Make believe its your first time

michael hirons

New Member
I often wondered what Karen said before she started singing this song?..I cant make out the words,was it some sort of introduction?,its just not clear enough to hear in the version included in the album Love Songs..Does anyone know what its was??its been bugging me for ages..Michael an old Fan in the UK
 
I did too, and I thought I saw it quoted that way somewhere.
But when I googled the song name with the additional words "serous mood", all the references I found used the quote I wrote above.
 
I did too, and I thought I saw it quoted that way somewhere.
But when I googled the song name with the additional words "serous mood", all the references I found used the quote I wrote above.
It’s definitely as Ullalume says. The problem with lyric sites is that if one of them gets it wrong, it’s then replicated over lots of others. They can be helpful sometimes, but they otherwise spread incorrect lyrics.
 
By the way, that statement shows that Karen was able to "fake" a mood.
And we know from her television appearances that she was a good actress.

Singers like actors draw from personal experiences to fulfill a role, but also from observing the world around them.
Sometimes you have to put yourself in "another place" in order to fulfill an obligation in the proper manner. But is it fake?
Or is the person just a great singer or actor, because they are able to channel the proper emotions when required?
 
Let me put it another way.
If Karen was able to "get into a serious mood" because it was required for a song, then we should not assume that when we see or hear her, we are seeing or hearing her real, true inner emotions.
That does not detract at all from her greatness.
She has been my favorite singer since 1972, almost 50 years.
She has touched me like no one else.
 
I always interpreted that line as simply a little snippet of what was going on in the studio. There had probably been some silliness going on with people laughing, giggling, etc., but the clock was ticking and they needed to get a good track down, so Karen wanted to forget the silliness and "get into a serious mood here".

Richard probably included it as a little extra on VOICE OF THE HEART. It's not there on the single edit.
 
Richard probably included it as a little extra on VOICE OF THE HEART. It's not there on the single edit.

The only thing that has always puzzled me about that snippet is that it sounds muffled. Karen sounds like she’s talking with a ball of cotton wool in her mouth. It doesn’t even sound like her...almost like the audio snippet has been slowed down making her voice deeper. And that noise doesn’t sound like a cheek pop to me. Try it. On the record it sounds like a quick clap of hands. Very strange.
 
The only thing that has always puzzled me about that snippet is that it sounds muffled. Karen sounds like she’s talking with a ball of cotton wool in her mouth. It doesn’t even sound like her...almost like the audio snippet has been slowed down making her voice deeper. And that noise doesn’t sound like a cheek pop to me. Try it. On the record it sounds like a quick clap of hands. Very strange.
Yeah...that snippet was my first experience of hearing her talking voice...until a couple of months later when I got live at the palladium..and it does sound different to her normal voice.

Richard said it wasnt a cheek pop so much as pulling her cheek back and forth 3 times to create that "clapping" sound. Either way I love it.
 
I'm pretty sure that she did that little bit "off-mike" which would account for the muffled sound.
 
Would a professional singer eat something right before they are about to be recorded singing?
I would have thought there would be too much of a risk of coughing/ burping etc?
 
Thank you all for clearing up doubts in my mind,I feel so much happier now its all been explained,I thought that I was hearing a fault in the recording!Godbless everyone, but my thoughts are with Karen always Michael
 
i always thought the sound after Karen says, "Uh, have to get into a serious mood here!" sounded like a foam cup dropped on the floor and bouncing.
 
i always thought the sound after Karen says, "Uh, have to get into a serious mood here!" sounded like a foam cup dropped on the floor and bouncing.

I always thought it sounded like a repeated handclap. It’s neither. It’s Karen pulling at her cheek repeatedly to produce a “cheek pop”. To this day it sounds nothing like that to me and why on earth would you do that anyway in a recording session?
 
Let me put it another way.
If Karen was able to "get into a serious mood" because it was required for a song, then we should not assume that when we see or hear her, we are seeing or hearing her real, true inner emotions.
...
Or she knew from having rehearsed the song X times and having recorded it before for the Solo album that the song would quickly put her in a serious mood as soon as she started singing it - she was simply stating the very obvious fact about what her mood was quickly going to be - she didn't "have to put herself in a serious mood" - she knew the song itself would - there was nothing unreal or fake about it...you can safely assume you're hearing her true inner emotions...they're driven by the song and not her premeditation.
 
I always thought it sounded like a repeated handclap. It’s neither. It’s Karen pulling at her cheek repeatedly to produce a “cheek pop”. To this day it sounds nothing like that to me and why on earth would you do that anyway in a recording session?

Are we sure it’s the cheek pop? It sounds much more like clapping than a finger in one’s cheek being pulled out.
 
Are we sure it’s the cheek pop? It sounds much more like clapping than a finger in one’s cheek being pulled out.

Fan Question: I have always wondered ever since the "Voice of the Heart" album came out what the noise is that you can hear at the beginning of the song "Make Believe It's Your First Time". The noise occurs right after Karen says " I have to get into a serious mood here". Someone once told me it was an echo caused by Karen clapping her hands, but I am not sure this is true.

Richard Carpenter: The noise is a little fun thing the group did among ourselves called a "tap dancing cheek". You just pull with thumb and forefinger on your cheek, three quick pulls, making a tap dancing sound. (Karen's cheek of course.)


 
Or she knew from having rehearsed the song X times and having recorded it before for the Solo album that the song would quickly put her in a serious mood as soon as she started singing it - she was simply stating the very obvious fact about what her mood was quickly going to be - she didn't "have to put herself in a serious mood" - she knew the song itself would - there was nothing unreal or fake about it...you can safely assume you're hearing her true inner emotions...they're driven by the song and not her premeditation.
I wanted to edit this to add another thought but that option had expired, so I thought I would quote myself (always a fun thing to do!) - the other possibility here is the simplest explanation: they were kidding around in the studio and she got the word or signal everything was "go" for another take, so she just gave herself an audible instruction to pay attention, stop joking around, concentrate and get down to the business at hand...in other words, do the job she was there for...
 
The noise occurs right after Karen says " I have to get into a serious mood here". Richard Carpenter: The noise is a little fun thing the group did among ourselves called a "tap dancing cheek". You just pull with thumb and forefinger on your cheek, three quick pulls, making a tap dancing sound. (Karen's cheek of course.)


Typical Karen sense of humour - to say, "I have to get into a serious mood here!" and then do another silly thing, like a cheek pop. I find her genuinely funny on a lot of their TV appearances. She had a quick sense of humour.
 
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