1. Melanie Ann Safka-Schekeryk (b. 1947, d. 2024; known professionally as M… Read Full Bio ↴1. Melanie Ann Safka-Schekeryk (b. 1947, d. 2024; known professionally as Melanie) was a U.S. singer-songwriter.

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)

Any Way That You Want Me
Melanie Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

If it's love that you want
Baby you've got it
From the depth of my soul
Baby you've got it

But I've been watching you
And I don't think that you're game
Girl there's no need to explain

Anyway that you want me
Anyway that you'll take me
Anyway that you'll make me be part of you
Anyway that I know

There are dreams in your heart
Where love lasts forever
From the depth of my soul
I'll make them come true

But I've been watching you
And I don't think that your're game
Girl there's no need to explain

Anyway that you want me
Anyway that you'll take me
Anyway that you'll make me be part of you
Anyway that I know

Anyway that you want me
Anyway that you'll take me
Anyway that you'll make me be part of you
Anyway that I know

Anyway that you want me
Anyway that you'll take me

Anyway that you'll make me be part of you
Anyway that I know..

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Melanie's song "Any Way That You Want Me" express the depth of love the singer has for someone and the willingness to do anything to be a part of their life. The chorus repeats the phrase "anyway that you want me," emphasizing the singer's openness to meeting the other person's desires and needs.

The opening lines acknowledge the other person's desire for love and assurance that they have it from the singer. The use of "depth of my soul" conveys a deep and meaningful love that is not superficial. However, the following line, "But I've been watching you, and I don't think that you're game" suggests that the singer is not sure if the other person reciprocates the same feelings. The line "girl, there's no need to explain" implies that the other person does not owe the singer an explanation for their feelings.

The second verse talks about the dreams the other person has for endless love, which the singer vows to make come true. However, their doubts resurface as they remark that they have been observing the other person's actions, indicating that they are unsure if their efforts are received and wanted.

Overall, Melanie's "Any Way That You Want Me" is a beautiful declaration of love and vulnerability, with honest lyrics that reveal the doubts and worries that come with loving someone deeply.

Line by Line Meaning

If it's love that you want
If you're looking for love

Baby you've got it
I can give it to you

From the depth of my soul
With all my heart

Baby you've got it
I can give it to you

But I've been watching you
I've been observing you

And I don't think that you're game
And I don't think you're ready for a serious relationship

Girl there's no need to explain
You don't have to defend yourself to me

Anyway that you want me
No matter how you want me

Anyway that you'll take me
No matter how you'll have me

Anyway that you'll make me be part of you
No matter how you'll incorporate me into your life

Anyway that I know
All the ways that I'm aware of