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 cant make you love me
Melanie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Broken, tired, and torn apart
Undeserving of Your love
Somehow Your grace is still enough
Even though I don't deserve it
I try so hard to comprehend
God, You know I'm so unworthy
Even though I fail You so much
I can't explain the way You love
God, You know I'm so imperfect
But I know You love me
(Oh Lord)
Why exchange Your life for mine
Each worthless breath short of divine
Create in me, so beautiful
c heart that's purified like gold
Even though I don't deserve it
I try so hard to comprehend
God, You know I'm so unworthy
But I know You love me
Even though I fail You so much
I can't explain the way You love
God, You know I'm so imperfect
But I know You love me
Even though I don't deserve it
I try so hard to comprehend
God, You know I'm so unworthy
But I know You love me
Even though I fail You so much
I can't explain the way You love
God, You know I'm so imperfect
But I know You love me (yeah)
(Oh God, I know you love me)
(Oh Lord, I Know you love me)
(Oh)
(Oh Lord, we want you God)
Break down my walls, Burst through my doors
Invade my life with Your presence
Mold me and shape me like the clay
Invade my life with Your presence
Break down my walls, Burst through my doors
Invade my life with Your presence
Mold me and shape me like the clay
Invade my life with Your presence (Oh)
Break down my walls, Burst through my doors
Invade my life with Your presence
Mold me and shape me like the clay
Invade my life with Your presence
Even though I don't deserve it
I try so hard to comprehend
God, You know I'm so unworthy
But I know You love me
Even though I fail You so much
I can't explain the way You love
God, You know I'm so imperfect
But I know You love me
Even though I don't deserve it
I try so hard to comprehend
God, You know I'm so unworthy
But I know You love me
Even though I fail You so much
I can't explain the way You love
God, You know I'm so imperfect
But I know You love me
Break down my walls, Burst through my doors
Invade my life with Your presence
Mold me and shape me like the clay
Invade my life with Your presence (yeah)
Break down my walls, Burst through my doors
Invade my life with Your presence
Mold me and shape me like the clay
Invade my life with Your presence (Oh Lord)
Break down my walls, Burst through my doors
Invade my life with Your presence
Mold me and shape me like the clay
Invade my life with Your presence
The lyrics of Melanie's song "I Can't Make You Love Me" express a deep sense of unworthiness and imperfection, juxtaposed with the overwhelming love and grace of a higher power, presumably in this case, God. The singer acknowledges their brokenness and inadequacy, recognizing that they do not deserve the love that is being offered to them. Despite their shortcomings, they find solace and reassurance in the belief that God's love is unconditional and unending.
The repetition of the lines "Even though I don't deserve it, I try so hard to comprehend" highlights the struggle to fully grasp or accept the magnitude of this love. The singer is aware of their constant failings and imperfections, yet they hold onto the certainty that God's love transcends all faults and shortcomings. This internal conflict between feelings of unworthiness and the belief in unconditional love forms a central theme of the song.
The plea for God to "break down my walls, burst through my doors" and to "invade my life with Your presence" reflects a desire for spiritual transformation and renewal. The singer longs to be molded and shaped by this divine love, likening themselves to clay waiting to be sculpted into something beautiful and pure. The imagery of clay being molded underscores the idea of surrendering to a higher power and allowing oneself to be transformed by love and grace.
Ultimately, the song captures a sense of humility, self-awareness, and surrender to a greater force. The repeated affirmations of "I know You love me" serve as a reminder of faith and trust in the constant and unwavering love of God, despite the singer's perceived unworthiness and imperfections. The lyrics resonate with those who struggle with feelings of inadequacy and doubt, offering a message of hope, acceptance, and the transformative power of divine love.
Line by Line Meaning
How can You accept this heart
In awe of God's ability to love despite my brokenness
Broken, tired, and torn apart
Feeling emotionally and spiritually depleted
Undeserving of Your love
Acknowledging one's unworthiness of God's love
Somehow Your grace is still enough
Finding comfort in God's unending grace
Why exchange Your life for mine
Wondering about the sacrifice God made for me
Each worthless breath short of divine
Recognizing the limitation of human existence compared to God's divinity
Create in me, so beautiful
Asking for God's transformative power in one's life
A heart that's purified like gold
Seeking spiritual purification and refinement
Break down my walls, Burst through my doors
Inviting God to break down barriers and enter one's life
Invade my life with Your presence
Asking for God's presence to permeate every aspect of life
Mold me and shape me like the clay
Requesting God to mold and shape one's character
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind