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)
Look What They've Done To My Song
Melanie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Look what they've done to my song
Well it's the only thing I could do half right
And it's turning out all wrong, Ma
Look what they've done to my song
Look what they've done to my brain, Ma
Look what they've done to my brain
And I think I'm half insane, Ma
Look what they've done to my song
I wish I could find a good book to live in
Wish I could find a good book
Well, if I could find a real good book
I'd never have to come out and look at
What they've done to my song
La la la…
Look what they've done to my song
But maybe it'll all be all right, Ma
Maybe it'll all be OK
Well, if the people are buying tears
I'll be rich some day, Ma
Look what they've done to my song
Ils ont changé ma chanson, Ma
Ils ont changé ma chanson
See'est la seule chose que je peux faire
Et çe n'est pas bon, Ma
Ils ont changé ma chanson
Look what they've done to my song, Ma
Look what they've done to my song
Well they tied it up in a plastic bag
And turned it upside down
Look what they've done to my song
Ils ont changé ma chanson, Ma…
Look what they've done to my song, Ma
Look what they've done to my song
Well it's the only thing I could do all right
And they turned it upside down
Look what they've done to my song
The song "Look What They've Done To My Song" by Melanie is a poignant commentary on the music industry and the pressure to conform to popular tastes. The lyrics address the singer's frustration with the changes made to her music, and the impact that the industry has had on her creativity and sense of self. The opening lines, "Look what they've done to my song, Ma / Well it's the only thing I could do half right / And it's turning out all wrong, Ma" highlight the sense of disillusionment and sadness that the singer feels about the music that she has created.
The second verse of the song, "Look what they've done to my brain, Ma / Well they picked it like a chicken bone / And I think I'm half insane, Ma / Look what they've done to my song" further emphasises the psychological toll that the industry has taken on the singer. The use of the metaphor of "picking" at the singer's brain is a powerful image, suggesting that the industry has literally disassembled her thoughts and ideas, leaving her feeling fragmented and unsure of herself.
Overall, the song is a damning critique of the music industry and the ways in which it can stifle creativity and individuality. It is a powerful reminder of the importance of artistic integrity and the need to resist the pressures to conform to popular tastes.
Line by Line Meaning
Look what they've done to my song, Ma
I am upset and disappointed about how my song has been altered by someone else.
Well it's the only thing I could do half right
I don't feel confident in my ability to do anything well except write songs.
And it's turning out all wrong, Ma
The changes made to my song have made it worse and I'm unhappy with the result.
Look what they've done to my brain, Ma
The experience of having my song changed has been mentally damaging to me.
Well they picked it like a chicken bone
The changes to my song were made with a lack of care or consideration for my original work.
And I think I'm half insane, Ma
The stress and frustration of seeing my creative work altered in a negative way has started to affect my mental health.
I wish I could find a good book to live in
I wish I could escape reality for a while and find solace in a good book.
If I could find a real good book, I'd never have to come out and look at what they've done to my song
If I had a good enough distraction or escape, I wouldn't have to face the reality of what's happened to my song.
Maybe it'll all be all right, Ma
I'm trying to stay optimistic that everything will work out in the end.
Maybe it'll all be OK
I hope that things will turn out well even though I'm struggling right now.
Well, if the people are buying tears
If people continue to show an interest in sad or emotional music, I could still make money even if my song has been changed.
I'll be rich some day, Ma
I'm willing to keep pushing through this difficult experience in order to achieve financial success in the future.
Ils ont changé ma chanson, Ma
Repeating my frustration in French.
Well they tied it up in a plastic bag
The changes to my song have made it feel constricted and unnatural.
And turned it upside down
The alterations to my song have completely changed its meaning and message.
Look what they've done to my song
Reiterating my disappointment with the changes made to my art.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: MELANIE SAFKA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@TonyGPizza
Some people say you did all right for a girl. Farewell, Melanie.
@maureenmcdermott7293
Jesus..this is so poignant and beautiful.
@reuireuiop0
Just got here after watching the Happy Hippie backyard duet with Miley Cyrus
watch before saying yikes!
Proves it all.
@Mysteri759
She'll be missed by all those who loved her music and those who are new to the sounds of folk. :(
RIP Melanie Safka
@PhilFeedback
I Just got word that she has passed away.
Rest In Peace Melanie, you were one of a kind 😢
@BJane58
😢 So sad but so perfect
@valeriehartman3705
So sad... My husband went to high school with Melanie. She gave a concert and would always walk with a guitar on her back. As for me, being French born and now living on Melanie's territory in New Jersey, this is with this song we remember Melanie, for the French line "ils ont changé ma chanson." RIP and thank you.
@williamschlenger1518
Long Branch H.S. so long ago .
@MrStlbill
Saddened by this loss. The world lost an amazing talent and icon of an era.
@theshermer
😢 Rest in peace Melanie