Mr. Guder and Maybe It's You Lyrics Questions and Answers

cam89

Well-Known Member
I've always loved this song....it's unique and I love the vocal harmonies especially in the middle....but I always thought the lyrics were..."Walk in at 9...." but upon listening to Your Navy Presents...I thought I heard Karen sing..."Clock in at 9....and roll out the door at 5..."

Cam
 
I listened to the song and its walk in at nine and roll out the door at five. You should listen to the live version in Japan 1974 i prefer it to the album version.
 
Yes, it sounds like she's singing "clock in"
Also just before this Karen sings "I have watched you go through a day" (opposed to "I have seen you go...)
 
The official lyrics are "Clock in at nine..."
 
Straight from the composer's pen, according to one of our own:

 
No way! Lol! I always thought it was ‘Walk in at 9’. ‘Clock in at 9’ is better.


Reminiscent of Maybe It's You. For years, I thought it was "rising on the shore the ocean king" but it was "rising on the shore the ocean came". I like "ocean king" much better.
 
There are a lot of printed versions of the lyrics where they use the word "walk", but it turns out they're all wrong. It's even wrong in the sheet music from the MAKE YOUR OWN KIND OF MUSIC book. And it's wrong on virtually every Japanese lyric sheet.
 
Reminiscent of Maybe It's You. For years, I thought it was "rising on the shore the ocean king" but it was "rising on the shore the ocean came". I like "ocean king" much better.

It IS "ocean king." If you look at the lyrics in context, "came" makes absolutely no sense.

Never trust lyric sites... they are wrong quite frequently.
 
^^Wasn't this discussed in a previous thread in this forum about that lyric? And wasn't it determined that "ocean came" was the official lyric?! I did a 15 minute search and was not able to find it and then I threw up my hands in defeat. Perhaps someone can dig that discussion out - Harry?:)
 
This old thread ( Least Favourite Track From Each Album ) had this piece of sheet music. But even though I posted it, I take it with a grain of salt since the following is clearly sung "his only thought, HIS love for me" {Moderator: image updated with correct information}

MaybeItsYou.jpg
 

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I still believe it's "king." I offer the following evidence:

1. Karen clearly sings "king."
2. The lyric makes no sense with "came."

We need Chris May on this one..... does he have contact with John Bettis?
 
U.K. members: I was just wondering if "clock in" is a expression used in your country.
 
U.K. members: I was just wondering if "clock in" is a expression used in your country.

Yes it is, but a very old fashioned phrase now since very few companies have the traditional clock system where you would physically stamp your attendance card in the machine.
 
You hear a triangle at the beginning of "Mr. Guder". Back in 2004 when I saw Blood, Sweat & Tears (featuring former lead singer David Clayton Thomas), he said there must have a triangle in the 1969 song "Smiling Phases"!! I laughed at myself about that!!
 
I still believe it's "king." I offer the following evidence:

1. Karen clearly sings "king."
2. The lyric makes no sense with "came."

We need Chris May on this one..... does he have contact with John Bettis?

Funny you should mention it Mike. I spoke to John a few months ago specifically about this lyric. I never posted his comment to me publicly, but here it is, straight from the mouth of the composer himself:

"Okay....all the cards on the table. We wrote that in my mom’s living room...I still have the piano...really quickly..never considering Karen would sing it as a solo..we were still Spectrum at the time...so originally it was ‘ocean queen ‘ ..we switched it to ‘king’ for Karen. Love that song. One of my favorites."

Mistakes were made all the time with published works (especially back in those days - referencing the music sheet above). So, there ya go :)
 
Funny you should mention it Mike. I spoke to John a few months ago specifically about this lyric. I never posted his comment to me publicly, but here it is, straight from the mouth of the composer himself:

"Okay....all the cards on the table. We wrote that in my mom’s living room...I still have the piano...really quickly..never considering Karen would sing it as a solo..we were still Spectrum at the time...so originally it was ‘ocean queen ‘ ..we switched it to ‘king’ for Karen. Love that song. One of my favorites."

Mistakes were made all the time with published works (especially back in those days - referencing the music sheet above). So, there ya go :)

Wow, I really thought it was “ocean came”, like the waves came to the shore.
 
Thanks, Chris! It's great to hear how much John loves "Maybe It's You"--I'm with him all the way...it's a Top 20 track for me. And wonderful snippets about the genesis of the song, too. I still want a collection called CARPENTERS ACROSS THE SPECTRUM--an awesome record in its own right, a blend of OFFERING, CLOSE TO YOU and a number of other tracks. A bit artier and more adventurous than the later work, though not always as sonically perfect. Of course "Mr. Guder" is on such a compilation, too...a whole lotta Carpenter and Bettis!

As far as I'm concerned, John Bettis IS the "Ocean King"!!! :)
 
Funny you should mention it Mike. I spoke to John a few months ago specifically about this lyric. I never posted his comment to me publicly, but here it is, straight from the mouth of the composer himself:

"Okay....all the cards on the table. We wrote that in my mom’s living room...I still have the piano...really quickly..never considering Karen would sing it as a solo..we were still Spectrum at the time...so originally it was ‘ocean queen ‘ ..we switched it to ‘king’ for Karen. Love that song. One of my favorites."

Mistakes were made all the time with published works (especially back in those days - referencing the music sheet above). So, there ya go :)

Wow. Mind blown. I too, as Jarred stated above, thought "ocean came" made perfect sense to me. And the further reference of "his only thought was love for me" referenced an inferred boyfriend that the totality of the song was about. So now, the song is sung about a mythical Poseidon?
 
Funny you should mention it Mike. I spoke to John a few months ago specifically about this lyric. I never posted his comment to me publicly, but here it is, straight from the mouth of the composer himself:

"Okay....all the cards on the table. We wrote that in my mom’s living room...I still have the piano...really quickly..never considering Karen would sing it as a solo..we were still Spectrum at the time...so originally it was ‘ocean queen ‘ ..we switched it to ‘king’ for Karen. Love that song. One of my favorites."

Mistakes were made all the time with published works (especially back in those days - referencing the music sheet above). So, there ya go :)

AWESOME!! We can now put this "controversy" to bed. I prefer "ocean king" so much more. How fortunate that the forum has a "Resident Carpenterologist" on staff! Thanks Chris
 
Wow. Mind blown. I too, as Jarred stated above, thought "ocean came" made perfect sense to me. And the further reference of "his only thought was love for me" referenced an inferred boyfriend that the totality of the song was about. So now, the song is sung about a mythical Poseidon?

If this track had been recorded for Horizon we’d know exactly from the get go what was said. King does make sense when she sings that her mystical lover “walks along the shore”, right?
 
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