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)
Here I Am
Melanie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Knowin' I'm not goin' nowhere today
And maybe not tomorrow,
No no, maybe not tomorrow
Maybe not tomorrow,
But that's okay.
Here I am, empty head
Knowin' I'm not goin' nowhere, nowhere today
And maybe not tomorrow,
No no, maybe not tomorrow
Maybe not tomorrow,
That's okay.
Here I am, dear I am, standing still
With a lot of time to make a rhyme
And a lot of time to kill
Count the raindrops as they fall
Knowin' that it's rainin'
It's rainin' and that's all
I know that it's just rain
And that is all
La da da, la da da;
La da da, la da da.
Here I am
Nothing left, so here I am
I didn't save for later,
Got nothing in the can
Knowin' I'm not goin' nowhere, nowhere today
And maybe not tomorrow,
No no, maybe not tomorrow
Maybe not tomorrow,
That's okay
That's okay.
In "Here I Am," Melanie expresses the feeling of being stuck in a situation where nothing is happening and there's nowhere to go. She begins the song by stating that she is standing still and she's aware that she's not making any progress. She's uncertain about the future and whether she'll ever move forward. However, she seems to be okay with it. She's come to terms with the fact that sometimes life doesn't go as per our plans, and that's alright.
In the second verse, Melanie tells us that she has an empty head - either she has nothing to think about, or she's not feeling particularly creative. However, she's making up for it with the fullness of her heart. She's lonely, and her bed is empty, but even that is not driving her to go out and find someone. She's resigned to the fact that she's not going anywhere today or maybe tomorrow, but she's not upset by it.
In the last verse, Melanie talks about having time on her hands, and she uses it to make up rhymes. She watches the rain, but she's not bothered by it either. Nothing much is happening in her life, but she's not complaining. Finally, she ends the song by saying that she's got nothing left, but here she is. Once again, accepting the present as it is.
Line by Line Meaning
Here I am, standin' still
I am in the same place in life, not moving forward or progressing.
Knowin' I'm not goin' nowhere today
I am aware that I am not actively pursuing my goals or making significant progress.
And maybe not tomorrow,
There is no guarantee that I will make progress tomorrow either.
No no, maybe not tomorrow
I am acknowledging the uncertainty of the future and the possibility of not achieving my goals.
Maybe not tomorrow,
I am optimistic and accepting of the possibility that I may not achieve my goals in the near future.
But that's okay.
I accept my current situation and am not distraught by my lack of progress.
Here I am, empty head
I am feeling uninspired and lacking in creative ideas.
I'm full of heart with an empty bed,
I have a lot of love and affection to give, but no one to share it with.
Knowin' I'm not goin' nowhere, nowhere today
I am acknowledging that I am stagnant and not actively pursuing my goals.
Count the raindrops as they fall
I am taking my time and finding interest in small, mundane things.
Knowin' that it's rainin'
I am aware of the unpleasant circumstances surrounding me.
It's rainin' and that's all
I accept that there are challenges and hardships in life that I must endure.
I know that it's just rain
I am acknowledging that my struggles are small compared to the larger picture of life.
And that is all
I am accepting my current circumstances and finding peace in them.
La da da, la da da;
I am expressing a carefree attitude and finding enjoyment in simple sounds.
Here I am
I am present in the moment and accepting of my current situation.
Nothing left, so here I am
I have no other options or alternatives, but to accept my current situation.
I didn't save for later,
I did not plan ahead or take my future into consideration.
Got nothing in the can
I have no backup plans or reserves to draw from.
That's okay
I am at peace with my situation and not concerned with needing more.
Maybe not tomorrow,
I am accepting of the uncertainty of the future and the possibility of not achieving my goals.
No no, maybe not tomorrow
I acknowledge the uncertainty of the future and the possibility of not making progress.
Maybe not tomorrow,
I am optimistic and accepting of the possibility that I may not achieve my goals in the near future.
That's okay.
I am accepting of my current situation and not distraught by my lack of progress.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: MELANIE SAFKA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind