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)
Detroit Or Buffalo
Melanie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hit that same old wall
Really they don't wanna help at all
They talk behind your back today
They shake their heads and say
Gee I always knew that the girl would come to no good anyway
God knows everybody's gotta go sometime
Missin' that boy a mile at a time
I haven't been too well myself
Too much time upon the shelf
Sayin' that I don't need help when I do, I do
Still I think I'm gonna be just fine
A lot of friends a little wine
Still I'm wishing I could see you again sometime
Gonna pack my bags and go to Detroit or Buffalo
And if anybody wants to know where, you don't know, you don't know
God knows everybody's gotta go sometime
And I'm taking the train to the end of the line, yeah
Missing that boy a mile at a time
It's hard to open up that door
Like you've done so many times before
Sometimes you think you just can't do this anymore
Then you take a chance and take a train
Out into the pouring rain
When all you got there is your suitcase full of pain
Gonna pack my bags and go Detroit or Buffalo
And if anybody wants to know where, you don't know, you don't know
God knows everybody's gotta go sometime
And I'm taking the train to the end of the line, yeah
Missing that boy a mile at a time
"Detroit or Buffalo" is a song by singer-songwriter Melanie from her 1972 album, "Garden in the City". The song speaks about one's struggle with life and how "people expect you to fall" and "hit that same old wall" with no desire to help. However, despite facing challenges and criticism, the singer takes a train to the end of the line, either to Detroit or Buffalo, in search of something better. The song conveys a sense of restlessness and hopelessness, yet also touches on the idea of taking a leap of faith and embracing the unknown.
The lyrics suggest that the singer is going through a difficult time and that people are judging her based on her failures. She may be struggling with her mental health, as she admits that she "hasn't been too well" and needs help, even though she denies it to others. The line "when all you got there is your suitcase full of pain" suggests that she is carrying emotional baggage that she wants to leave behind. Despite everything, the singer still has hope and believes that she will be "just fine", with the help of "a lot of friends and a little wine".
The chorus repeats the phrase "God knows everybody's gotta go sometime" and emphasizes the singer's desire to escape and start anew. The line "missing that boy a mile at a time" suggests that the singer may have lost someone important to her, but she is gradually moving forward. The ambiguity of whether she is going to Detroit or Buffalo adds to the uncertainty and unpredictability of her journey.
Line by Line Meaning
People expect you to fall
People anticipate your failure
Hit that same old wall
Encounter the same obstacles as before
Really they don't wanna help at all
They don't want to help you
They talk behind your back today
They speak about you in secret and negatively in present time
They shake their heads and say
They disapprove and verbally express that opinion
Gee I always knew that the girl would come to no good anyway
They always expected you to fail
God knows everybody's gotta go sometime
Death is inevitable for everyone
And I'm taking the train to the end of the line, yeah
I'm going all the way to the end
Missin' that boy a mile at a time
Missing that boy little by little
I haven't been too well myself
I haven't been doing well either
Too much time upon the shelf
Been idle for too long
Sayin' that I don't need help when I do, I do
I pretend that I don't need help when I really do
Still I think I'm gonna be just fine
Despite my struggles, I believe I'll be okay
A lot of friends a little wine
Have many friends and a little alcohol
Still I'm wishing I could see you again sometime
I still desire to see you again
It's hard to open up that door
Challenging to take action
Like you've done so many times before
Like you've faced the same challenges many times
Sometimes you think you just can't do this anymore
Occasionally you doubt your abilities
Then you take a chance and take a train
Then you take a risk and depart
Out into the pouring rain
Into the rainstorm
When all you got there is your suitcase full of pain
All you have is your baggage filled with pain
Gonna pack my bags and go Detroit or Buffalo
I'm going to pack and leave to Detroit or Buffalo
And if anybody wants to know where, you don't know, you don't know
And if someone asks where I'm going, I won't say
Missing that boy a mile at a time
Missing that boy bit by bit
Contributed by Violet V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.