They are best-known during the late 1960s and early 1970s for popularizing the hits "Up, Up and Away", "Wedding Bell Blues", "Stoned Soul Picnic", "One Less Bell to Answer", "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All", and "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In", as well as the eponymous 5th Dimension and The Magic Garden LP recordings.
The five original members were Billy Davis, Jr., Florence LaRue, Marilyn McCoo, Lamonte McLemore, and Ron Townson. They have recorded for several different labels over their long careers. Their first work appeared on the Soul City label, which was started by Imperial Records/United Artists Records recording artist Johnny Rivers. The group would later record for Bell/Arista Records, ABC Records, and Motown Records.
Some of the songwriters popularized by The 5th Dimension later went on to careers of their own, especially Ashford & Simpson, who wrote "California Soul". The group is also notable for having more success with the songs of Laura Nyro than Nyro did herself, particularly in the cases of "Wedding Bell Blues", "Stoned Soul Picnic", and "Save the Country" The group also covered music by well known songwriters such as the song "One Less Bell to Answer", written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. And perhaps best of all, they became great interpreters of the songs and music of Jimmy Webb, who penned their original mega-hit "Up, Up, and Away", including an entire recording of memorable Webb songs called The Magic Garden.
Ashes to Ashes
The 5th Dimension Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where I grew up
Like pouring brandy
In a dixie cup
They're paving concrete
On a part of me
No crime for killing offA memory
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
Can you find the Milky Way
Long Tall Sally and Tin Pan Alley
Have seen their dying day
[Chorus]
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
It'll never be the same
But we're all forgiven
We're only living
To leave the way we came
No sidewalk ground now
To meet my friends
They put a roadblock
At the rainbow's end
We're driving faster now
Than Orville flew
We leave our mark on
Every single thing we do
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
It's the way the West was won
Have fallen to the gun
[Chorus]
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
Can you find the Milky Way
Long Tall Sally and Tin Pan Alley
Have seen their dying day
[Chorus]
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
It's the way the West was won
Amos and Andy and nickel candy
Have fallen to the gun
The 5th Dimension's "Ashes to Ashes" is a poignant reflection on the changing times and the inevitability of change. The song opens with a vivid scene where the singer watches as the street where they grew up is torn down and paving concrete is laid in its place, erasing a part of their history. The metaphor of pouring brandy in a dixie cup suggests a somewhat callous or uncaring attitude toward the destruction of cherished memories. The chorus repeats the title phrase "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust" and sets it against a backdrop of longing for a bygone era that can never be recreated. The second verse sees the singer lamenting the loss of a familiar meeting spot and the changing landscape of their hometown. The metaphor of driving faster than Orville Wright's historic flight adds a sense of disorientation and unmooring from a stable past.
Line by Line Meaning
They're tearing down the street
The place where I grew up is being destroyed
Where I grew up
The place where I have my happiest memories
Like pouring brandy
The destruction is like water in a cup made of paper
In a dixie cup
The destruction is in the form of a disposable object
They're paving concrete
The part of me that is connected to this place is being covered up
On a part of me
The memories of my childhood are a part of me
No crime for killing off
It's not a crime to erase someone's memories by destroying their hometown
A memory
The happy memories of a childhood that once existed in this place
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
Everything is temporary and will eventually be destroyed
Can you find the Milky Way
Even the stars and the galaxy itself change over time
Long Tall Sally and Tin Pan Alley
Even popular music from the past has been forgotten
Have seen their dying day
Everything that was once popular eventually fades away
[Chorus]
The world changes but we can always start anew
It'll never be the same
Change is inevitable
But we're all forgiven
We can let go of the past and move on
We're only living
Life is finite
To leave the way we came
The ultimate end is death
No sidewalk ground now
Even the physical landscape is being destroyed
To meet my friends
The place where I made happy memories with friends is no longer there
They put a roadblock
Someone or something is preventing me from returning to the past
At the rainbow's end
The place where the end of the dream used to be
We're driving faster now
Life moves quickly
Than Orville flew
Even the speed we move at has surpassed that of our achievements
We leave our mark on
We all have an impact on the world
Every single thing we do
Our actions have consequences
It's the way the West was won
The obsession with achieving progress at any cost
Amos and Andy and nickel candy
Popular culture from the past that is no longer remembered
Have fallen to the gun
Even the things that were once innocent or harmless will eventually be destroyed
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BRIAN POTTER, DENNIS EARLE LAMBERT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind