lay down, lay down

January 24, 2024 2:51 PM

Melanie Safka passes away at 76. She became famous as a singer at Woodstock and her song about that, was a top ten hit. She was symbolic of her time and now she is gone.
posted by pyramid termite (50 comments total)

Her children asked that tonight (Jan. 24), at 10 p.m. CT, "each of you lights a candle in honor of Melanie. Raise, raise them high, high up again. Illuminate the darkness, and let us all be connected in remembrance of the extraordinary woman who was wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend to so very many people."

—will be doing this. I learned of her late, being born after her time. But I really love her voice and songs.

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posted by heyitsgogi at 2:54 PM on January 24 [6 favorites]

Tried to get into her when I was mining that era's music, but I was not successful. "The Key" is good and emblematic of a style that kind of doesn't exist anymore? "The past is a foreign country" very much so between Melanie and I, but this is no patch on her. I'm just kinda jealous of people who get her.

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posted by rhizome at 2:59 PM on January 24

I will be in bed and asleep by 10 PM CT, but it is raining here so may light a candle to her a bit early. Some great music; RIP.
posted by TedW at 2:59 PM on January 24

Candles In The Rain is SUCH a song! It's used to great effect on one of the Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble albums, and it feels so unlike Brand New Key that it's hard to believe they're from the same artist.

I had no idea she was recording her 32nd! album!

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posted by hippybear at 2:59 PM on January 24 [4 favorites]

Brand New Key was the only song I remember her by. Will listen to Candles in the Rain and see if that strikes any memories.

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posted by Windopaene at 3:07 PM on January 24

Will listen to Candles in the Rain and see if that strikes any memories.

With a name like Windopaene it should😁
posted by TedW at 3:09 PM on January 24 [6 favorites]

Nope. But the Edwin Hawkins Singers? Remember them. O Happy Day was on one of the first records I owned, (K-Tel's 20 Power Hits!).
posted by Windopaene at 3:12 PM on January 24 [5 favorites]

Here's that Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble album with the Melanie track. It's about halfway through the run, but it's well placed.
posted by hippybear at 3:13 PM on January 24 [2 favorites]

"In and out the window like a moth before a flame..."?
posted by Windopaene at 3:13 PM on January 24 [1 favorite]

Yeah I mean it's fine but it's no Animal Crackers. [youtube]
posted by backsaw at 3:17 PM on January 24 [2 favorites]

God, how I loved Lay Down when I was a kid. Melanie's voice is just shattering.

I was 10 years old, sitting in the back seat of my parent's car when the news about Woodstock, which was taking place that weekend, came on the radio. I wanted more than anything to be a few years older so that I could be there too; people of my vintage (late 50s, early 60s) have been chasing the Boomers our whole lives. Yes, I know we are technically called Boomers, too, but we missed out on their fat-of-the-land experiments, the jobs, the grants, and so on and on. It's a subtle difference, but a genuine one, having had a ringside seat to the music and the cultural explosions of the 60s without actually being part of them. By the time we came of age it was the 80s and things were very different.

Anyway, I still love this song with all my heart, for its promise and joy and exaltation.
posted by jokeefe at 3:20 PM on January 24 [24 favorites]

it's perhaps a little over delicate in a few spots, but her take on Bob Dylan's Mr. Tambourine Man achieves a certain magic around the halfway point.
posted by philip-random at 3:23 PM on January 24 [2 favorites]

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posted by kensington314 at 3:43 PM on January 24

Rollergirl must be devastated.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 4:02 PM on January 24

Ah of course, "Brand New Key," yes.
posted by rhizome at 4:20 PM on January 24 [1 favorite]

Much as I loved "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" when it came out, it was only in the last six months that I connected the Edwin Hawkins Singers (whose "Oh Happy Day" I also really liked when it came out) with it, mainly after watching this live performance on Dutch TV.

That she recorded 31 albums and the makings of a 32nd is remarkable for an under-the-radar career. I'll need to check out some of her more-recent material, as I always really liked her voice.

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posted by the sobsister at 4:27 PM on January 24 [4 favorites]

She had a really beautiful, unique voice.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 4:37 PM on January 24

Yes, I know we are technically called Boomers, too, but....

Welcome to Generation Jones.
posted by BWA at 4:39 PM on January 24 [2 favorites]

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posted by evilDoug at 4:44 PM on January 24

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posted by luckynerd at 4:53 PM on January 24

Ah, man. I was never into her music much in the day, but her song Some Say I Got Devil was used in the first episode of The English, and it's haunting. I really thought it was by some 90's era singer-songwriter like Beth Orton until I tracked it down.
posted by maudlin at 5:00 PM on January 24 [2 favorites]

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posted by Faint of Butt at 5:07 PM on January 24

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Gah.
posted by rabidsegue at 5:40 PM on January 24

Don't forget Look What They Done To My Song, Ma
Ils ont changé ma chanson
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posted by MtDewd at 5:52 PM on January 24 [8 favorites]

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I have always loved Melanie. "Lay Down," of course, but her rendition of "Ruby Tuesday" puts the Rolling Stones to shame. And "Ring the Living Bell" is almost as good as "Lay Down." ("Psychotherapy" is hilarious.)

I only have her greatest hits album, so my knowledge of her music is limited to that.
posted by lhauser at 5:54 PM on January 24 [4 favorites]

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Middle school, lying in bed at night falling asleep to Pacifica radio, Lay Down was in heavy rotation, so it's etched into my soul.
posted by maggiemaggie at 5:56 PM on January 24 [1 favorite]

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posted by Rash at 6:33 PM on January 24

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My mother’s favorite from back in her white lipstick-and-an-avocado-plant days.

I’ll light a candle.
posted by Playdoughnails at 6:37 PM on January 24 [1 favorite]

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posted by kozad at 7:13 PM on January 24

An excellent remembrance [IG] [alt] from Justin Vivian Bond.
posted by mykescipark at 7:51 PM on January 24

A week or two ago I was musing about her. I hadn’t seen any footage or broadcasts of her performing in years, but a couple of her songs were on the background soundtrack of my childhood.

As I say, I haven’t seen any performances for huge times, but I knew she was still performing. Of course, as we age, our voices tend to drop to a lower register. “Brand New Key” was written in C major, but I wonder if later she had to find a
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:45 PM on January 24 [3 favorites]

Brand New Key was a favorite in my childhood, and remains a favorite to this day. I was only vaguely aware that she was still performing and never really followed her career, but was tickled to see this performance on youtube a few years back, doing one of her hits with Miley Cyrus.

RIP, and thanks for the music.
posted by 2N2222 at 9:24 PM on January 24 [3 favorites]

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posted by Kattullus at 10:05 PM on January 24

Yes, I know we are technically called Boomers, too, but....

Welcome to Generation Jones.

Yep, that's what they call us. Watching the icons of the 60s start to fall is a bit of a troubling experience. They have always been there, 10 or 15 years older than us, setting the terms, acting out all the things we learned to want to do, and possessing the materials things we learned to want as well (hence the Jones part of the name).

At least we came up with Punk and New Wave.

Oh, and because I forgot, earlier:

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posted by jokeefe at 10:17 PM on January 24 [4 favorites]

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posted by Silverstone at 11:57 PM on January 24

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posted by the Real Dan at 12:29 AM on January 25

Melanie was one of the best! •
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 12:36 AM on January 25

Melanie was one of the best!•
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 12:38 AM on January 25

"Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" is one of the best vocal performances of all time. "Look What They've Done to My Song, Ma" is also one of my favorites. "Brand New Key" brings back great memories of early romantic yearnings.

I don't know much else from her, but I'll be diving in today.

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posted by young_simba at 12:46 AM on January 25

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posted by kitten kaboodle at 1:20 AM on January 25

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posted by tommasz at 4:47 AM on January 25

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posted by filtergik at 6:40 AM on January 25

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We've been watching The Righteous Gemstones over the past few weeks, and "Candles in the Rain" was used as one of the songs over the credits in the third season. We had never heard it before and it blew us away; looked it up and found Melanie as the singer. Seeing her death notice pop up so soon after was a sad shock.
posted by dlugoczaj at 7:55 AM on January 25

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posted by adekllny at 8:55 AM on January 25

have to mention "Leftover Wine" which is just as great as "Candles in the Rain" but in a different way.
posted by graywyvern at 9:09 AM on January 25

I loved her the most, as I am of the right generation to be extremely focused upon the music of her time, which was also my time. RIP and thanks for the music, Melanie.

PS: I had those rollerskates, so I know exactly what she was singing about in Brand New Key.

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posted by Lynsey at 9:44 AM on January 25 [3 favorites]

I had forgotten she did Lay Down. My very most favorite protest song.
Now I cry.
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posted by Goofyy at 12:41 PM on January 25

Her version of Mr Tambourine Man blows me away every time I hear it.
Thank you for the Music.
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posted by adamvasco at 4:53 PM on January 25

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posted by kinnakeet at 6:11 PM on January 25

Turns out she was from the area my mom grew up in and not too far from the same age, so I asked my mom if she had any connection. She said Melanie's parents owned a store in the mall she worked at as a teenager, and would drop by their store in the hopes she'd run into Melanie one day. (This would've been around 1970-1973.) I don't think they ever physically crossed paths, but Melanie was definitely a 'local hero' type figure for her and friends.

I listened to Melanie a good bit growing up because I was a fan of my parents' music, but I honestly didn't even know she was from New Jersey until I talked to my mom about it today.

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posted by rachaelfaith at 3:07 PM on January 26 [1 favorite]