Posted on 06/13/2022 5:05:26 PM PDT by simpson96
"A Better Place to Be" is a song by Harry Chapin from his 1972 album, Sniper and Other Love Songs. The song is about a midnight watchman confiding in a waitress, while drinking gin, about a woman that he met a week before and had a one-night stand with.
According to Chapin, it was his favorite song that he wrote.
Harry Chapin - "A Better Place to Be" (1972)
*ping*
I was at his very last concert at Eisenhower park, THE last and he of course never showed up because he died on the way. July 16th 1981 on the Long Island Expressway.
It was horrible, they had all these disabled kids sitting up front by the stage and everybody was crying and they wheeled them away. Then the media came then people had these campfire sing alongs of his music.
I cannot believe it’s been over 40 years. I visited his grave years ago in Huntington. You have to walk up this big hill and there it is, this rock with his name on it. I even volunteered for a few years for his food charity “Long Island cares” and quit after 2 years after I realized it was completely full of sh*t.
All the “starving” kids would never eat the food because they weren’t starving at all. It was just a huge scam where adults would try to take the cans of tuna etc and try to sell it
love this song
Wow.
Learning to play “Remember when the music” currently..
My elementary school music teacher knew him and had him come sing at the school once. He sat on a stool while we kids sat on the gym floor. Another time he came and played at the bowling alley in Huntington one afternoon. Not a planned thing. He just sat near the game room and started playing. I was about 12.
One of my favorites is Roses are Red, it’s about a boy who goes to school and wants to paint flowers. The teacher yells at him for not doing what he’s supposed to. Then complains that his flowers are wrong. And Mr. Tanner, about a singing tailor, who has his dreams crushed.
Yes! I heard about him playing at schools! His daughter Jen said he would never sleep and would constantly play gigs and I think it’s possible he fell asleep while driving. I drive a truck for a living and know exactly how one can pass out. Billy Joel in his early years tried to emulate Harry so much with songs like Captain Jack and others. So horrible he died
Mr Tanner and WOLD are two of my favorite HC songs. I used to listen to him late at night when I was working in news. His mastery of lyrics that spoke to a common man was uncanny. Thanks for posting this cut. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard it.
Thanks so much for sharing. No better storyteller than Harry.
Let's not forget 30,000 Pounds of Bananas. That was one of my favorites.
He had so many great songs. Dance Band on the Titanic, I Wanna Learn a Love Song, Odd Job Man, Taxi and Sequel.
Thanks y’all for the walk down memory lane.
Don’t forget “Sniper”. A chilling song to this day.
Oh, my! I LOVE this song.
I passed up a chance to see Harry Chapin in concert in about 1976, which I have regretted for decades.
I could listen to Harry Chapin for hours on end!
All My Life’s a Circle, comes to mind, as life goes on and the years add up for me.
Oh, yes, Mr. Tanner! That is a great one.
“It was raining hard in Frisco”
I needed one more fare to make my night.
He had a house on the bay. My friend babysat for his kids. He rented the beach house to Bette Davis. We’d spot he once in a while. My father said he couldn’t carry a tune with a truck.
As a young father years ago I got caught up in the money chase characterized by long hours and days away from home. One day “Cats in a Cradle” came on the radio and it struck me how much I was missing with my kids growing up. Changed my life.
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