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)
Bitterblue
Melanie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't hand it back to me bitterblue, my bitterblue
'Cause I've done all one man can do
Pleas help me lose this bitterblue, my bitterblue
'Cause I've been running a long time on this travelling ground
Wishing hard to be free of going round and round
Yes I've been moving a long time, only up and down
I gave my last hope to you
Don' t hand it back to me bitterblue, oh bitterblue
I've done all one man can do
Please help me lose this bitterblue, my bitterblue
'Cause I've been waiting a long time, aeons been and gone
Looking at the horizon for my life to dawn
Yes I've been living a long time, looking on and on
Yes I've been running a long time, summers come and gone
Drifting under the dream clouds past the broken sun
Yes I've been living a long time to be back beyond
I gave my last chance to you
Don't hand it back bitterblue, my bitterblue
I've done all one man can do
Don't pass me up oh bitterblue, my bitterblue
'Cause I've been running a long time on this travelling ground
Wishing hard to be free, going round and round
'Cause I've been waiting a long time, aeons been and gone
Looking at the horizon for my life to dawn
Yes I've been running a long time, summer 's come and gone
Drifting under the dream clouds past the frozen sun
'Cause I've been living a long time, going round and round
Melanie's song "Bitterblue" is a plea to someone to not return the bitterness she's been feeling. The chorus repeats the phrase "Don't hand it back to me bitterblue, my bitterblue" while the verses speak to the singer's frustration of feeling like she's been running in circles, trying her hardest but not being able to break free from the cycle. Despite her efforts, she's still stuck in the same place and is asking for help to get out of it. The lyrics also touch on themes of waiting for something to happen and feeling like time is passing by without any progress, which adds to the sense of desperation and hopelessness in the song.
The verses are full of metaphors and vivid imagery, painting a picture of a person who's been running and traveling for a long time, seeking to be free but always being held back. The line "Drifting under the dream clouds past the broken sun" is particularly striking, suggesting a sense of loneliness and disconnection from reality. The repetition of certain words and phrases throughout the song emphasize the singer's desperation and the repetition of her cycle, which only adds to the sense of frustration and hopelessness.
Line by Line Meaning
I gave my last chance to you
I trusted you with my final opportunity
Don't hand it back to me bitterblue, my bitterblue
Don't give it back to me with disappointment, my dear
'Cause I've done all one man can do
Because I have tried my hardest
Pleas help me lose this bitterblue, my bitterblue
Please help me move on from this bitter feeling, my dear
'Cause I've been running a long time on this travelling ground
Because I have been traveling aimlessly for a long time
Wishing hard to be free of going round and round
Wishing to break free from this endless cycle
Yes I've been moving a long time, only up and down
Yes, I have been moving, but haven't made any significant progress
I gave my last hope to you
I trusted you as my last hope
Don' t hand it back to me bitterblue, oh bitterblue
Don't return it to me with disappointment, oh dear
Yes I've been waiting a long time, aeons been and gone
Yes, I have been waiting for a long time, through countless ages
Looking at the horizon for my life to dawn
Hoping for a sign of new beginnings
Yes I've been living a long time, looking on and on
Yes, I have been living, but not really experiencing anything new
Yes I've been running a long time, summers come and gone
Yes, I have been running for a long time, but seasons have passed uneventfully
Drifting under the dream clouds past the broken sun
I am simply drifting through life, with no clear direction
Yes I've been living a long time to be back beyond
Yes, I have been living, but longing to return to a better time
Don't pass me up oh bitterblue, my bitterblue
Don't let me miss another opportunity, my dear
'Cause I've been waiting a long time, aeons been and gone
Because I have been waiting for ages, but nothing has changed
Looking at the horizon for my life to dawn
Hoping for a sign of new beginnings
Yes I've been running a long time, summer 's come and gone
Yes, I have been running for a long time, but seasons have passed uneventfully
Drifting under the dream clouds past the frozen sun
I am simply drifting through life, not experiencing any true warmth
'Cause I've been living a long time, going round and round
Because I have been living my life in circles, with no progress
Writer(s): Yusuf Islam Copyright: Cat Music Ltd.
Contributed by Benjamin R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.