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 songâĻ 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
JaneâĻ
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)
Come Softly To Me
Melanie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dahm dahm, dahm do dahm, ooby do
Dahm dahm, dahm do dahm, ooby do
Dahm dahm, dahm ooh dahm
Mm dooby do
(Come softly, darling)
(Come softly, darling)
(Come softly, darling)
(Come softly, darling)
(Come to me, stay)
(You're my ob-session)
(For ever and a day)
I want, want you to know
I love, I love you so
Please hold, hold me so tight
All through, all through the night
(Speak softly, darling)
(Hear what I say)
(I love you always)
(Always, always)
I've waited, waited so long
For your kisses and your love
Please come, come to me
From up, from up above
(Come softly, darling)
(Come softly, darling)
I need, need you so much
Wanna feel your warm touch
Mm dooby do, dahm dahm, dahm do dahm ooby do
Dahm dahm, dahm do dahm, ooby do
Dahm dahm, dahm do dahm, ooby do
Dahm dahm, dahm ooh dahm
Mm dooby do, dahm dahm, dahm do dahm ooby do
Dahm dahm, dahm do dahm, ooby do
Dahm dahm, dahm do dahm, ooby do
Dahm dahm, dahm ooh dahm
Melanie's "Come Softly To Me" is a poetic and heartfelt plea for love and affection. The opening "Mm dooby do, dahm dahm, dahm do dahm ooby do" creates an irresistible rhythm that makes the listener want to join in. The simplicity of the melody and the lyrics give the song an innocent and pure quality, which is in keeping with the plea for affection. The repeated "Come softly, darling" is a call for tenderness and care, for the lover to approach softly and gently, acknowledging that the singer is vulnerable and open.
The chorus "Come to me, stay / You're my obsession / Forever and a day" is a declaration of love and commitment. The use of the word "obsession" indicates the intensity of feeling that the singer has for their lover. The repeated "I love you always / Always, always" is another testament to the depth of the singer's love. The second verse continues with the theme of waiting for love and expresses the desire to be held tightly all through the night.
Overall, "Come Softly To Me" is a simple yet powerful song that expresses the yearning for love, affection and commitment. The innocence and purity of the melody create a feeling of vulnerability and openness, while the repeated calls for softness and tenderness underscore the importance of approaching love with care and respect.
Line by Line Meaning
Mm dooby do, dahm dahm, dahm do dahm ooby do
Melanie hums and sings some nonsensical syllables to set the tone for the song
Dahm dahm, dahm do dahm, ooby do
The beats and notes of the song are repeated to create a melody
Come softly, darling
Melanie requests her beloved to come to her gently and tenderly
Come to me, stay
She desires for her lover to stay with her always
You're my ob-session
Melanie admits that her lover has become her ultimate obsession
For ever and a day
She desires for their love to last forever
I want, want you to know
Melanie wants to express her love to her beloved
I love, I love you so
She deeply loves her partner and wants them to know
Please hold, hold me so tight
Melanie desires to be held tightly by her lover
All through, all through the night
She wants to be held and loved by her partner all through the night
Speak softly, darling
Melanie wants her lover to speak sweetly and tenderly to her
Hear what I say
She wants her lover to listen to her words carefully
I love you always
Melanie declares her love for her beloved and wants them to know that it will always be that way
I've waited, waited so long
Melanie confesses that she has waited for a long time to be loved by her partner
For your kisses and your love
She waited for her partner's love and kisses
Please come, come to me
Melanie urges her beloved to come to her
From up, from up above
She is hopeful that her beloved will come to her from heaven or any other high place
I need, need you so much
Melanie admits that she needs her lover desperately
Wanna feel your warm touch
She desires to feel her lover's warm touch
Dahm dahm, dahm do dahm, ooby do
The melody and beats of the song are repeated
Dahm dahm, dahm do dahm, ooby do
The melody and beats of the song are repeated
Dahm dahm, dahm do dahm, ooby do
The melody and beats of the song are repeated
Dahm dahm, dahm ooh dahm
The song ends with a slightly different melody and beat
Mm dooby do
Melanie hums and sing some nonsensical syllables to conclude the song
Lyrics Š Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GARY TROXEL, BARBARA ELLIS, GRETCHEN CHRISTOPHER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind