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 Ma
Melanie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Look what they done to my song ma
It was the only thing that I could do half right
And it's turning out all wrong ma
Look what they done to my song
Look what they done to my brain ma
Look at what they done to my brain
And I think I'm half insane ma
Look what they done to my song
Oh I wish I could find a good book
To live in
Oh I 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 done to my song
Maybe it'll all be all right ma
Maybe it'll all be OK
Well if the people are buying tears
Then I'm gonna be rich someday ma
Look what they done to my song
Look what they done to my song, ma
Ma Ma look look what they done to my song
You know they tied it up in a plastic bag
And they turned it upside down ma
Ma Ma look at what they done
Won't you look at what they done
Look what they done to my song.
Ils ont change ma chanson, ma
Ils ont change ma chanson, ma
C'est la seule chose que je peux faire
Et ce n'est pas bon, ma.
Ils ont change ma chanson.
In Melanie's song "Look What They Done to My Song," she expresses her sadness and frustration over the changes made to her work by others. The repetition of the phrase "look what they done" highlights the helplessness she feels as she observes the consequences of their actions. She reminisces about how her song used to be the only thing she could do half-right, but now it is all wrong. Melanie seems to point out that the changes made to her song are a reflection of the broader theme in society - how people's thoughts and ideas are manipulated and controlled by others. The lyrics "look what they done to my brain ma" demonstrate that even her thoughts are not spared from being altered.
Melanie's distress is exacerbated by the fact that she can't escape from the situation. She wishes to find a good book to live in, indicating that she seeks refuge and escapism from the reality of her situation. Her comment, "if I could find a real good book, I'd never have to come out and look at what they done to my song" demonstrates the depth of her disappointment, as she wishes to retreat into a fictional world where her work would be secure.
Melanie concludes the song with the hope that all will be well eventually. She concludes that as long as people are buying her music - albeit a modified version - she will be able to earn money, and it might all turn out fine in the end. Nevertheless, the lyrics in French, "Ils ont change ma chanson" are a subtle reminder of her powerless state.
Line by Line Meaning
Look what they done to my song ma
My song has been changed and it's not good anymore
It was the only thing that I could do half right
The song was the only thing the artist felt confident in doing
And it's turning out all wrong ma
Now the song is all wrong
Look what they done to my brain ma
The artist's mind has been affected by the changes made to the song
Well they picked it like a chicken bone
The people who changed the song were very critical and harsh
And I think I'm half insane ma
The changes made to the song have driven the artist crazy
Oh I wish I could find a good book
The artist wants to escape from the world and find solace in a good book
To live in
Well if I could find a real good book
The artist believes that a good book is the only way to avoid the changes made to the song
I'd never have to come out and look at
What they done to my song
The changes made to the song are so painful that the artist wants to avoid them
Maybe it'll all be all right ma
The artist is trying to be optimistic that everything will eventually be okay
Maybe it'll all be OK
Well if the people are buying tears
The artist believes that people want sad and depressing music
Then I'm gonna be rich someday ma
The artist hopes that writing sad music will lead to financial success
Ma Ma look look what they done to my song
The artist is frustrated and upset at the changes made to the song
You know they tied it up in a plastic bag
The song was packaged and changed in a way that made it unrecognizable
And they turned it upside down ma
The changes were so dramatic that it's like the song was flipped on its head
Ma Ma look at what they done
The artist is pleading for someone to recognize the damage done to the song
Won't you look at what they done
Look what they done to my song.
The artist is devastated by the changes made to the song
Ils ont change ma chanson, ma
The artist repeats the first line in French
Ils ont change ma chanson, ma
C'est la seule chose que je peux faire
The song was the only thing the artist felt comfortable with
Et ce n'est pas bon, ma.
The changes made to the song were not good
Ils ont change ma chanson.
The artist laments the changes made to the song in French
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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