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)
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Melanie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I have run through the fields
Only to be with you
Only to be with you
I have run, I have crawled
I have scaled these city walls
These city walls
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
No I still haven't found what I'm looking for
I have kissed honey lips
Felt the healing in the fingertips
It burned like fire
A burning desire
I have spoke with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of a devil
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
No I still haven't found what I'm looking for
I believe in the kingdom come
Where all the colours bleed into one
Bleed into one
Ah! I believe it
You broke the bonds, loosed the chains
Carried the cross and all my shame
All my shame
Oh, I'm still runnin'
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
Oh, I still haven't found it, what I'm looking for
I still haven't found it
I still haven't found it
And I believe
Yes I'm still runnin'
Yes I'm still runnin'
The song "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2 tells the story of someone's spiritual search for a sense of purpose or meaning in life. The lyrics describe the lengths that the person has gone to try and find this purpose, including climbing mountains, running through fields, and scaling city walls. However, despite all of these efforts, the person still feels unfulfilled and without a sense of direction.
The second verse of the song describes some of the more profound experiences that the person has had in their search, such as feeling a burning desire for love and connection, and feeling both the warmth of angels and the coldness of isolation. The song then turns more hopeful in the third verse, where the person expresses their belief in a kingdom or utopia where all people are united and free.
Line by Line Meaning
I have climbed the highest mountain
I have faced great challenges in my pursuit.
I have run through the fields
I have traveled far and wide in search of my goal.
Only to be with you
My motivation for this journey was to be with you.
I have run, I have crawled
I have tried every means possible to reach my destination.
I have scaled these city walls
I have overcome the difficulties of city life in search of my purpose.
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
Despite all my efforts, I have not found what I was searching for.
I have kissed honey lips
I have experienced moments of pleasure and happiness.
Felt the healing in the fingertips
I have been touched by empathy and kindness from others.
It burned like fire
These experiences were intense and passionate.
A burning desire
These experiences gave me a strong motivation to continue my search.
I have spoke with the tongue of angels
I have communicated with those who are pure and virtuous.
I have held the hand of a devil
I have associated with those who are morally corrupted.
It was warm in the night
These experiences were pleasant in the short term.
I was cold as a stone
But in the long term, these experiences left me feeling empty.
I believe in the kingdom come
I have faith in the ultimate fulfillment of my purpose.
Where all the colours bleed into one
In this place, differences and boundaries disappear and unity is achieved.
You broke the bonds, loosed the chains
I attribute my freedom to you, as you helped me break free from my limitations.
Carried the cross and all my shame
You carried my burdens and provided me with strength and redemption.
Oh, I'm still runnin'
I will continue to pursue my purpose even though it has not yet been fulfilled.
And I believe
Despite the challenges, I still have faith that I will find what I am looking for.
Yes I'm still runnin'
I remain determined to keep searching for my purpose.
Contributed by Natalie I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.