Carpenters - Change the record (Lyric)!

[Simon KC1950]

There's a few differences between Karen's recording and the original Bugsy Malone "Ordinary Fool"

Original: ...It's a lesson that I've learnt...
Karen: ... it's a lesson to be learnt...

Original: ... how many times have I mistaken love songs and laughs for the blues ....
Karen: ... how many times have I mistaken good looks and laughs for the blues... (repeated from previous line)

The most interesting is this:

Original: ... like an ordinary fool, when HER ordinary dreams fall through...
Karen: ...like an ordinary fool when HIS ordinary dreams fall through...

The song is sang from the perspective of the singer; in both cases female.
Karen sings it from her perspective throughout, yet applies the above line to a comparison with a man. Deliberate choice?

 

[JohnFB]

...

Karen also sang "the preacher digs the cold", instead of "the preacher likes the cold".

Heard her use that 60s term (and some others) in a couple of interviews - she learned to talk like a jazz drummer of that Era because they were her heros and idols...

 

[Simon KC1950]

There's a few differences between Karen's recording and the original Bugsy Malone "Ordinary Fool"

Original: ...It's a lesson that I've learnt...
Karen: ... it's a lesson to be learnt...

Original: ... how many times have I mistaken love songs and laughs for the blues ....
Karen: ... how many times have I mistaken good looks and laughs for the blues... (repeated from previous line)

The most interesting is this:

Original: ... like an ordinary fool, when HER ordinary dreams fall through...
Karen: ...like an ordinary fool when HIS ordinary dreams fall through...

The song is sang from the perspective of the singer; in both cases female.
Karen sings it from her perspective throughout, yet applies the above line to a comparison with a man. Deliberate choice?

Just to add, what a wonderful gem of a recording this is from January 1976. An outtake from A Kind of Hush.

Often overlooked, I'm glad it got its place on 40/40 (my first Carpenters album!)

 

[JohnFB]

There's a few differences between Karen's recording and the original Bugsy Malone "Ordinary Fool"

Original: ...It's a lesson that I've learnt...
Karen: ... it's a lesson to be learnt...

Actually "...it's a lesson to be learned" since it has to rhyme with "And a page I should have turned".

The most interesting is this:

Original: ... like an ordinary fool, when HER ordinary dreams fall through...
Karen: ...like an ordinary fool when HIS ordinary dreams fall through...

The song is sang from the perspective of the singer; in both cases female.
Karen sings it from her perspective throughout, yet applies the above line to a comparison with a man. Deliberate choice?

I think the "ordinary fool" referred to here is not the singer themselves, but some stereotypical or traditional fool well known in popular lore, who could be either a him or a her, at the singer's option..."like that ordinary fool we all have heard about and know so well".

 

[Nemily]

Heard her use that 60s term (and some others) in a couple of interviews - she learned to talk like a jazz drummer of that Era because they were her heros and idols...

I too remember reading somewhere her idols are Joe Morello, Buddy Rich, and others. I don't know what kind of 'talk' the Jazz drummers had-I never heard picked up on that. It is fascinating that Karen had learned to talk like them. Maybe this was from her private instruction? I read somewhere that she was around a lot of jazz musicians during her time spent at the LA place where she went for private lessons. Maybe that's it. I also thought her 60 terms were a bit straight out of her time period. Heck, I still have traces of lexicon from the 70's

Good connection on KC interviews and 'digs the cold' on California Dreamin'. One of the best interview examples I've heard of exactly what you are talking about was uploaded by @Walkinat9 in the below thread Post #6.

Richard Carpenter Trio

 

[JohnFB]

I too remember reading somewhere her idols are Joe Morello, Buddy Rich, and others. I don't know what kind of 'talk' the Jazz drummers had-I never heard picked up on that. It is fascinating that Karen had learned to talk like them. Maybe this was from her private instruction? I read somewhere that she was around a lot of jazz musicians during her time spent at the LA place where she went for private lessons. Maybe that's it. I also thought her 60 terms were a bit straight out of her time period. Heck, I still have traces of lexicon from the 70's

...

Far out, man!

Yes, you're correct - the terms she frequently used were in fact straight out of her time period - they were used by many for most of the years of her early life - but maybe more so in Southern California then, and especially by those thriving in the music culture there - drummers had a reputation for this "lingo" especially.

 

[Nemily]

Far out, man!

Cool Beans, John

 

[Another Son]

I wonder why Karen chose to own a 350 in ‘B’wana She No Home’ whereas Michael Franks, the writer, chose a 220 in ‘B’wana He No Home’.

 

[Electroliner]

Karen owned a ‘73 Mercedes 350SL.

 

[JohnFB]

Karen owned a ‘73 Mercedes 350SL.

Was her's a convertible, like this

 

[newvillefan]

Was her's a convertible, like this

This is Karen's.

 

[Simon KC1950]

Karen owned a ‘73 Mercedes 350SL.

What an interesting little easter egg (as it would be termed if it were recorded today)

 

[Another Son]

I wonder why Karen chose to own a 350 in ‘B’wana She No Home’ whereas Michael Franks, the writer, chose a 220 in ‘B’wana He No Home’.

In a time when perceived roles for genders were probably a lot more strongly enforced, could it somehow have been thought of as inappropriate for a woman to ride a 220? (Michael Franks was happy to welcome his female staff member to ride a 220, though).

As far as vowel sounds go, ‘two’ probably sounds more pleasant on the ear than ‘three’, but 220 probably sounds a bit more clumsy than 350.

Why change that section of the song? Just curious.

 

[newvillefan]

As far as vowel sounds go, ‘two’ probably sounds more pleasant on the ear than ‘three’, but 220 probably sounds a bit more clumsy than 350.

That was my thinking. Maybe for Karen '350' sounded better. John Bettis was a master at knowing what vowel sounds suited Karen, I wonder if he had any input into changing this lyric.

 

[Another Son]

That was my thinking. Maybe for Karen '350' sounded better. John Bettis was a master at knowing what vowel sounds suited Karen, I wonder if he had any input into changing this lyric.

Could have, for sure. Did he modify any other lyrics in other songs, (apart from those he wrote)?

 

[Another Son]

I’m sure that a lot of girls and young women were being told, “Girls don’t / can’t ride motorcycles!”, even in the mid / late 1970s; if not in plain words, in reaction and attitudes.

I grew up in an area where motorbikes were common but I don’t remember seeing or hearing of any girls or women riding them.

It’s interesting that Karen was happy to be imagined as a motorbike rider at that time, just as she was determined to shatter the attitude of “Girls don’t play the drums!!”

 

[JohnFB]

This is Karen's.

If she had seen that red convertible first it's very likely she would have bought it instead of, or in addition to, the black 350...she was more than hot enough to drive it - the black one is a "Richard car"...

 

[newvillefan]

If she had seen that red convertible first it's very likely she would have bought it instead of, or in addition to, the black 350...she was more than hot enough to drive it - the black one is a "Richard car"...

Nobody can know that .

Karen wasn't interested in cars, Richard was the car geek - and still is.

 

[Nemily]

Karen's car was a '72 Mercedes 350SL

"Karen was into automobiles to a degree. Growing up she knew her Chevys, Fords, Plymouths, Cadillacs, etc, and knew her model years, but not things like engine size and various models. She liked her '72 Mercedes 350SL, got it new and kept it. Along with that in '79 she bought a Jaguar XJS – I had one, she borrowed it while her Mercedes was in the shop, and liked the way it drove".

Checkout @newvillefan 's post (Carpenters ask Richard Answers May 2005).

Richard’s DeSoto For Sale

And according to Ray Coleman, Karen didn't buy the 350SL or even seek it. The car was gifted to her from her family (Ray Coleman's book page 103). The story in the book is that at the end of ’71, after their road manager was abruptly dismissed. Karen was visibly upset for some time about it. It sounds like they felt bad about her being upset and they were trying to get her mind off of it, cushion it, as Coleman puts it.

 

[Another Son]

Karen owned a ‘73 Mercedes 350SL.

Ah, yes. I always assumed it was a car, ever since I first heard the song in ‘77. I don’t know why i started thinking it was a motorbike. I think it was because I was recently mis-remembering the lyric as ‘ride’, not ‘drive’. Well, that explains it, then. Sorry about being slow on this. I’ll blame it on eyesight…..

 

[JohnFB]

Karen's car was a '72 Mercedes 350SL

"Karen was into automobiles to a degree. Growing up she knew her Chevys, Fords, Plymouths, Cadillacs, etc, and knew her model years, but not things like engine size and various models. She liked her '72 Mercedes 350SL, got it new and kept it.

And according to Ray Coleman, Karen didn't buy the 350SL or even seek it. The car was gifted to her from her family (Ray Coleman's book page 103). The story in the book is that at the end of ’71, after their road manager was abruptly dismissed. Karen was visibly upset for some time about it. It sounds like they felt bad about her being upset and they were trying to get her mind off of it, cushion it, as Coleman puts it.

Well, what's in a year - they had hot, red convertibles in 72 also, and if the family had really wanted to console her they would have wisely bought her one...I can see her in it now, cruising along Downey Boulevard at some semi-hazardous speed with that look of ecstasy on her face that we only saw when she was pounding away on her drum kit...

I wonder if this is true, but acccording to Lucy O'Brien in "Lead Sister..." that road manager was dismissed because he was getting "a little too close" to Karen - but apparently she wasn't completely consoled by the Mercedes because she then started getting "a little too close" to the new road manager... Hey, our favorite girl was irrepressible, and you've just got to love her moxie!

 

[newvillefan]

I wonder if this is true, but acccording to Lucy O'Brien in "Lead Sister..." that road manager was dismissed because he was getting "a little too close" to Karen - but apparently she wasn't completely consoled by the Mercedes because she then started getting "a little too close" to the new road manager...

Is there anything Lucy O'Brien didn't straight out lift from one of the other biographies?

 

[Nemily]

Ah, yes. I always assumed it was a car, ever since I first heard the song in ‘77. I don’t know why i started thinking it was a motorbike. I think it was because I was recently mis-remembering the lyric as ‘ride’, not ‘drive’. Well, that explains it, then. Sorry about being slow on this. I’ll blame it on eyesight…..

Well, she did ride motorbikes, too. Maybe that is where you got it (newsletter 23)

 

[JohnFB]

Is there anything Lucy O'Brien didn't straight out lift from one of the other biographies?

Well, she reported the same facts as the other two biographies, and thus was faithful to the truth - you can say that she "lifted them" but she got them from the same record as the others...

Yes, there are a few factual errors in her account, but they are minor. Overall, she was very sympathetic to Karen in her personal life, and highly complimentary of her awesome talents.

She gives more details about the Solo Album recording sessions (including some interesting interviews with several of the session players) than reported before - and, whether you want it or not, a more in-depth look at Karen's love life.

O'Brien does emphasize a little too much, in my opinion, the feminist or women's liberation, or misogynistic aspects of Karen's story, and while there may be a grain or two of truth in her contentions, most of this is based on her misunderstanding of the people, time and place.

But, I recommend that it should be read at length instead of just reacting to questionable reports of it's contents.

 

[newvillefan]

O'Brien does emphasize a little too much, in my opinion, the feminist or women's liberation, or misogynistic aspects of Karen's story, and while there may be a grain or two of truth in her contentions, most of this is based on her misunderstanding of the people, time and place.

Comments like this just put me off even more.

But, I recommend that it should be read at length instead of just reacting to questionable reports of it's contents.

Yours was one of the reports that persuaded me not to bother