Richard P. "Richie" Havens (born January 21, 1941; died April 22, 2013) was… Read Full Bio ↴Richard P. "Richie" Havens (born January 21, 1941; died April 22, 2013) was an American folk singer and guitarist. He is best remembered for his intense, rhythmic guitar style (often in open tunings), soulful covers of pop and folk songs, and his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival.

Born in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, Havens moved to Greenwich Village in 1961 in time to get in on the folk boom then taking place. Havens had a distinctive style as a folksinger, appearing in such clubs as the Cafe Wha? His guitar set to an open tuning, he would strum while barring chords with his thumb, using it essentially as percussion while singing rhythmically in a gruff voice for a mesmerizing effect. Havens was signed to Douglas Records in 1965 and recorded two albums that gained him a local following. In 1967, the Verve division of MGM Records formed a folk section (Verve Forecast) and signed Havens and other folk-based performers. The result was Havens's third album, Mixed Bag. It wasn't until 1968 and the Something Else Again album, however, that Havens began to hit the charts -- actually, Havens's fourth, third, and second albums charted that year, in that order. In 1969 came the double album Richard P. Havens 1983. Havens' career benefited enormously from his appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969 and his subsequent featured role in the movie and album made from the concert in 1970. His first album after that exposure, Alarm Clock, made the Top 30 and produced a Top 20 single in "Here Comes the Sun." These recordings were Havens's commercial high-water mark, but by this time he had become an international touring success. By the end of the '70s, he had abandoned recording and turned entirely to live work.

Havens came back to records with a flurry of releases in 1987: a new album, Simple Things; an album of Bob Dylan and Beatles covers; and a compilation. In 1991, Havens signed his first major-label deal in 15 years when he moved to Sony Music and released Now.

On April 22, 2013, Havens died of a heart attack at home in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was 72.

Discography
* A Richie Havens Record (1965)
* Electric Havens (1966)
* Mixed Bag (February 1967)
* Something Else Again (1968)
* Richard P. Havens, 1983 (1969)
* Stonehenge (1970)
* Alarm Clock (1971)
* The Great Blind Degree (1971)
* Richie Havens On Stage (1972)
* Portfolio (1973)
* Mixed Bag II (January 1975)
* The End of the Beginning (1976)
* Mirage (1977)
* Connections (1980)
* Common Ground (1983)
* Simple Things (1987)
* Sings Beatles and Dylan (1987)
* Live at the Cellar Door (1990)
* Now (1991)
* Cuts to the Chase (1994)
* Time (1999)
* Wishing Well (April 2002)
* Grace of the Sun (2004)

Guest appearances

* Please Don't Touch by Steve Hackett (1978)
* Starlight Express Music and Songs from (1987)
* OVO by Peter Gabriel (2000) (Soundtrack to the Millennium Dome Show)
* "Freedom" on The Best of The Jammy's Volume One w/ The Mutaytor
* "The Long Road" (Duet with Cliff Eberhardt) on Cliff's 1990 album "The Long Road")

Adam
Richie Havens Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

In the dawning, wakening hour
He'll lift his head and brush his eyes with gentle strokes
That will only blindly mislead him
Into the first day of creation which he only sees in limitation

Now he sits upon his empty bed
His heart is warm, his heart is full and he can see
But it is impossible for him to retain me

For his arms are without form, he cannot know the word
As his mind cries out absurd

Now he's standing inside the doorway
He is afraid but he believes all that he sees on the floor
Where everything is merging
And pictures he sees are tragic as he begins to believe in magic

Now he lies down in a hole
Down in the ground where it is cold and now he knows

Now he realizes his biggest mistake
That he never had to grow old, and he never had to grow cold and die

Overall Meaning

The song "Adam" by Richie Havens is a poignant exploration of the human experience, particularly our limitations as mortal beings. The opening lines paint a picture of Adam, man's first ancestor, waking up in the moment of creation. However, even though he has just been brought into existence, his perspective is already limited. He can only see what is right in front of him, and he cannot comprehend the full scope of his situation. The lyrics suggest that this limited perspective might be a fundamental fact of the human experience. We are all born into the world without a full understanding of ourselves, our surroundings, or what our place in the world will be.

As the song progresses, Adam becomes increasingly aware of the limitations of his existence. He tries to hold onto the warmth of his heart and the fullness of his experience, but he cannot retain these feelings. His arms are without form, and his mind cries out in the face of the absurd. Eventually, he finds himself standing in a doorway, afraid but mesmerized by the world around him. He sees tragedy and begins to believe in magic, suggesting that the line between reality and fantasy is blurred for him.

Finally, Adam lies down in a hole in the ground, where it is cold. He realizes that he never had to grow old or die, but he did so anyway. This final realization underscores the tragedy of the human experience. No matter how much we might try to hold onto life or make sense of our surroundings, we are ultimately finite beings. The song "Adam" asks us to confront this reality and consider its significance in our lives.

Line by Line Meaning

In the dawning, wakening hour
At the crack of dawn, as he awakens from sleep

He'll lift his head and brush his eyes with gentle strokes
He'll rub the sleep from his eyes gently

That will only blindly mislead him
But this action will deceive him

Into the first day of creation which he only sees in limitation
Making him think that the first day of existence is limited

Now he sits upon his empty bed
He now sits on his bed that is unoccupied

His heart is warm, his heart is full and he can see
He feels happiness and contentment and he's able to see

But it is impossible for him to retain me
But he cannot keep that feeling of happiness

For his arms are without form, he cannot know the word
Because his arms are without shape, he cannot understand the concept

As his mind cries out absurd
This thought seems silly to him

Now he's standing inside the doorway
Now he's standing at the entrance

He is afraid but he believes all that he sees on the floor
Although he's scared, he trusts everything he sees on the ground