The Carpenters were a vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of siblings Ka… Read Full Bio ↴The Carpenters were a vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter. Though often referred to by the public as "The Carpenters", the duo's official name on authorized recordings and press materials is simply Carpenters without the definite article. During a period in the 1970s when louder and wilder rock was in great demand, Richard and Karen produced a distinctively soft musical style that made them one of the best-selling music artists of all time.

The Carpenters' melodic pop charted a record-breaking score of hit recordings on the American Top 40 and Adult Contemporary charts, becoming leading sellers in the soft rock, easy listening and adult contemporary genres. The Carpenters had three #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and fifteen #1 hits on the Adult Contemporary Chart (see The Carpenters discography). In addition, they had twelve top 10 singles (including their #1 hits). To date, The Carpenters' album and single sales total more than 100 million units.

During their fourteen-year career, The Carpenters recorded eleven albums, five of which contained top 10 singles (Close to You, Carpenters, A Song for You, Now & Then and Horizon), thirty-one singles, five television specials, and one short-lived television series. They toured in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, the Netherlands and Belgium. Their recording career ended with Karen's death on February 4, 1983. Karen passed away after cardiac arrest due to complications of anorexia nervosa. Extensive news coverage of the circumstances surrounding her death increased public awareness of the consequences of eating disorders.

Their first recordings were not successful, and the recording studio that was recording them, dropped them. That's when their 'savior' came in. Herb Alpert of A&M records heard a couple of their songs and said that he felt that they had good potential. Thanks to him, and his ability to see/hear quality when it appears, we had the GREAT performers of The Carpenters.

Dead Man's Curve
The Carpenters Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I was cruisin' in my Stingray late one night
When an XKE pulled up on the right
He rolled down the window of his shiny new Jag
And challenged me then and there to a drag

I said "You're on buddy -- my mill's running fine
Let's come off the line now at Sunset and Vine
But I'll go you one better, if you've got the nerve

Let's race all the way -- to Dead Man's Curve"

(Dead Man's Curve) is no place to play
(Dead Man's Curve) you'd best keep away
(Dead Man's Curve) I can hear 'em say
"Won't come back from Dead Man's Curve"

The street was deserted late Friday night
We were buggin' each other while we sat out the light
We both popped the clutch when the light turned green
You shoulda heard the whine from my screamin' machine!

I flew past La Brea, Schwab's and Crescent Heights
And all the Jag could see were my six taillights
He passed me at Doheny then I started to swerve
But I pulled her out and there we were - at Dead Man's Curve

(Dead Man's Curve) is no place to play
(Dead Man's Curve... )

"Well, the last thing I remember, Doc
I started to swerve
And then I saw the Jag slide into the curve
I know I'll never forget that horrible sight
I guess I found out for myself that everyone was right"

Won't come back from Dead Man's Curve

(Dead Man's Curve) is no place to play
(Dead Man's Curve) you'd best keep away
(Dead Man's Curve) I can hear 'em say
"Won't come back from Dead Man's Curve"

(Dead Man's Curve) is no place to play
(Dead Man's Curve) you'd best keep away

(Dead Man's Curve) I can hear 'em say
"Won't come back from Dead Man's Curve"

Overall Meaning

The Carpenters song, Dead Man's Curve, tells the story of two drivers who engage in a challenge to race from Sunset and Vine to Dead Man's Curve. It starts with the singer cruising in his Stingray when an XKE pulls up beside him, and the driver challenges him to a drag race. The two agreed to race each other, but the singer suggests racing all the way to Dead Man's Curve. Dead Man's Curve was a real spot in California, and both drivers knew that it was a dangerous stretch of road full of twists and turns. The song warns people not to mess around with this dangerous curve, saying it's no place to play.

The song ends with the singer recalling the accident where he lost control of his car and saw the other driver slide into Dead Man's Curve. The accident was so severe that the singer couldn't remember what happened to him or his car correctly. The song is a cautionary tale about the dangers of reckless driving and seeking thrills that ultimately end in tragedy.

Line by Line Meaning

I was cruisin' in my Stingray late one night
I was driving my Stingray car late at night

When an XKE pulled up on the right
A person driving an XKE car stopped at the right side of my car

He rolled down the window of his shiny new Jag
The person driving the XKE car opened the window of his new Jaguar car

And challenged me then and there to a drag
The person challenged me to a car race right there

I said "You're on buddy -- my mill's running fine
I accepted his challenge and said that my car is in good condition

Let's come off the line now at Sunset and Vine
We will start the race at Sunset and Vine

But I'll go you one better, if you've got the nerve
I offered to do better than the challenge if the other person is brave enough

Let's race all the way -- to Dead Man's Curve"
I suggested racing all the way to Dead Man's Curve

(Dead Man's Curve) is no place to play
Dead Man's Curve is not a safe place to race

(Dead Man's Curve) you'd best keep away
It's better to avoid Dead Man's Curve

(Dead Man's Curve) I can hear 'em say
People warn that something terrible could happen on Dead Man's Curve

"Won't come back from Dead Man's Curve"
They won't return after going to Dead Man's Curve

The street was deserted late Friday night
It was late on Friday night, and there were no cars on the street

We were buggin' each other while we sat out the light
We were teasing and challenging each other while waiting for the traffic signal to change

We both popped the clutch when the light turned green
We both started driving our cars when the traffic signal turned green

You shoulda heard the whine from my screamin' machine!
You should have heard the sound of my car engine revving up loudly

I flew past La Brea, Schwab's and Crescent Heights
I drove past the streets of La Brea, Schwab's, and Crescent Heights

And all the Jag could see were my six taillights
The person driving the Jaguar could only see my six taillights and nothing else

He passed me at Doheny then I started to swerve
The other person overtook me at Doheny, and I started to move erratically

But I pulled her out and there we were - at Dead Man's Curve
I regained control of the car, and we ended up at Dead Man's Curve

"Well, the last thing I remember, Doc
I don't remember anything after that incident and am narrating my experience to a doctor

I started to swerve
I lost control of my car and started to move erratically

And then I saw the Jag slide into the curve
I witnessed the Jaguar car crashing into the Dead Man's Curve

I know I'll never forget that horrible sight
The accident was so terrible that I can never forget that sight

I guess I found out for myself that everyone was right"
I realized that people who warned about Dead Man's Curve were right

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ARTIE KORNFELD, BRIAN DOUGLAS WILSON, JAN BERRY, ROGER VAL CHRISTIAN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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