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 You Wait By The Water
Melanie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't you wait no, by the water, no don't
You'll wait so hard, you'll wait so long
You'll look so far, you'll look so wide
You'll see a boat, but it won't be mine, no
Oh once you told me, told me you'd be mine
And in no other pleasure find
It's my lonely time, I never loved, I'm never gonna love again
Oh fair thee well, my pretty man
Goodbye my old man, goodbye my friends
Never mind the tears, never mind the love
First you're gonna look, then I'll be gone
Oh don't you wait, no, by the water, no don't
You'll wait so hard, you'll wait so wait so long
You'll look so far, you'll look so wide
You'll see a boat, but it won't it be mine, no
Oh no, don't you, don't wait, no
Don't you wait by the water, no don't
In "Don't You Wait By The Water," Melanie warns someone not to wait for her by the water, as it will be fruitless. The person will wait for a long time and look far and wide, only to see a boat that won't be hers. The song appears to be addressed to a lover who left and lied to her, leaving her alone and unable to love again. She bids farewell to the man and her friends, acknowledging the tears and love they shared but indicating that she will be gone before the person waiting for her arrives.
The song has a mournful tone, but there is also a sense of acceptance and moving on. The person waiting by the water is a symbol of the past and the singer's decision to keep moving forward without dwelling on what is lost. The lyrics suggest that the pain of heartbreak is part of life, but it is not something to hold onto. Instead, Melanie encourages listeners to let go of what they cannot have and accept what is.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't you wait no, by the water, no don't
Don't wait for me by the water, it's not worth it
You'll wait so hard, you'll wait so long
You'll wait tirelessly for me, but I'm not coming back
You'll look so far, you'll look so wide
You'll search everywhere for me, but I won't be found
You'll see a boat, but it won't be mine, no
You may see a boat and hope it's mine, but it won't be
Oh once you told me, told me you'd be mine
You promised to be mine, but it was empty
And in no other pleasure find
You claimed to find no joy in anyone else
You went away, ah you lied then
You left and your promise was a lie
It's my lonely time, I never loved, I'm never gonna love again
I'm lonely and lost, I don't believe I'll love again
Oh fair thee well, my pretty man
Goodbye, my handsome man
Goodbye my old man, goodbye my friends
I'm saying goodbye to all my past relationships and friendships
Never mind the tears, never mind the love
Don't worry about tears or love, it doesn't matter anymore
First you're gonna look, then I'll be gone
You'll search for me, but by the time you realize I'm gone
Oh don't you wait, no, by the water, no don't
Please don't waste your time waiting for me by the water
You'll wait so hard, you'll wait so wait so long
You'll wait until it hurts, but I won't come back
You'll look so far, you'll look so wide
You'll search everywhere, but I won't be found
You'll see a boat, but it won't it be mine, no
You may see a boat and think it's me, but it won't be
Oh no, don't you, don't wait, no
Please don't wait for me, it's not worth it
Contributed by Violet N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ian Walker
What a fabulous track and incredible vocal this is.... I think they call the style "skiffle", is that right? Nice to see a video highlighting the quality and value of this performance and recording!
Sky Vibes
Not sure what it's called but I like it Ian! As Melanie is also famous for her painted stones I thought I'd honour her by "painting" Melanie into a pebble on the beach!!
3636lk
Great to see some melanie music again.
Rod Bowes
This song is familiar, so I suspect that this was one of the Melanie albums that I had back then almost 50!! years ago..
Sky Vibes
It was on the ‘sniffable’ or fragrant as I like to call it Rod ‘Garden In The City’
Majestic
Woo! Sky Vibes is doing Melanie again!
bill shakira
this video would be great for a melanie song.....Vampire Waltz (music video)