Carly Simon - "That's The Way I Always Heard It Should Be" (live, Aug. 19. 1971)

Youtube ^ | 10/1/2009 | Carly Simon

[nesnah]

My understanding of the lyrics seems to point to this trashing the nuclear family.

[SamAdams76]

Good song and 50 years ago today (half century ago) it was climbing the charts.

Carly Simon struggled with stage fright. So bad that when she later appeared on SNL, it was taped earlier.

[married21]

Depressing song. As a kid listening to it, I thought she missed the point somehow about the joys being worth the risk.
Need faith, hope and love. All three, for domestic contentment.

[dfwgator]

Well then she did marry James Taylor, who was deep into heroin at the time.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

“the parents’ bad marriage; the friends’ unhappy lives; the boyfriend’s enthusiasm for marriage but controlling nature; the woman’s initial resistance and ultimate capitulation.”

Wow, I never knew it was such a downer of a song. Guess I never paid that much attention to the lyrics.

Of course, I never knew what “Louie, Louie” was about, either.

[NFHale]

I always thought she was pretty hot… Not stunning, but sexy and hot.

[DIRTYSECRET]

Teenager at the time. It took me 30 more years to realize that we are living in a man’s world. Women can benefit only when they’re smart. Upper class and married a junkie. Never missed a meal so I guess she could speak out on behalf of others. Jane Fonda? Let’s not go there.

[Larry Lucido]

She’s so vain, she thought folks thought that song was about them.

[lee martell]

Hot and alluring, like the actress Karen Black.

[Fiji Hill]

Of course, I never knew what “Louie, Louie” was about, either.

Louie, Louie is about a sea voyage to Jamaica.

[lee martell]

That was an excellent song and performance. I remember it quite clearly.

It came out the same summer as many other big hits: Maggie May by Rod Stewart,
It’s Too Late, by Carole king,
What You See is What You Get, by The Dramatics
Theme from Shaft by Issac Hayes,
Bridge Over Troubled Waters, by Simon & Garfunkle,
....and many, many more

[Flavious_Maximus]

Wow, those lips could suck raw sewage out of a quarter inch pipe.

[NFHale]

Actually, that’s a pretty good analogy…

[Fiji Hill]

Wow, I never knew it was such a downer of a song. Guess I never paid that much attention to the lyrics.

Sounds lie me. There are quite a few songs that I like but have never listened closely to the lyrics.

[NFHale]

Bravo, Larry… Lol

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Nice. Thanks for clarifying that. I never knew it was about a sea voyage to Jamaica. Are those the same lyrics the Kingsmen sang?

[TheChief2005]

You’re so Vain was one of the first singles I ever bought. I thought everything about it was outstanding.

[Fiji Hill]

If you listen to the Kingsmen's version carefully, you will find out that they are, indeed, the same lyrics. I have met Richard Berry, who wrote the song, and have heard him perform it live. He was a heavyweight on the Los Angeles music scene in the 1950's. For one thing, he sang the part of Henry in The Wallflower, a hit for Etta James & the Peaches.

[Fiji Hill]

You’re so Vain was one of the first singles I ever bought. I thought everything about it was outstanding.

If you listen carefully to the chorus, you can hear Mick Jagger's unmistakable voice in the background.