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)
What Have They Done to My Song Ma
Melanie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Look what they done to my song
Well it's 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
Well they picked it like a chicken bone
And I think I'm half insane ma
Look what they 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 done to my song
La la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la
Look what they done to my song
But maybe it'll all be alright ma
Maybe it'll all be okay
Well if the people are buying tears
I'll be rich someday ma
Look what they done to my song
Ils ont change ma chanson, ma
Ils ont change ma chanson
See'est la seule chose que je peux faire
Et ce n'est pas bon, ma
Ils ont change ma chanson
Look what they done to my song, ma
Look what they done to my song
Well they tied it up in a plastic bag
And turned it upside down ma
Look what they done to my song
Look what they done to my song ma
Look what they done to my song
It's the only thing that I could do alright
And they turned it upside down
Oh ma
Look what they done to my song
In Melanie's song "What Have They Done to My Song Ma," the singer laments the changes that have been made to her music and her identity. The repeated line "Look what they done to my song" serves as a title and chorus that emphasizes the central theme of the song, which is the loss of control over her art. Melanie sings about the frustration she feels as a songwriter who has lost her connection to her own work. The song explores the idea that artistic expression is not just a form of creativity, but also a part of a person's identity, and the damage that can occur when that expression is altered or taken away.
The second and third verses illustrate how it is not only the song that has been changed but also the singer herself. The line "Look what they done to my brain ma" implies that the changes to the song were not merely cosmetic, but had an impact on her emotional and mental state. The line "I wish I could find a good book to live in" expresses the desire to escape from the world where her song has become out of her control. The final verse holds a hint of optimism as she appears to be accepting the possibility of commercial success even if it means sacrificing her artistic vision.
Overall, "What Have They Done to My Song Ma" is both a commentary on the commercialization of music and a personal exploration of identity and artistic freedom.
Line by Line Meaning
Look what they done to my song ma
I am shocked and disappointed to see what has been done to my song, mother.
Well it's the only thing That I could do half right And it's turning out all wrong ma
My song was the only thing I felt confident about doing, but the changes made to it has resulted in it not being as good as I hoped for, mother.
Look what they done to my brain ma Look what they done to my brain Well they picked it like a chicken bone And I think I'm half insane ma
The changes made to my song have affected me badly, mother. I feel like they have picked on my brain like a chicken bone and I feel like I am losing my mind.
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 done to my song
I wish to escape reality and live in a good book, mother. If I found such a book, I wouldn't have to come out and see the harm that has been caused to my song.
La la la la la la la la la La la la la la la la la la La la la la la la la la la Look what they done to my song
The melody may be cheerful, but the pain I feel from the modifications done on my song is real, mother.
But maybe it'll all be alright ma Maybe it'll all be okay Well if the people are buying tears I'll be rich someday ma Look what they done to my song
Perhaps everything will be okay in the end, mother. If the changes made to my song make people emotional and they buy it, I may become rich someday.
Ils ont change ma chanson, ma Ils ont change ma chanson See'est la seule chose que je peux faire Et ce n'est pas bon, ma Ils ont change ma chanson
They have changed my song, mother. It is the only thing I can do and it's not good. They have changed my song.
Look what they done to my song, ma Look what they done to my song Well they tied it up in a plastic bag And turned it upside down ma Look what they done to my song
I am dismayed at how much my song has changed, mother. They packaged it in a plastic bag and completely turned it upside down. Look what they have done to my song.
It's the only thing that I could do alright And they turned it upside down Oh ma Look what they done to my song
My song was the only thing that I was good at and they completely turned it around. It's devastating, mother. Look at what they have done to my song.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
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 😢
@cynthianaylor9514
We of our generation have lost so many singers/songwriters it's scary.
@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