2. Melanie: Midwest Auckland emo four piece Melanie released their full length album 42 Losers in May 2020 and have been playing a fine selection of gigs and house parties since
1. Born on the 3rd February 1947 in Astoria, New York deceased 23rd January 2024, Melanie made her first recording, "Gimme a Little Kiss", when she was five.
She first found chart success in Europe. Her 1969 song "Bobo's Party" reached number one in France. Later that year she had a hit in the Netherlands with "Beautiful People" before performing at Woodstock. Apparently, she was inspired to write "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" by the audience lighting candles during her set; the song became a hit in both Europe and the USA. Her biggest hit in the USA was "Brand New Key", also known as "The Roller Skate Song". She has been awarded three gold albums.
Three of Melanie's compositions were hits for The New Seekers: "Look What They've Done to My Song Ma", "Beautiful People", and "The Nickel Song".
With one exception her albums have been produced by her husband, Peter Schekeryk. Her three children - Leilah, Jeordie and Beau-Jarred -are also musicians. Beau-Jarred is a guitarist and accompanies his mother on The 2003 Australian hip-hop track "The Nosebleed Section" by The Hilltop Hoods sampled Melanie's "People in the Front Row".
In 2004 Melanie released Paled by Dimmer Light, which is co-produced by Peter and Beau-Jarred Schekeryk.
In 2010 the last album co- produced by her now late husband Peter Schekeryj and their son Beau Jarred Schekeryk was released: Ever Since You Never Heard Of Me
Melanie, who became the voice of an era in one magical instant onstage at Woodstock, has been putting the pieces in order.
Pieces of a career, scattered by the winds of experience and assembled again by the force of love into the most personal and brilliant moments of her musical journey.
Melanie is poised to enlighten new generations about what it means to sing with both passion and eloquence, to write at once with intelligence and emotion, and to inspire through song… and nobody does this better than Melanie.
Others learned this that night at Woodstock, where as a New York kid barely known outside of the coffeehouse circuit in Greenwich Village, she sang her song "Beautiful People" and inspired the first panorama of candles and cigarette lighters ever raised at a concert event. That, in turn, moved the young singer to write "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain"), which sold more than one million copies in 1970 and
prompted Billboard, Cashbox, Melody Maker, Record World, and Bravo to anoint her
as female vocalist of the year. Her single "Brand New Key," an infectious romp about
freedom and roller skates, topped the charts in 1971.
And so her story began.
With guitar in hand and a talent that combined amazing vocal equipment, disarming
humor, and a vibrant engagement with life, she was booked as the first solo pop/rock
artist ever to appear from the Royal Albert Hall to Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan
Opera House, and later opened the New Metropolitan Opera House in New York, the
Sydney Opera House, and in the General Assembly of the United Nations, where she
was invited to perform on many occasions as delegates greeted her performances
with standing ovations.
The top television hosts of all time -- Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson, and Dick Cavett --
battled to book her. (After her stunning performance on his show, Sullivan goggled
that he had not seen such a "dedicated and responsive audience since ElvisPresley.")
Accolades rolled in, from critics ("Melanie's cult has long been famous, but it's a cult
that's responding to something genuine and powerful -- which is maybe another way
of saying that this writer counts himself as part of the cult too," wrote John Rockwell
in The New York Times) as well as peers ("Melanie," insisted jazz piano virtuoso
Roger Kellaway, "is extraordinary to the point that she could be sitting in front of us in
this room and sing something like 'Momma Momma' right to us, and it would just go
right through your entire being.")
In the years that followed Melanie continued to record, continued to tour.
UNICEF made her its spokesperson; Jimi Hendrix's father introduced her to the
multitude assembled for the twentieth anniversary of Woodstock. Her records
continued to sell -- more than eighty million to date. She's had her songs covered by
singers as diverse as Cher, Dolly Parton, and Macy Gray. She's raised a family, won
an Emmy, opened a restaurant, written a musical about Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity
Jane…
She has, in short, lived a rare life. But all of it was just a prelude to what's about to
come.
"For the first time, I'm not afraid to voice exactly what I feel. I used to feel that I didn't
want to say too much, but now I can say anything. I feel like a person who's never
been heard. Maybe people think they've heard me, but they never really have. I'm a
new artist who is having so much fun with my voice -- a person shouldn't be allowed
to have so much fun. I'm the woman I wanted to be when I was sixteen and going for
Edith Piaf. It's me -- I'm back."
(Written by Robert L. Doerschuk)
Alexander Beetle
Melanie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I had a little beetle
So that beetle was his name
And I called him Alexander
And he answered just the same
And I put him in a matchbox
And I kept him all the day
But nanny let my beetle out
She went and let my beetle out
And beetle ran away
She said she didn't mean it
And I never said she did
She said she wanted matches
And she just took off the lid
She said I mustn't worry
And I really mustn't mind
That there's lots and lots of beetles
The she's certain we could find
She said I mustn't worry
But it's difficult to catch
An excited sort of beetle
You've mistaken for a match
If we looked in all the places
That a beetle might be near
And we made the kind of noises
That a beetle likes to hear
And I heard a kind of something
And I gave a sort of shout
It was a beetle house
And Alexander beetle coming out
It was Alexander beetle
I'm as certain as can be
And he had that kind of look as though
He thought it might be me
And he had that kind of look as though
He thought he ought to say
"I'm really very sorry that I tried to run away"
And nanny's very sorry too
Cause you know what she did
And she's writing Alexander
Very blackly on the lid
So nan and me are friends because
It's difficult to catch
An excited Alexander
You've misstaken for a match
The song "Alexander Beetle" by Melanie Safka is a whimsical and playful tune about a little beetle that a child has as a pet. The lyrics describe how the child, who had named the beetle Alexander, kept it in a matchbox and played with it all day until their nanny accidentally let the beetle out. The child becomes upset and worried that they won't be able to find the beetle, but their nanny reassures them that there are lots of beetles and they will be able to find it as long as they make the kind of noises that beetles like to hear. Eventually, the child and their nanny find a "beetle house" and out comes Alexander, looking apologetic for trying to run away.
Line by Line Meaning
I had a little beetle
I once had a small insect
So that beetle was his name
It was simply named after the insect itself
And I called him Alexander
I gave the beetle a proper name
And he answered just the same
He always responded when called
And I put him in a matchbox
I kept him inside a small container
And I kept him all the day
I took care of him throughout the day
But nanny let my beetle out
The nanny accidentally released the beetle
Yes nanny let my beetle out
She acknowledged her mistake
She said she didn't mean it
She apologized for her error
And I never said she did
I didn't blame her for what happened
She said she wanted matches
She tried to explain why she opened the box
And she just took off the lid
She didn't realize the beetle was inside
She said I mustn't worry
She tried to reassure me
And I really mustn't mind
I shouldn't be upset about what happened
That there's lots and lots of beetles
There are many other insects like him
The she's certain we could find
She believed we could find another beetle
But it's difficult to catch
Trying to find the original beetle is challenging
An excited sort of beetle
The beetle was harder to catch because it was energized
You've mistaken for a match
It looked like a matchstick due to its size and coloring
If we looked in all the places
We would need to search everywhere
That a beetle might be near
We needed to look in areas where the beetle could have gone
And we made the kind of noises
We tried to attract the beetle back to us
That a beetle likes to hear
We used noises that would be familiar to the beetle
And I heard a kind of something
I heard a noise that sounded like the beetle
And I gave a sort of shout
I made a loud noise to get the attention of the beetle
It was a beetle house
It was a place where beetles lived
And Alexander beetle coming out
The original beetle was finally found
I'm as certain as can be
I was sure it was him
And he had that kind of look as though
He appeared amused with the situation
He thought it might be me
He thought his owner had come to find him
He thought he ought to say
He said something to apologize for running away
"I'm really very sorry that I tried to run away"
He apologized for escaping
And nanny's very sorry too
The nanny also apologized for her mistake
Cause you know what she did
She was aware of her error
And she's writing Alexander
She was labeling the box with his name
Very blackly on the lid
She was using a dark marker to write the name
So nan and me are friends because
I forgave the nanny for letting the beetle escape
It's difficult to catch
Catch a lively beetle
An excited Alexander
An active and playful beetle
You've misstaken for a match
That looks very similar to a matchstick
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, CARLIN AMERICA INC
Written by: MELANIE SAFKA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Sean_Coyne
So sad Melanie has gone. Just an old Aussie muso, listening to this with tears running down my cheeks.
@chrisg2533
RIP Melanie
@melaniechappell4554
This is my name sake. Proud to be called Melanie.
@naomivonzimmerman771
My mom sang this to me every night, I don’t know why. But still to this day makes me tear up a little.
@PeacefulTraveller888
I’m an Australian and I grew up with this song too. I have sung it to many children and my beautiful mumma when she was very old and frail. She loved it 🥰
@dewaltman5238
my Nan bought this for me when I was little. shes 91 now and im 52.
@victoriaannas5220
I was there! In Kalamazoo)
Candles in the rain was Melanie's best album n I'll bank on that.
Best part heart. ❤️
@nicolaiitchenko7610
My wife names all our vehicles and her first car, (a beetle) was called Alex.
@EllenN1963
I used to play this song for my kids in the car when we were on holiday. They still love it. And so do I :D
@jackiedaniel2502
One was right next to me he disappeared yesterday ❤