The origins of the Nylons date back to 1978 when four experienced Toronto stage actors, Connors, Cooper, Morrison, and Simpson, used to get together in the back of a delicatessen to sing doo-wop together. They took their ensemble to parties and friend's houses and constant comments from people convinced them to take their unique a cappella act into the clubs. An acquaintence met at a party was about to open a new cabaret and invited them to debut there. They played there for six weeks, garnering rave critical and audience reviews. In 1979 Simpson retired from the group and Cole was brought on board. They very quickly established themselves as one of the area's classiest and most original ensembles and caught the attention of Attic Records. Their first album eventually went platinum in Canada (100,000 copies), and there followed four more releases on Attic that all sold at least gold in Canada (50,000 copies). They received the equivalent of a Dutch Grammy award and a gold disc for the One Size Fits All album and the Best Singer Award at 1986's Tokyo Music Festival. In 1987 Disney used their song That Kind Of Man in their feature The Tin Man, and their version of Up The Ladder To The Roof was used in the movie Made In Heaven. They also scored a second appearance on the Taft Broadcasting television show Throb after writing the theme song and a previous appearance on the program. In February 1991 founding member Connors left the group and in March of that year died of viral pneumonia. A new deal in 1991 with Scotti Brothers in the US and BMG in Canada saw the release of three more albums, and constant touring on either side of the border. Over the years various member changes have led to today's lineup of Morrison, Robinson, Mosbaugh, and Cassius. In 1997 they signed with Shoreline Records in the US, a label primarily devoted to vocal groups, and released the Fabric Of Life. Today they continue to tour the world to audience and critical acclaim.
Singles
1982 The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Attic) 1983 Silhouettes (Attic) 1983 That Kind Of Man (Attic) 1984 Take Me To Your Heart (Attic) 1984 Perpetual Emotion (Attic) 1984 Stepping Stone (Attic) 1984 Combat Zone (Attic) 1987 Kiss Him Goodbye (Attic) 1987 Happy Together (Attic) 1987 Chain Gang (Attic) 1989 Wild Fire (Attic) 1989 Drift Away (Attic) 1991 Call My Name (Attic) 1991 One Fine Day (Attic) 1992 Don't Look Any Further (Scotti Brothers)
Albums
1982 The Nylons (Attic) 1982 One Size Fits All (Attic) 1984 Seamless (Attic) 1987 Happy Together (Attic) 1989 Rockapella (Attic) 1991 Four On The Floor (Attic) 1992 Live To Love (BMG) 1993 Illustrious: A Collection Of Classic Hits (Attic) 1994 Harmony - The Christmas Songs (BMG) 1994 Because... (BMG) 1996 Run For Cover (BMG) 1997 Fabric Of Life (Shoreline) 1997 Perfect Fit (Windham Hill) [re-release of 1993's Illustrious]
Marc Connors (baritone; RIP 1991) Paul Cooper (tenor) Claude Morrison (tenor) Dennis Simpson (bass) Ralph Cole (bass; replaced Simpson 1979) Arnold Robinson (bass; replaced Cole 1981) Micah Barnes (tenor; replaced Cooper 1991) Billy Newton-Davis (baritone; replaced Connors 1992) Garth Mosbaugh (tenor; replaced Barnes 1994) Gavin Hope (baritone; replaced Newton-Davis 1994) Mark Cassius (baritone; replaced Hope 1997)
Amazon
The Nylons Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You hear a plaintive song
Remembering a way of life
That seemed to go on and on and on
What can we offer them now
In a world that has turned from grace
The jungle is burning so fast
The smoke can be seen from space
I walk along these smokey city streets
Within these jungle walls it's so hard to breathe
I heard the news and it's been eating at me
They're tearing down the last of the Amazon trees
The poor have need of the land, they say
But the soil is thin and ends up blowin' away
What about a million years of history
And the creatures who inhabit this great mystery
We've got to buy back the Amazon
We've got to give the earth a chance to carry on
If it's money they need let's give them all that they want
We've got to buy back the Amazon
Buy back the Amazon
We carry on and keep it all inside
But the time will come when there'll be nowhere to hide
With all we're spending on our wars in space
Why can't we save the Mother of the human race
We've got to buy back the Amazon
We've got to give the earth a chance to carry on
If it's money they need let's give them all that they want
We've got to buy back the Amazon
Buy back the Amazon
Buy back the Amazon
Save it now so we can pass it on
Wake up! Our future's almost gone
We've got to buy back the Amazon
We've got to give the earth a chance to carry on
Make no mistake, when it's gone it's gone
The Nylons's song Amazon is a touching lyrical representation of the destruction being caused to the Amazon forest. The song essentially expresses the conservationist issues connected by the disturbing trend of deforestation.
The opening lines of the song create imagery that evokes a sense of loss and mourning for a past when humans inhabited the Earth in harmony with nature. The next lines highlight the current state of environmental affairs where nature is being destroyed by human greed and technological advancements.
Throughout the song, the lyrics express a sense of urgency to preserve the vast expanse of the Amazon forest, which is being destroyed by the human drive for development. The song iterates that deforestation is hurting the land and the people that live there.
The song starkly urges us to take action towards conservationism for the Amazon Forest. The song pushes us to reflect and take a stand, to work towards conservationism so that this genetically diverse ecosystem can be passed on to future generations in its pristine form.
Line by Line Meaning
Somewhere on the edge of time
In a distant part of history
You hear a plaintive song
You hear a sad melody
Remembering a way of life
Thoughts of a past way of living
That seemed to go on and on and on
That appeared never-ending
What can we offer them now
What can we give them at present
In a world that has turned from grace
In a world that has lost its benevolence
The jungle is burning so fast
The rainforest is rapidly catching fire
The smoke can be seen from space
The fumes are visible from beyond the earth
I walk along these smokey city streets
I roam on these polluted urban avenues
Within these jungle walls it's so hard to breathe
It's difficult to inhale in the forested barriers
I heard the news and it's been eating at me
I learned the information and it's been bothering me
They're tearing down the last of the Amazon trees
They're demolishing the final rainforest trees
The poor have need of the land, they say
They claim the less fortunate require the territory
But the soil is thin and ends up blowin' away
But the earth is meager and eventually blows off
What about a million years of history
What of a million years of the past
And the creatures who inhabit this great mystery
And the animals residing in this significant wonder
We've got to buy back the Amazon
We need to purchase the Amazon again
We've got to give the earth a chance to carry on
We must allow the planet to persist
If it's money they need let's give them all that they want
If they require currency, let's provide them with everything they desire
Buy back the Amazon
Repurchase the Amazon
Save it now so we can pass it on
Preserve it now so that we may transfer it to future generations
Wake up! Our future's almost gone
Be aware! Our tomorrow is nearly vanished
Make no mistake, when it's gone it's gone
Do not be confused, when it disappears, it vanishes
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Brandon CrazyB Forbes
can u uplOAD THE WHOLE ALBUM THAT WOULD BE SWEET
Lionel Torrado
Released almost 30 years ago. Sad to see not much has changed and as a matter of fact things have gotten worse.
Brandon CrazyB Forbes
love the song my fav by the nylons i was at the concert
MagathaStargleam
Amazon is my favorite too. I could do more songs from the album. Do you think I should do them just like this one, with the lyrics in the description? I can try putting the lyrics on the screen. That's so cool that you were at the concert though. I'm only 16, so I never saw them live...
CheyRocksify
Love The Nylons! If you enjoy them as much as I do, you'd love Return 2 Zero, too! They're awesome :)
2004mojo
Thank you for uploading this. Decades ago for a minute Pat Sajak from 'Wheel of Fortune' , had a late night talk show and I caught the Nylons who sang 'Drift Away'. Fell for them madly and hunted down their album. I decided to pull them up last night ,song 'Amazon' is magical. I was here listening to another favorite a cappella group, The Mint Juleps . They're from Britain and rock a great version of Neil Young's 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart'. First saw them on a tv special Spike Lee & Co. Do It A cappella. Other acts on the show : Ladysmith Black Mambazo, The Persuasions, Rockapella, Take 6 & True Image. Their performances can be found here on youtube.
mass
It really is too bad you couldn't put the whole album on. I still have the audio tape. Their best compilation ever.
MagathaStargleam
This is my first video! What do you think of it?