When I was 14, I joined the the Columbia Record Club. For fifty cents, I got to pick out 12 albums and agree to accept a new album sent to me every month.One of the records I picked out was "A Tramp Shining". I am now 67 and that album (plus his others) hits me the same way presently. I also love the fact that his son Jared Harris is a successful actor. He appeared on a record of his father's poetry called "I, In The Membership Of My Days".
Yeah! Hits me the same way. I felt so open and earnest as a young guy hearing this. It was a step away from the too-cool casual stuff that a lot of our singers put out. 75 years old but when I hear things like this I know ah, this is me who I'm happy to be.
As wonderful to hear this tonight as when those albums came along, and we sat, a high school couple, on the edge of who we were becoming. If I could go back there, wrapped up in this, with her--
In 1970 I got 2 Richard Harris & 1 Neil Diamond lp for xmas. A Tramp Shining & the Yard went on forever. I played them constantly. I later bought the cassettes so I could play them in my car.
Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all. Quote from English literature, embodies this song perfectly. The power of the written word coupled with the right music transports us into the moment….you feel the overwhelming pain…..powerful….
Yes, but sometimes when it was just barely or SO brief but so intense, then the pain can last a lifetime and drain one of hope and happiness when it is no more. Would be better sometimes it seems to have not yet loved in that sense, but have hope and some love remaining.
You can't erase the paper chase She'll make you players in the bright merry morning She'll run and hide and leave you the paper Promises behind her as she runs across the square You can't win the race, she will set the pace You'll hear her laughing just behind the foolish fences Throw back the gate and find the piece of paper Lying on the curbstone but the lady won't be there And later in the day, you will be searching for a way To let her know, you're ready for her little game to end 'Cause it's getting dark and then You'll see her face, a glimpse of lace And you'll go running through the last sweet dying day dreams Calling her name but she's been home an hour Laughing at the mirror and she combs her paper hair And later in the day, you will be searching for a way To let her know you're ready for her little game to end 'Cause it's getting dark and then You'll see her face, a glimpse of lace And you'll go running through the last sweet dying day dreams Calling her name but she's been home an hour Laughing at the mirror and she combs her paper hair
Watermark Richard Harris WATERMARK LYRICS How delicate the tracery of her fine lines Like the moonlight lacetops of the evening pines Like a song half heard through a closed door Like an old book when you cannot read the writing anymore How innocent her visage as my child lover lies Pressed against the rainswept windy windows of my eyes Like an antique etching glass design that somehow turned out wrong I keep looking through old varnish At my late lover's body Caught on ancient canvas Decaying, disappearing Even as I sing this song How tenderly the tapestry is draved with my regret And the bittersweet inbindery that hasn't faded yet But I see the details dying in that distant soft design Like the taste of summer fading like that dusty winter wine How secretly and silently my sorrow disappears You can't see it with your eyes or hear it with your ears It's like a watermark that's never there and never really gone I keep looking through old varnish At my late lover's body Caught on ancient canvas Decaying, disappearing Even as I sing this song
MacArthur Park Song by Richard Harris Lyrics Spring was never waiting for us, girl It ran one step ahead As we followed in the dance Between the parted pages and were pressed In love's hot, fevered iron Like a striped pair of pants MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark All the sweet, green icing flowing down Someone left the cake out in the rain I don't think that I can take it 'Cause it took so long to bake it And I'll never have that recipe again Oh no! I recall the yellow cotton dress Foaming like a wave On the ground around your knees The birds, like tender babies in your hands And the old men playing checkers by the trees MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark All the sweet, green icing flowing down Someone left the cake out in the rain I don't think that I can take it 'Cause it took so long to bake it And I'll never have that recipe again Oh no! There will be another song for me For I will sing it There will be another dream for me Someone will bring it I will drink the wine while it is warm And never let you catch me looking at the sun And after all the loves of my life After all the loves of my life You'll still be the one I will take my life into my hands and I will use it I will win the worship in their eyes and I will lose it I will have the things that I desire And my passion flow like rivers through the sky And after all the loves of my life Oh, after all the loves of my life I'll be thinking of you And wondering why MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark All the sweet, green icing flowing down Someone left the cake out in the rain I don't think that I can take it 'Cause it took so long to bake it And I'll never have that recipe again Oh no! Oh no No Oh no! Songwriter: Jimmy Webb MacArthur Park
Requiem 820 Latham Jimmy Webb Richard Harris Lyrics: When I came to you there in that cold telephone pole horror of the night, and you came out to meet me in that filmy thing and sit down on the porch swing; and I knew the moon would melt before I held you to my breast like that again. Why could I not die then? warm, behind the curtains of your hair. When we stopped the clock on that cold rock, mixed our hot young blood with granite dust; and I raised my head to kiss the sweat that hung like honey from your goddess brow; and I knew the mountainside would be ten million years of dust and rust before I took you up there again. Why could I not die then? warm, behind the curtains of your hair. Instead, I was found dead and well, carrying on my life with much gusto and death breath; buried without casket and no one writes my epitaph 'cause they heard that I'm still breathing and they think that means I'm still alive, I'm still alive. And I knew the mountainside would be ten million years of dust and rust before I took you up there again. And why could I not die then? warm, behind the curtains of your hair. Why could I not die then? since it doesn't really matter where.
Dancing Girl Song by Richard Harris Lyrics Dancing girl You have danced with me Til my dreams came true You have danced with me On and on, while the music played But I always knew it had to end this way some day Oh dancing girl Those who dance and sing Must leave love alone waiting in the wings When the curtain calls And it will I know You will leave my arms and go on with the show I know, and It will be a lonely world Without you dancing girl Oh my love I'll miss you so Songwriters: Jimmy Layne Webb Dancing Girl
If You Must Leave My Life Richard Harris IF YOU MUST LEAVE MY LIFE LYRICS Standing in my eyes You'll always be the reason But I knew I couldn't keep you for good And I'm not even sure that I should But girl, if you must leave my life You leave me alone And baby, long before you leave my life Be sure you have your own Somewhere in my mouth There'll always be the taste of you Forever is so very long I don't want your life to go wrong So girl, if you must leave my life Consider every part And baby, long before you leave my life Be sure you have your heart 'Cause if it's not there When you unpack It might not be here When you get back
I didnt know it was jimmy webb who wrote McArthur Park! So his name was mentioned by my music professor in my community college. He said he didn't do well there. Talk about the big one that got away! I stumbled into By The Time I Get To Phoenix in my guitar book. I love to play it on piano. I have got to get to guitar center to order a jimmy webb songbook. He's a homey from the Dino!
The Yard Went on Forever Richard Harris THE YARD WENT ON FOREVER LYRICS [Background Chorus] Is everybody safe? Has everybody got a place to hide? Is everybody warm inside? [Verse 1] Hear them singing All the women of Pompeii Standing with the Kansas City housewives in doorways In volcanoes and tornadoes on doomsday [Background Chorus] De profundis clamavi ad te Domine Donae nobis pacem (5x) [Verse 2] There were houses, there were hoses There were sprinklers on the lawn There was an ironing board And she would stand and made her understand him And ask the children what they'd done at school that day And the yard went on forever [Verse 3] There were blouses with print roses, checkered shirts and white Levis There was a frying pan and she would cook their dreams while they were dreaming And later she would send them out to play And the yard went on forever [Background Chorus] Is everybody safe? Has everybody got a place to hide? Is everybody warm inside? [Verse 4] Hear them singing All the women of Pompeii Standing with the Nagasaki housewives in doorways In eruptions and destructions on doomsday [Background Chorus] De profundis clamavi ad te Domine Donae nobis pacem (x4)
It was all the Women of Bombai (Now Mumbai) the second time, to reflect to make change after India's independence. A truly great and heartrending song, as so many of Webb's songs (and songs sung by Harris, even some latter not written by Webb) are!
Didn’t We Song by Jimmy Webb Lyrics This time we almost made the pieces fit Didn't We, girl? This time we almost made some sense of it Didn't We, girl? This time I had the answer right here in my hand, Then I touched it and it had turned to sand, This time we almost sang our song in tune Didn't We, girl? This time we almost made it to the moon oh, Didn't We, girl? This time we almost made our poem rhyme, This time we almost made that long hard climb, Didn't We almost make it this time? This time we almost made the pieces fit Didn't We, girl? This time we almost made some sense of it Didn't We, girl? This time I had the answer right here in my hand, Then I touched it and it had turned to sand, This time we almost sang our song in tune Didn't We, girl? This time we almost made it to the moon oh, Didn't We, girl? This time we almost made our poem rhyme, This time we almost made that long hard climb, Didn't We almost make it this time? Songwriter: Jimmy Webb
Name of My Sorrow Lyrics Oh the last I heard from Shirley She was married to some guy Living south of Kansas City Too bad, I was so shy The last I heard from Linda She was looking much the same She was married to some guy Too bad I couldn't play her game I couldn’t play her game 'Cause Linda was the name of my sorrow And Shirley was too But now it's you And the last I heard of Mary Lou She still hadn’t learned to sing She was married to some guy Too bad I couldn't buy a ring The last I heard of Jane Everybody knew her name Star of something or the other Too bad I had no fame Too bad I had no fame 'Cause Jane was the name of my sorrow And Mary Lou was too But now it's you The last I heard from Marian She hadn't changed a bit Everything was in its place Too bad I didn't fit Oh the last I heard of Susan She still nursed a fickle flame And waited in her patient way Too bad I never came Too bad I never came 'Cause Susan was the name of my sorrow And Marian was too But now it's you
In the Final Hours lyrics Richard Harris Lyrics In the final hours With all my toy dreams tattered With all my singing scattered Out upon the wind And now the end Will find me Not prepared and strong the way I thought I was But thinking from the start How very caught I was, as though it mattered now Now the dying flowers Sing an old song that haunts me And now nobody wants me All alone (all alone) Lost between the last of summer showers These are the final hours (In the final hours) (In the final hours
One Of The Nicer Things Bbmaj7 Am7 D7 Gmaj7 She was far more beautiful than I, Cmaj7 Fmaj7 And so I didn't want to try. B7 Emaj7 Amaj7 Dmaj7 She was so unafraid. I was so shy. Gmaj7 Am7 D7 She left me trying desperately Gmaj7 Cmaj7 To think of one of the nicer things Fmaj7 B7 Emaj7 Amaj7 About my life, about me. She took time to talk to me. When she knew I didn't know what to say, She made me say it anyway And made me close my eyes So I could see one of the nicer things About my life, about me. G It's not that I'm so hurt that she is gone, A B Bm7 E It's just that I'm not sure she was really here. She was very fond of me. She loved me As she loved all things that drifted near. She tried to tell me. I didn't hear. And I suppose that's why she'll always be One of the nicer things About my life, about me.
Lovers Such As I Lyrics Bless the song that no one sings, Bless the bell that no one rings, Bless the birds that have no wings, Old broken toys, sad little boys who don't know why, And Lovers, Lovers such as I Bless the place that no one goes, Bless the words that no one knows, Bless the rose that never grows, Lights that are dim, trees without limbs, babies that cry, And lovers, Lovers such as I, Wheels that don't turn, Fires that don't burn, Things that must die, And lovers, Lovers who let their chances go by, Such as you, Such As I Songwriters: Jimmy L Webb
Richard Harris Lyrics "Interim" were stranger than the others And they knew they had to hold us with a lighter hand. Most mornings found us searching for an answer And most evenings weren't suitable. We were wound about so tightly That we couldn't touch each other with a straw. And, Sue, I've got no real regrets, But, why then did you let both of us touch you? We were never really all that close; I guess I'm really getting mad for nothing. Your mother had a sofa and she rode it Like she thought it was a couch and four. You were marching in the drill team and I swear You really thought you had a boyfriend, didn't you? I never really wanted you, But, Sue, how could you face him every morning? I have several lives to live And each one of them continues without asking. It's all that I can do to count my skeletons And take my paid vacations. Your beauty titles ring a little strangely in my ears Sometimes in certain rooms. It may be true that you were innocent, But, Sue, then, why are you not crying? It may be true that you were innocent, But, Sue, then, why are you not crying? This song is from the album "Macarthur Park - Richard Harris Sings The Songs Of Jimmy Webb" and "Webb Sessions: 1968-69".
The Hive Richard Harris THE HIVE LYRICS See her walking whitely As though she really was a virgin With her tiny feet Precisely on the line She thinks her whitely thoughts About the whitely things she bought And the alter crouches silently Waiting for the virgin to arrive You can almost hear the buzzing of the hive They played the whitely music As though it was really music In the parking-lot they're lettering a sign The preacher says the proper things And then the rusty alto sings And now they'll all get roaring drunk Pretending theyre essentially alive While the proud procession leads her to the hive God blessed our happy cubicle Keep it safe and sanitized Homogenized and pasteurized Theres no place like numb Behold a formal female Disappearing through the doorway She has dreamed of this since she was only nine Shes never really fought it And now by God shes got it And the alter crouches silently Waiting for the virgin to arrive You can almost hear her screaming In the hive
This lyrics speak to something all too real that happens in our culture, and provide a good laugh to offset the pain. It's speaking from the point of view of a heart broken man in love with someone who once mutually shared a more spiritual and true, heavenly love. But he couldn't or failed to fit that culturally prescribed dream of hers in time, that she had been promised on some level since she was young, that wasn't available to him in the same way or perhaps he had higher ambitions so rejected it but also wanted it too, to put it all together with his true love. If it could have been him that would have been ideal for her, but since he didn't and/or couldn't another man that could even if they weren't in love in the same way would have to do... It was a true story that led to divorce in a few years time as such marriages often do. Sad but true this happens all too often!
Tracklist Sorted by:Running order 1 Didn't We 2 Paper Chase 3 Name Of My Sorrow 4 Lovers Such As I 5 In The Final Hours 6 MacArthur Park 7 Dancing Girl 8 If You Must Leave My Life 9 A Tramp Shining 10 The Yard Went On Forever 11 Watermark 12 Interim 13 Gayla 14 The Hymns From The Grand Terrace 15 The Hive 16 Lucky Me 17 That's The Way It Was 18 One Of The Nicer Things
Richard Harris Follow Gayla lyrics It ran one step ahead As we followed in the dance Between the parted pages And were pressed in love's hot, fevered iron Like a striped pair of pants MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark All the sweet, green icing flowing down Someone left the cake out in the rain I don't think that I can take it 'Cause it took so long to bake it And I'll never have that recipe again, oh no I recall the yellow cotton dress Foaming like a wave On the ground around your knees The birds like tender babies in your hands And the old men playing checkers, by the trees MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark All the sweet, green icing flowing down Someone left the cake out in the rain I don't think that I can take it 'Cause it took so long to bake it And I'll never have that recipe again, oh no There will be another song for me For I will sing it There will be another dream for me Someone will bring it I will drink the wine while it is warm And never let you catch me looking at the sun And after all the loves of my life After all the loves of my life, you'll still be the one I will take my life into my hands and I will use it I will win the worship in their eyes and I will lose it I will have the things that I desire And my passion flow like rivers through the sky And after all the loves of my life Oh, after all the loves of my life I'll be thinking of you and wondering why MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark All the sweet, green icing flowing down Someone left the cake out in the rain I don't think that I can take it 'Cause it took so long to bake it And I'll never have that recipe again Oh no, oh no, no, no, oh no It ran one step ahead As we followed in the dance
Richard Harris Follow Lucky Me lyrics To blame me for his life I get bunches of roses from another guy And hate mail from his wife I date a stupid jerk who forgets my name Likes to make love watching TV And some guy calls in the middle of the night Just so I can hear him breathe Lucky me Lucky, lucky me I have everything in this whole wide world A girl could ever need, lucky me Oh yeah I've got a great car It's a red convertible, made by Mattel Got a nice house in the suburbs With 'Hell's Angels' for neighbors as well I've got a scholarship for a hundred years of college I wanna study dentistry But my folks just want me married And poppin' out the grand kids to keep them company Lucky me Lucky, lucky me I have everything in this whole wide world A girl could ever need, lucky me Lucky, lucky little old me I have everything in this whole wide world A girl could ever need Lucky me (Lucky me) Oh me (Lucky me) I think I wanna join the Hare Krishnas Give up all my worldly goods, cut off all my hair There's nothin' that I have right now, brings me any joy When I'm shopping at the mall, can't find it anywhere But I've got my tamagotchi And I've got my wristwatch phone I got so many friends on the Internet I could never be alone I've got just enough cash to pay a lot of tax But not enough to quit my job Got a fool's gold ring, credit card debt Psychiatrist for my dog Lucky me Lucky, lucky little old me I have everything in this whole wide world A girl could ever need, lucky me Oh, lucky, lucky little old me I have everything in this whole wide world A girl could ever need Lucky me Oh, lucky, lucky little old me I have everything in this whole wide world A girl could ever need Lucky me
The Hymns from the Grand Terrace Richard Harris THE HYMNS FROM THE GRAND TERRACE LYRICS [Intro] He married her He married her He put his arms around her And he carried her The way I should have The way I could have The way I never really would And he took her, off to Notre Dame On a train [1st Hymn] There was a hill we climbed and verse we rhymed Went flying across the waving grass like silver bells Against the curtain that the sky had made And so we played It was a sunny day and so we laid Beneath the rock that shelted us From passing planes The earth caught fire when we turned Nothing burned There were nights, when the lights would take us Nowhere, for a little while Cars would pass, we were out of gas And didn't care Though we walked a mile There was a DJ in LA Who we used to tune in at night to hear our favorite song We always heard it at the perfect time Upon the hill we climbed And now she's gone and I'm alone And though they say I should be safe, secure and sane I remember yesterday And the games that children played [2nd Hymn] If I could bind your mind To mine in time To keep you, from that world of his If I could change the strangeness in your kind Then I'd know where your soul is And then I'd know What song I'd have to sing To touch that chord within you And I would weave such wondrous songs When it was done I'd win you If I stand with the stars on either hand And say "girl, this ain't the answer" If I'd been where you're goin' But then I'd never be a dancer But if I was I'd know what step to take And laugh at what had freed me And smash the great wall down, girl When it was done You'd need me If I could face the fate that waits to cast me into shambles And sit across the velvet boards from God, then I would gamble And if I could I'd know what chance to take And before the devil sold you I'd bet my soul against the stars And when it was done I'd hold you [3rd Hymn] If I'd been born A different kind With a different heart And a different mind I might have stayed Afraid of what I'd find I guess your love will keep
@@dalemorris2460 The song describes a child just being a child, and then someone saying, or doing something gross to her, or something gross in her presence.
I listened to that version. Got to disagree. That arrangement is a little syrupy for my taste. A lot syrupy actually. Predictable, uninspired string arrangement. Webb's version is much more creative and bold. For example, the writing from 5:33 to 7:00 is achingly beautiful. Just listen to the chord at 5:42 on the word "shambles". That's creative, inspired writing. By the way, thank you for hipping me to that Pete Townshend album you have on your page. Good stuff.
@@lbird2 Well, for me, Artie Butler has always done the best strings, but at least we agree that Webb has done some brilliant work, and I place him close to Rundgren, Wilson, McCartney, Bacharach and Jobim. Pete, of course, rules, too.
