman.
Touch me, oh wake me, Emily
You ornament the Earth for me
The unstudied sea, you're a cameo
And I swear you were born a weavers lover,
Born for the loom's desire.
Move me, oh sway me
Emily, the ornament, the Earth for me.
Emmie, your Momma's been calling you.
Who stole Mamma's heart and cuddled in her garden?
Darling Emmie, la, la, la, oo la, la la.
You're my friend and I loved you,
Emily, Emily, Emily, Emily.
She got the way to move me, Emmie.
She got the way to move me, yeah.
She got the way to move me, Emmie.
She got the way to move me, get up and move me...
The song "Emmie" by Laura Nyro is a love song that describes the beauty and naturalness of a woman named Emmie. The song seems to center around a moment of goodbye or an ending in the relationship between Emmie and someone referred to as "her love to be". The phrase "carved in a heart on a berry tree" suggests an impermanent proclamation of love that is not meant to last forever. The lyrics "time to design a woman" invite speculation as to whether or not there is a desire for the singer to mold Emmie into a certain type of woman or whether it is simply an acknowledgment that Emmie is in a stage of growth and transformation.
Line by Line Meaning
Emily and her love to be,
Emily and her lover are carved in a heart on a berry tree as a symbol of their love.
But it's only a little farewell love spell,
Their love is temporary and they will soon have to part ways.
Time to design a woman.
It's time for Emily to become a mature woman and move on to the next stage of her life.
Emily, you're the natural snow,
Emily represents the pure and untouched beauty of nature, like natural snow.
The unstudied sea, you're a cameo
Emily has a natural, effortless beauty like an unstudied sea and is like a small, delicate cameo.
And I swear you were born a weavers lover,
It seems as if Emily's destiny is to love someone who weaves.
Born for the loom's desire.
Emily was born with the purpose of fulfilling a weaver's desire.
Emmie, your Momma's been calling you.
Emmie's mother has been trying to get her attention.
Who stole Mamma's heart and cuddled in her garden?
Emmie is so charming that she has stolen her mother's heart and made a home in her mother's garden.
You're my friend and I loved you,
Emily is a dear friend and the artist loves her.
Emily, Emily, Emily, Emily.
Emily's name is repeated as a way of emphasizing her importance.
She got the way to move me, Emmie.
Emmie has a unique power over the artist that moves them emotionally.
She got the way to move me, yeah.
The singer is enchanted by Emmie and her power to move them.
She got the way to move me, Emmie.
Emmie has a powerful influence over the singer and can motivate them to action.
She got the way to move me, get up and move me...
Emmie can inspire the singer to take action and make a change in their life.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, BMG Rights Management
Written by: LAURA NYRO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind