Newman is noted for his practice of writing lyrics from the perspective of a character far removed from Newman's own biography. For example, the 1972 song "Sail Away" is written as a slave trader's sales pitch to attract slaves, while the narrator of "Political Science" is a U.S. nationalist who complains of worldwide ingratitude toward America and proposes a brutally ironic final solution. One of his biggest hits, "Short People" was written from the perspective of "a lunatic" who hates short people. Since the 1980s, Newman has worked mostly as a film composer. His film scores include Ragtime, Awakenings, The Natural, Leatherheads, James and the Giant Peach, Meet the Parents, Seabiscuit and The Princess and the Frog. He has scored many Disney-Pixar films: Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Cars, Toy Story 3, Monsters University, Cars 3 and most recently Toy Story 4.
He has been awarded an Academy Award, three Emmys, four Grammy Awards, and the Governor's Award from the Recording Academy. Newman was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2007, Newman was inducted as a Disney Legend.
Newman grew up in a musical family with Hollywood connections; his uncles Alfred and Lionel both scored numerous films. By age 17, Randy was staff writer for a California music publisher. One semester short of a B.A. in music from UCLA, he dropped out of school. Lenny Waronker, son of Liberty Records’ president, was a close friend and, later, as a staff producer for Warner Bros., helped get Newman signed to the label.
Newman’s early songs were recorded by a number of performers. His friend Harry Nilsson recorded an entire album with Newman on piano, Nilsson Sings Newman, in 1970. Judy Collins (“I Think It’s Going to Rain Today”), Peggy Lee (“Love Story”), and Three Dog Night - for whom “Mama Told Me (Not to Come)” hit #1 - all enjoyed success with Newman’s music.
Newman became a popular campus attraction when touring with Nilsson. His status as a cult star was affirmed by his critically praised debut, Randy Newman, in 1968, which featured his own complex arrangements for full orchestra, and later by 1970’s 12 Songs. He also sang “Gone Dead Train” on the soundtrack of Performance (1970). Live and Sail Away were Newman’s first commercial successes, but his audience has been limited to some degree because his songs are often colored by his ironic, pointed sense of humor, which is rarely simple and frequently misunderstood.
Good Old Boys, for example, was a concept album about the South, with the lyrics expressing the viewpoint of white Southerners. Lyrics such as “We’re rednecks, and we don’t know our ass from a hole in the ground” made people wonder whether Newman was being satirical or sympathetic. He toured (to Atlanta and elsewhere) behind the album with a full orchestra that played his arrangements and was conducted by his uncle Emil Newman.
Little Criminals, in 1977, contained Newman’s first hit single, “Short People,” which mocked bigotry and was taken seriously by a vocal offended minority. “Baltimore” from that album was covered by Nina Simone. Following that album’s release, Newman toured for the first time since 1974. He claimed that in the interim he’d done nothing but watch television and play with his three sons. In 1979 his Born Again featured guest vocals by members of the Eagles. In 1981 Newman composed the soundtrack for the film Ragtime (the first of many soundtrack assignments) and was nominated for two Oscars (Best Song, Best Score). His 1983 album, Trouble in Paradise, included guest appearances by Linda Ronstadt, members of Fleetwood Mac, and Paul Simon, who sang a verse of “The Blues.” That album’s “I Love L.A.” became something of an anthem, thanks in part to a flashy music video directed by Newman’s cousin, Tim Newman (who went on to shoot popular videos for ZZ Top, among others). Land of Dreams (#80, 1988) spawned a minor hit in “It’s Money That Matters” (#60, 1988). It would take Newman 10 more years to make another studio album, 1999’s critically acclaimed Bad Love. With that record peaking at #194, he continues to meet his biggest success in Hollywood, where he spent most of the ’90s becoming one of the town’s most sought-after film composers. Although the material on his own records is literate and biting, the songs he writes for movies are decidedly simpler and with a sunnier outlook - and they usually meet with more success. Both “I Love to See You Smile” from Parenthood and “When She Loved Me” from Toy Story 2, for instance, were nominated for Oscars; in 1998 alone, Newman garnered three Oscar nominations for three different movies.
In 1995 Newman wrote a musical adaptation of Goethe’s Faust. Both the play and the accompanying CD (which featured guests such as Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, Elton John, Don Henley, and James Taylor in the role of God) were commercially unsuccessful. In 2000 he received the Billboard Century Award.
Birmingham
Randy Newman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Earn my livin' with my hand
I'm a roller in a steel mill
In downtown Birmingham
My daddy was a barber
And a most unsightly man
He was born in Tuscaloosa
[Chorus]
Birmingham Birmingham
The greatest city in Alabam'
You can travel 'cross this entire land
But there's no place like Birmingham
Got a wife named Mary
But she's called Marie
We live in a three room house
With a pepper tree
And I work all day in the factory
That's alright with me
Got a big black dog
And his name is Dan
Who lives in my backyard in Birmingham
He is the meanest dog in Alabam'
Get 'em Dan
[Chorus]
In Randy Newman's "Birmingham," the singer is a steel mill worker in downtown Birmingham who has a wife and family. He takes pride in his job, and even though he works hard, he is content with his life. The chorus of the song repeats "Birmingham, Birmingham, the greatest city in Alabam'," emphasizing the singer's deep affection for the city he calls home. The second verse mentions the singer's father, who was born in Tuscaloosa but died in Birmingham. This suggests that Birmingham is a place where people put down roots and stay, generation after generation.
The song paints a picture of a hardworking, blue-collar man who loves his family and his home. The lyrics are simple and straightforward, but they convey a sense of pride and belonging that many people feel for the place where they were born and raised. The repetition of the chorus reinforces this feeling of connection to the city of Birmingham.
Overall, "Birmingham" is a tribute to the people who work hard to make their home a better place, and to the city of Birmingham itself, which is celebrated as a unique and vibrant place that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Got a wife got a family
I have a spouse and children that I take care of
Earn my livin' with my hand
I work for a living using my physical labor
I'm a roller in a steel mill
I work in a factory that produces steel and my job is to operate the roller machinery
In downtown Birmingham
I work in the city center of Birmingham, Alabama
My daddy was a barber
My father had a career cutting hair
And a most unsightly man
He was not particularly attractive
He was born in Tuscaloosa
My dad was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
But he died right here in Birmingham
My father passed away in Birmingham, where we currently reside
Birmingham Birmingham
This is a refrain that extols the virtues of Birmingham
The greatest city in Alabam'
Birmingham is presented as the best city in Alabama
You can travel 'cross this entire land
Regardless of where one travels in the US, nothing compares to Birmingham, as I believe
But there's no place like Birmingham
Birmingham is unique and incomparable with other places
Got a wife named Mary
My wife's given name is Mary
But she's called Marie
Although her name is Mary, people commonly refer to her as Marie
We live in a three-room house
My family lives in a modest home consisting of three rooms
With a pepper tree
There is a pepper tree growing on the property around our house
And I work all day in the factory
I am fully occupied with work at the factory throughout the day
That's alright with me
Despite the tedium of working at the factory daily, I am content with my life
Got a big black dog
I have a large canine pet
And his name is Dan
I refer to the pet as Dan
Who lives in my backyard in Birmingham
Dan resides in my backyard at our house in Birmingham
He is the meanest dog in Alabam'
My dog is not friendly and is notoriously known for being extremely aggressive
Get 'em Dan
This is a phrase directed towards the dog to attack or intimidate someone or something
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: RANDY NEWMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind