The Dory Previn Concert: Lyrics, Stories and Melody
Dory Previns' Lyrics Combine All of Human Experience: Pain, Humor, Absurdity, Joy and Tragedy
I first discovered Dory Previn at a time in my life when I was rediscovering myself. Her songs were perfect for the task. They bring up new ways of looking at old things, and subjects that people didn't look at at all.
They were sad enough to allow release for the losses I was feeling, hopeful enough to help me get through it and almost always helped me laugh, both at myself and at the absurdity of the world.
I was saddened that so few of her songs are on You Tube, but grateful for what is there. You will miss the lyrical way her voice brought life to the songs. When I read the lyrics I can hear her stylings in my mind. You will miss that if you haven't heard her also. But they are still worth reading as poems.
I did find a video of "Jesus' Baby Sister" but decided to remove it. The recording just wasn't quality enough. There is one of someone else singing "Mythical Kings and Iganas". Just get the albums and you will be happy about it.
Mary C. Brown and the Hollywood Sign
Dori Previn seemed unable to write or sing a song without telling a story, and a story that makes one think about life in a new way.
In this video she tells us how she came to write about The Hollywood Sign.
Mary C. Brown and the Hollywood Sign
Lyrics to Mary C. Brown And The Hollywood Sign :
you know the hollywood sign
that stands in the hollywood hills
i don't think the christ of the andes
ever blessed so many ills
the hollywood sign seems to smile
like it's constantly saying "cheese"
i doubt if the statue of liberty
ever welcomed more refugees
give me your poor
your tired your pimps
you carhops your cowboys
your midgets your chimps
give me your freaks
your whores your harlots
your flunkies your junkies
give me your starlets
mary cecilia brown
rode to town on a malibu bus
she climbed to the top
of the hollywood sign
and with the smallest possible fuss
she jumped off the letter "h"
'cause she did not become a star
she died in less than a minute and a half
she looked a bit like hedy lamarr
sometimes i have this dream
when the time comes for me to go
i will climb that hill
and i'll hang myself
from the second or third letter "o"
when mary cecilia jumped
she finally made the grade
her name was in the obituary column
of both the daily trades
i hope the hollywood sign
cries for the town it touches
the lady of lourdes in her grotto
saw fewer cripples and crutches
give me your poor
your maladjusted
your sick and your beat
and your sad and your busted
give me your has-beens
give me your twisted
your loners your losers
give me your black-listed
you know the hollywood sign
the witness to our confusion
a symbol of dreams
turns out to be
a sign
of disillusion.
[ Mary C. Brown And The Hollywood Sign Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]
"Afraid to Be Alone"
This Is The Song that Chef's Lenses Brought to Mind
These lyrics remind us to say we love someone before it is too late. Even strangers. Some may be offended by her verse of Jesus, but it brought me closer to Jesus and boosted my faith.
Lyrics to Scared To Be Alone :
We never stop to wonder
Till a person's gone
We never yearn
To know him
Till he's travelled on
When someone is around us
We never stop to ask
Hey, what's behind your mirror
Hey, who's beneath your mask
We never stop to wonder
Till a person's gone
We never yearn
To know him
Till he's packed
And travelled on
Sweet Marilyn Monroe
On the silver screen
Platinum reflection
In a movie magazine
Well, did you ever
Have a headache
Did your mama own a gramaphone
Did you like to be an actress
Were you scared
To be alone
We never stop to wonder
Till a person's gone
We never yearn
To know him
Till he's travelled on
When someone is around us
We don't know what we're seeing
We take a polaroid picture
To find the human being
We never stop to wonder
Till a person's gone
We never yearn
To know him
Till he's packed
And travelled on
Sweet beautiful Jesus
On a painted cross
Polystyrene body
With a superficial gloss
Hey, were you
Jealous of your father
Were you short
When you were fully grown
Did you like to walk on water
Were you scared
To be alone
I think perhaps tomorrow
I'll try to make a friend
To really get
To know him
Instead of pretend
I'll ask him if his feet hurt
Has he burdens to be shared
And if he doesn't walk away
I'll ask him
If he's scared
And if he doesn't walk away
If his eyes don't
Turn to stone
I'll ask him
If he's scared
To be alone
[ Scared To Be Alone Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]
Left Hand Lost
Left Hand Lost
Here Dori Talks About How She Was Forced to Stop Being Right Handed and to Use Her Right Hand "Just like I was supposed to". I is wrenching, but yet she manages to get us all to laugh at these many loses that we have had.
Lyrics to Left Hand Lost :
the left hand is
we always say
the demon devil's side
the left had does
the dirty work
the shameful things
you hide
judas kissed the left cheek of christ
it's satan's special mark
there were no left-footed animals
allowed on noah's ark
left-handed people are impure
they go against the grain
left-handed children
play with themselves
and drive themselves insane
i was born left-handed
but the nuns where i went to school
they said it wasn't right so they
broke me of it
and now i'm right-handed
just like i'm supposed to be
and now
i'm fine
i'm just fine
really
really
but sometimes
i get so low so low
sometimes
i get so depressed
as though i lost
a part of me that loved me
the part that knew me best
the child in me that cried
to be cherished
the side of me
that tried to be my friend
in the heart of me was living
and loving
but it perished
and i'll never be
completely me again
my right had fills the china teacups
and needlepoints with old maid aunts
my right hand clings to rosary beads
and waters dying plants
but it's never painted a picture
nor has it run for president
my left hand
might have done these things
if its roots
had not been bent
a sculptor
a poet
it might have been
instead of a useless thing
to decorate with bangles and bracelets
and my mother's wedding ring
something
it might have accomplished
or nothing
but now i'll never know
oh
my lost
my left
my natural hand
my god
i miss you so
[ Left Hand Lost Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]
Dory Previn's Story
- Has Time Healed Her Pain?
"A clue to the song's subtle power is in the name of the performer, Dory Previn. She was the wife of André Previn in the Sixties, and worked with him on music for films such as Inside Daisy Clover, Valley of the Dolls, and The Sterile Cuckoo - which - Complete List of Dory Previn Lyrics
This is a great resource with the lyrics for every song she has written on her own. Great to read, but you really need to hear her sing them. - Review of Carnegie Hall Album and Previn's Life
More information about her life and review of the Live At Carnegie Hall Album.
"We Are All Children of Coincidence and Harpo Marx" The Ultimate Dory Previn Title
"Did Jesus Have a Baby Sister?"
I was a baby sister in the 50's. My parents were very avant garde about their own gender roles, (Dad cleaned and they had a business together) but it was the 50's. There were no sports for me, like my brother had among other things.
This song really touched me.
Lyrics to Did Jesus Have A Baby Sister? :
did jesus have a baby sister?
was she bitter?
was she sweet?
did she wind up in a convent?
did she end up on the street?
on the run?
on the stage?
did she dance?
did he have a sister?
a little baby sister?
did jesus have a sister?
did they give her a chance?
did he have a baby sister?
could she speak out
by and large?
or was she told by mother mary
ask your brother he's in charge
he's the chief
he's the whipped cream
on the cake
did he have a sister?
a little baby sister?
did jesus have a sister?
did they give her a break?
her brother's
birth announcement
was pretty big
pretty big
i guess
while she got precious
little notice
in the local press
her mother was the virgin
when she carried him
carried him
therein
if the little girl came later
then
was she conceived in sin?
and in sorrow?
and in suffering?
and in shame?
did jesus have a sister?
what was her name?
did she long to be the saviour
saving everyone
she me?
and in private to her mirror
did she whisper
saviourette?
saviourwoman?
saviourperson?
save your breath!
did he have a sister?
a little baby sister?
did jesus have a sister?
was she there at his death?
and did she cry for mary's comfort
as she watched him
on the cross?
and was mary too despairing
ask your brother
he's the boss
he's the chief
he's the man
he's the show
did he have a sister?
a little baby sister?
did jesus have a sister?
doesn't anyone know?
[ Did Jesus Have A Baby Sister? Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]
"The Midget's Lament"
Dori Previn has an uncanny ability to sense what life is life for other people. This is a prime example.
Lyrics to The Midget's Lament :
i walk in
i ain't too dumb
i know i got some handicaps t'overcome
i mean y'seen one midget
y'seen 'em all
oh yeah midget
oh yeah small
and that's as far as you can see
is that the sum
and total substance of me?
midgets d-warfs chimps in a zoo
they all look alike to you
well listen good
'cause i don't lie
there's a whole lot more to me
than meets the eye
and it fills my little soul
with midget hate
the way that people will not learn
to differentiate
yeah sure midget
that's what you say
and that's as far as it goes
but have you ever said
that's a hungarian midget?
or that's a midget with
a wart on his nose?
have you ever taken the time to notice
a midget with curly hair
it isn't fair
there are skinny midgets
fat midgets
gay midgets flat midgets
there are midgets in deep despair
half a soul half a brain
half a heart
and twice the pain
sure they're cute
and they're a lot of fun
but would you want your sister
to marry one?
midget small
that's it and that's all
the classification it is made
midget runt
well now i gotta be blunt
i wish i was born
i wish i was born a spade
sure i would still be a midget
but i would have such
such beautiful coloration
and among my fellow midgets
i would be a sensation
talk about standing out
in the pack
i wish i was black
midgets d-warfs chimpanzees
ain't it all relative
when you're on your knees?
so don't tell me
don't tell me
about minorities
i wish to christ
i wish to christ
i was black
[ The Midget's Lament Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]
Dory Previn Interviewed
From a Woman's Point of View "When a Man Wants a Woman"
"why is it
when a man wants a woman
he's called a hunter?
but when a woman wants a man
she's called a predator?"
Dory On Stage and Others Singing Dory
From a Man's Point of View: "Don't Put Him Down"
"oh babe
he loves you
but he just can't make it with you
and he just can't tell you it's true
how can he pass the test
when he just can't hardly move himself
let alone prove himself the best
oh babe
he wants you
but he just can't get it on as you planned
and i guess a girl just can't understand
how much a guy goes through
all she has to do is let herself
she doesn't have to get herself up
on cue
like a performing seal
in a zoo"
The Veteran's Big Parade
One more, this one had to be here. It's Dory's war song. You can find it on the Carnegie Hall Album.
Lyrics to The Veterans Big Parade :
In the veterans big parade
Marched the businessmen's brigade
While behind the high school band
The ladies fife and drum corps played
In the veterans big parade
The flag flew high and free
Down they marched to Fourth and Main
Our soldiers died but not in vain
God was with us
That's for sure
He proved it cause
It didn't rain
Balloons batons you wanted to cry
The best day in July
At the veterans cemetery
Then the services were said
There the Mayor's first assistant
Wiped his glasses
Put them on
And red
We're gathered here
Dear friends today
To show our brave boys
Where they lay
We are with them all the way
And I think it's safe to say
They are not
Alone
They are not
Alone
All the widows proudly smiled
(Except for one with an infant child)
Picnic time was then announced
And all the little kids went wild
Picnic blankets then were spread
And the beer flowed fast and free
There were clams and corn on the cob
To feed the celebrating mob
(Once in a while
I don't know why
The infant child
Began to sob)
Other than that is was New Year's Eve
Till it was time to leave
Then a fine Hawaiian band
Played and sang
Aloha oh
And their voices drifted low
Between the crosses
Painted white
Row on row on row
Aloha oh
And so goodbye
Till next year boys
Next July
We are with you
All the way
And I think
It's safe to say
You are not
Alone
You are not
Alone
You are not
Alone
[ The Veterans Big Parade Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]
Vote on Your Favorite Dory Previn Album
I Wanted to Publish All of Her Lyrics
But that would make the longest lens in the history of lenses, and probably unreadable by most people.
So I chose the ones with videos and a couple of others that were essential to the story. But I beg you, for your own sake, get some of her music and listen to her sing these wonderful words. They aren't all available now, but track them down, get used vinyls. Just hear the music.
Any Purchase Here Will Contribute to Heifer International: The Pay It Forward Entrepreneurial Charity
I would love to hear what you would like to see in this lens.