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)
Don't Think Twice It's All Right
Melanie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It don't matter any how
Ain′t no use to sit and wonder why Babe
If you don't know by now
When the rooster crows at the break of dawn
Look out your window and I'll be gone
Well, you′re the reason I′m travelin' on
Don′t think twice, it's all right
Like I never knowed
Ain′t no use in turnin' on your light Babe
I'm on the dark side of the road
Still I wish there was somethin′ you could do or say
Something to make me change my mind and stay
Well, we never did too much talkin′ anyway
Don't think twice, it′s all right
Going down this long lonesome road Babe
I'm bound for I can′t tell
Good-bye's just another word Babe
So I′ll just say fare thee well
I ain't sayin' that you treated me unkind
You could have done better but I don′t mind
You just kinda wasted all my precious time
Don′t think twice, it's all right
Ain′t no use in callin' out my name Babe
Like you never done before
Ain′t no use in callin' out my name Babe
I can′t hear you anymore
Well, I'm thinkin' an′ I′m wonderin' a way down the road
I once loved a good man, a child I′m told
Well, I gave him my heart but he wanted my soul
Don't think twice
Don′t think twice, I thought
Don't think twice, it′s all right
Still I wish there was somethin' you could do or say
Something to make me change my mind and stay
Well, we never did too much talkin' anyway
Don′t think twice, it′s all right
In Melanie's version of the song "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," she expresses feelings of resignation and acceptance towards a relationship that has come to an end. The opening lines "Ain′t no use to sit and wonder why Babe, it don't matter any how" convey a sense of inevitability and detachment from the situation. She goes on to reiterate this sentiment in the following lines "Ain′t no use to sit and wonder why Babe, If you don't know by now." The lyrics suggest that the singer has come to terms with the fact that the relationship is over and it's time to move on.
The tone of resignation is continued in the second stanza, where the singer expresses a desire to move on without emotional attachments. The lines "Ain′t no use in turnin' on your light Babe, Like I never knowed" convey a sense of numbness and detachment, suggesting that the singer has already emotionally distanced themselves from the relationship. While the singer acknowledges that they wish "there was somethin′ you could do or say, something to make me change my mind and stay," they also acknowledge that "we never did too much talkin′ anyway."
In the final stanza, the singer reflects on the past and a former lover, but ultimately concludes that there is no use in calling out their name, as they "can't hear you anymore." The singer acknowledges the love they once felt, but again asserts that it's time to move on. The final lines "Don't think twice, it's all right" serve as a conclusion to the song, conveying a sense of acceptance towards what has come to pass.
Line by Line Meaning
Ain′t no use to sit and wonder why Babe
It's pointless to ponder and speculate over our situation, babe.
It don't matter any how
Our circumstances are immaterial and insignificant.
If you don't know by now
If you haven't figured it out already on your own.
When the rooster crows at the break of dawn
At the crack of dawn, when the rooster crows, I will have left.
Look out your window and I'll be gone
There will be no sign of me; I will have vanished completely.
Well, you′re the reason I′m travelin' on
You're the cause of my wanderings on this journey.
Don′t think twice, it's all right
Don't ponder or worry about it, everything is alright.
Ain′t no use in turnin' on your light Babe
There's no point in turning on your light anymore, babe.
Like I never knowed
It's as if I never knew you at all.
I'm on the dark side of the road
I'm in the shadows and depths of the road, far from the light.
Still I wish there was somethin′ you could do or say
Even so, I hope there could be something you could do or say.
Something to make me change my mind and stay
Something that could persuade me to stay a little longer.
Well, we never did too much talkin′ anyway
We didn't communicate much generally, so it's no big loss.
Going down this long lonesome road Babe
I'm traveling on this long and lonely road, babe.
I'm bound for I can′t tell
I don't know where I'm headed, but I'm bound to go there.
Good-bye's just another word Babe
Saying goodbye is just another meaningless thing, babe.
So I′ll just say fare thee well
So I'll just say goodbye and be on my way.
I ain't sayin' that you treated me unkind
I'm not implying that you mistreated me.
You could have done better but I don′t mind
You could have made more of an effort, but I don't hold it against you.
You just kinda wasted all my precious time
You just squandered my valuable time for nothing.
Ain′t no use in callin' out my name Babe
There's no point in shouting my name, babe.
Like you never done before
As if you've never shouted it before.
I can′t hear you anymore
I can't hear you anymore, my ears have become deaf to it.
Well, I'm thinkin' an′ I′m wonderin' a way down the road
I'm contemplating and pondering while traveling down the road.
I once loved a good man, a child I′m told
I once loved a good and virtuous man, who was apparently just young and naive.
Well, I gave him my heart but he wanted my soul
I gave him my love, but he desired and demanded much more.
Don′t think twice
Don't overthink it.
Don′t think twice, I thought
I had concluded, don't think twice.
Don't think twice, it′s all right
Don't worry, everything is alright as it is.
Writer(s): Bob Dylan
Contributed by Anna H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.