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)
Free the people
Melanie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pull the boat out of the raging sea
Tell the devil he's a liar
Come and save the likes of me
Saw your light from the street
As I passed by the other day
I was scared, my knees were weak
Free the people from the fire
Pull the boat out of the raging sea
Tell the devil he's a liar
Come and save the likes of me
Saw a man walk on water
With everybody looking on
I didn't know I was his daughter
'Til both of us had come and gone
Free the people from the fire
Pull the boat out of the raging sea
Tell the devil he's a liar
Come and save the likes of me
If you see me in the alley
Looking like I don't belong
You can put me in your greenest valley
I'll still be singing the same old song
Free the people from the fire
Pull the boat out of the raging sea
Tell the devil he's a liar
The song “Free the people” by Melanie Safka is a call for salvation from the difficulties of life. The first verse speaks of the metaphorical fire and raging sea that people need to be freed from. These can be interpreted as the struggles and difficulties that people face in life, such as poverty or addiction. The second verse talks about the singer's fear and forgetfulness when she wanted to speak to someone. This can be interpreted as the fear that people have of reaching out and seeking help when they are struggling.
The chorus of the song is a call to action. It encourages people to pull the boat out of the raging sea, free themselves from the fire, and tell the devil he's a liar. This can be seen as an admonition to take control of one's life and not let external factors control it. The third verse speaks of a man walking on water, a clear biblical reference to Jesus Christ. The singer realizes that she is his daughter and that she needs saving too.
The final verse is a message of hope. It speaks to the idea that even in the lowest points of life, there is still a song to be sung. It encourages people to continue singing and to keep pushing forward. The overall message of the song is that people can free themselves from the difficulties of life, and that they should not give up hope.
Line by Line Meaning
Free the people from the fire
Liberate individuals from their struggle and troubles
Pull the boat out of the raging sea
Rescue individuals from the difficult circumstances they face
Tell the devil he's a liar
Reject any desire in one's life that leads them toward negativity and dysfunction
Come and save the likes of me
Extend a helping hand to those who need it most
Saw your light from the street
Notice the hope and positivity in the world
As I passed by the other day
While moving through my everyday life
I was scared, my knees were weak
I lacked the confidence I needed to make a change for the better
Forgot what I had come to say
Lost sight of my goals and aspirations
Saw a man walk on water
Encountered someone who achieved something seemingly impossible
With everybody looking on
In front of a crowd of people
I didn't know I was his daughter
I did not connect with or understand the person's accomplishments
'Til both of us had come and gone
Until we had each left the situation behind
If you see me in the alley
If you come across me in an unexpected or overlooked place
Looking like I don't belong
Appearing out of place or not fitting in with my surroundings
You can put me in your greenest valley
Even in the most idyllic setting, I will remain who I am
I'll still be singing the same old song
I will maintain my message and purpose no matter where life takes me
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BARBARA KEITH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind