I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City ~~~ Nilsson

[lexgibsonmusic]

I Learned this song for a friend in 1972 and performed it with a my band and It went down reasonably well so I never really sung it again until last week when another friend (I just thought I'd let you know that I have at least 2 friends) asked me to sing it for her,It went down a ton, so I'll be singing it at every performance from now on..Great song,Great Artiste,what a loss for the music profession, I especially like the rolling Banjo.

[manfreadstraw]

@lexgibsonmusic It's comforting to read you have at least two friends - one more than i have, :), but getting back to Harry's song, you must do a pretty good version considering how well it went down then. I was surprised to read Harry was much influenced by the Beatles, though it doesn't seem obvious to me when listening.

[manfreadstraw]

@lexgibsonmusic This vid contains a mistake and i wanted to redo it, but now i've forgotten where the mistake was... :( Yes agree, that rolling banjo lick is what gives it special character, and his great singing. Beautiful song - thanks, and keep pickin' !! Cheers.

[MyZayB]

If i could live like Serena Van der woodsen from Gossip Girl NYC would be my dream ! :D

[manfreadstraw]

@MyZayB And mine too. :) Thanks. Hope you're having a good weekend.

[TheIsraDave]

and whoever arranged it...with those two syncopated repeated chords.. thumbs up!

[manfreadstraw]

@TheIsraDave I imagine it would've been Harry himself. He seemed to know what he wanted, and went and achieved it. Great song, agree. Many thanks.

[TheIsraDave]

sheer magic...

[manfreadstraw]

@TheIsraDave Absolutely. Thanks. 

[LUTHIN]

HARRY NILSSON IS A LEGEND...HE IS MUSIC...HE IS ONE OF THE NEW YORK SYMBOL...THANK YOU NILSSON!!!

[manfreadstraw]

@LUTHIN I can only agree - he was great. Love the guy. Thank you !! :)

[Voxpopulivoxhumbug]

My favorite Nilsson song. I liked ET well enough, but I still can't believe it got picked for the movie theme over this.

Beautiful video, too. Thanks.

[manfreadstraw]

@Voxpopulivoxhumbug I wonder if it was because the movie was given a "R" rating, adult themes etc., and maybe even the church objected, e.g., Lennon's Ballad of John & Yoko was banned in some countries simply due to the line, "Christ, they're gonna crucify me." Thanks, glad you enjoted it. :)

[TheChiesa]

I never get tired of this song... so simple, so full of light and air. And couldn't be performed as brilliantly as by Harry Nilsson. Thanks so much for posting!

[manfreadstraw]

@TheChiesa "...so simple, so full of light and air." Interesting you say that because it's really a Nilsson trademark - meaning it's usually how I think of him too. And yet in real life, he was a hard living and drinking man. Strange that. In a way this movie has got better with time. Appreciate your comment - thank you !! :)

[barrybwfc]

TOP SINGER..TOP TUNE.THANKSVERY MUCH FOR POSTING SUCH A TALENTED ARTIST

[manfreadstraw]

@barrybwfc Yes Nilsson was brilliant for mine too, love this song... pity it didn't actually make the movie soundtrack though; they plumbed for Everybody's Talkin' instead, written by Fred Neil. Dylan wrote Lay Lady Lay for the movie, but submitted it too late so the director went with Harry's submissions, and it turned out great. Thanks again, great you enjoyed !! :)

[APACHEFIRE1]

He sure had a unique style…and a unique voice! i sure hope this copy won’t disappear from my list!

[Ms41855]

My Lord, I thought he was a British singer/songwriter. He was/is wonderful!



[manfreadstraw]

@Ms41855 Glad you like him - thank you !! He was influenced by the Beatles to a degree.

[StanBennet]

@manfreadstraw Not to be a smart ass, but he was really "INFLUENCED" by John Lennon. However, Lennon said that Nilson was the best singer he had ever heard. Despite my jackass comment, he was great.

[manfreadstraw]

@StanBennet Fair enough, but I really don't know much about Nilsson's and the Beatles' relationship. But that's quite a compliment by Lennon to say that Nilsson was the best singer he'd ever heard, wow. On his day Lennon could be very complimentary. Wasn't it John who said, "If you wanna describe rock 'n roll, two words: Chuck Berry!" And I've never disagreed ! :)

[TheLuckyman1999]

harry nilssion was one of the greatest underated song writers to ever live.

[manfreadstraw]

@TheLuckyman1999 Totally agree. They commissioned Bob Dylan to do the soundtrack, and he wrote Lay Lady Lay for the movie but, submitted it too late so they went with Harry's version of Fred Neil's Everybody's Talkin'... so now Harry, Fred and the movie classic will always be synonymous. Thanks for commenting!

[StanBennet]

@manfreadstraw Since you mentioned it, how come Dylan doesn't sound like any of his songs with Lay Lady Lay? If you don't know, you don't know so don't think I'm insulting you, but I've always wondered this.

[manfreadstraw]

@StanBennet When Dylan had his motorcycle accident for a while it affected his vocal box some claim, yet others say he could always sing and sound the way he does on Lay Lady Lay but as a folk singer inspired by Woody Guthrie he purposely altered his vocals to imitate his folk hero. Must be the chameleon in him. That's my understanding.

[manfreadstraw]

@omitnot - oops! lol take 2

[omitnot]

@manfreadstraw sorry, but i sent once...with a click!

[omitnot]

thanks for reminding me,manfread.alsofor introducing thiswonderful singer and some very poignant lyrics for today! are those stills from 'midnight cowboy'?

[manfreadstraw]

@omitnot - great you enjoyed Amit !! yep, them stills of Hoff and Voight are from Schlesinger's Midnight Cowboy... a hard-hitting no-compromise Hollywood drama from 1969 which is quite taxing to watch - very realistic. Glad i could introduce you to Nilsson, and you're right, his lyrics fit the reflection we've all been having on the 9th anniversary pretty well... thanks again my friend, and take good care.

[Dayniac4324]

Hey ... I left a comment and its not here ! the yt ghosts are at it again !

Anyway .... Thanks ... great song ... and really great photos of New York.

Hard to believe its been 9 years since that terrible day. And where how far

we come since then ? Thanks manfread... hugs... Toni

[manfreadstraw]

@Dayniac4324 Haha, definitely yt ghosts on the loose !! We should call in Dan Ackroyd and his ghost busting squad ... :) Yes I wanted to do a remembrance day tribute for tomorrow ... but then Dustin and Jon crept into the frame, and I thought, why not ? Something endearing about the two characters - all of the characters actually - in Schlesinger's movie ... Glad you enjoyed Toni, and thank you ... manfread, xoxo