Today in New York, it is currently 46°F (8°C) and rainy.
Karen Karpener has the most beautiful voice ever. I could listen to her every day. She sang with exposed vulnerability, tempered with a genuine sweetness. Sometimes she makes me incredibly happy and optimistic, and sometimes she breaks my heart.
On rainy Mondays like today, I immediately think of her song, Rainy Days and Mondays. This song perfectly captures the mood of the weather.
"Rainy Days and Mondays" is a 1971 song by The Carpenters that went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was certified Gold by the RIAA. It was also the duo's fourth #1 song on the Adult Contemporary singles chart.
The song was composed in 1971 by then fairly unheard-of composers Roger Nichols and Paul Williams. It was released as the first track on the album Carpenters.
Paul Williams wrote this with Roger Nichols. It was an early effort for the duo, who went on to write hits for Three Dog Night and separately wrote popular TV themes: Williams for The Love Boat and Nichols for Hart To Hart. Says Williams: "As I examine my psyche, when I was an out-of-work actor, I had a movie called The Chase. I wasn't even writing songs yet. I was an actor before I was a songwriter. I did a movie called The Loved One with Jonathan Winters, then two years later I got another movie just like that, called The Chase. I worked three months on it, I think. My mom was a little widow lady living in Denver. And I brought her out to live with me. I said, 'Mom, you're never going to have to work again. This movie's going to really make me, it's going to be the big break I've been waiting for. My career as an actor is gonna just fly.' The movie came out and I'm not in it. I've got two lines, I think, the way it turned out. Big movie starring Marlon Brando, Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Robert Duvall, huge film. So I worked on it, but I've got a little, really small part. So the career didn't take off, eventually the phone stopped ringing, eventually they took the phone out, eventually Mom got a job.So I'd stay up all night, I'd started to plunk out writing songs. My mother would get up in the morning, and she's like, 'Don't worry, my son, God has a plan.' And she'd talk to herself, she'd mumble. And she'd walk away, 'oh jesus, I hope so...' I'd go, 'Mom, what's the matter?' She'd say, 'You wouldn't understand. I'm just feeling old. Just feeling old.' So she'd talk to herself. So I think that's probably where, 'Talking to myself and feeling old' came from, because she would jabber to herself, and whenever you'd ask her she'd say, 'I'm just feeling old today. I'm not sad, I'm just feeling old.'"
Sometimes song lyrics are written on the fly, and that was the case with a line in this song. Says Williams: "On 'Rainy Days And Mondays' Chuck Kay, who was head of publishing at A&M, said, 'That's a perfect song for The 5th Dimension, let's play it for them.' I said, 'Well, there are a couple of lines that aren't done yet.' He said, 'You'll finish it in the car.' So in the car going over there, I came up with a fill line, which was 'What I've got they used to call the blues.' I didn't have that line done yet, so I wrote it as just a quick fill line, because I wanted to mention the blues, but it was such a hackneyed expression, 'I've got the blues.' So I just wrote, 'What I've got they used to call the blues.' And it actually became my favorite line in the song. I think it's the best line in the song. I met Johnny Mercer once at A&M Records, and he sat down and I introduced myself, 'Paul Williams,' and he shook my hand. And he walked back into the studio where he was mixing, then he stuck his head back out into the hall and he went, 'Paul Williams, 'what I've got they used to call the blues,' that Paul Williams?' I said, 'Yes, sir.' It was funny. It was one of the great moments of my life, to meet Johnny Mercer, who I think was the lyricist's lyricist."
The 5th Dimension passed on this song, but The Carpenters picked it up, giving them their second hit written by Williams and Nichols, who also wrote "We've Only Just Begun." William's acting career took off, as he landed roles in Battle For The Planet Of The Apes and Smokey And The Bandit. He also appeared in The Muppet Movie and wrote songs for the film, including the classic "Rainbow Connection."
Talkin' to myself and feelin' old
Sometimes I'd like to quit
Nothing ever seems to fit
Hangin' around
Nothing to do but frown
Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down.
What I've got they used to call the blues
Nothin' is really wrong
Feelin' like I don't belong
Walkin' around
Some kind of lonely clown
Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down.
Funny but it seems I always wind up here with you
Nice to know somebody loves me
Funny but it seems that it's the only thing to do
Run and find the one who loves me.
What I feel has come and gone before
No need to talk it out
We know what it's all about
Hangin' around
Nothing to do but frown
Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down.
