Baby Guitar

Album: Melanie (1969)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This was written in England, probably sometime in 1968. Melanie had given a press conference and attended a party with English record company executives. She later described herself as extremely intimidated, fearing her lyrics would be overanalyzed and she would be dismissed as a "stupid American." One of the executives behaved in a way that confirmed her fears, demanding to know things about her personal life and motivations for her profession.

    Melanie returned to her hotel room and wrote this song. The original version had 67 verses. She later referred to it in interviews as a "sad story" and an "evil" song, "gross and disgusting," featuring imagery such as "taking pieces of myself and putting them in formaldehyde." By the next day she was able to see the incident in perspective and shortened the lyrics, but said the England visit remained "nightmarish" in her mind, and described this as a "freaky" song that she did not like to sing often. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Ekristheh - Halath

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Dwight Twilley

Dwight TwilleySongwriter Interviews

Since his debut single "I'm On Fire" in 1975, Dwight has been providing Spinal-Tap moments and misadventure.

Lita Ford

Lita FordSongwriter Interviews

Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.

Best Band Logos

Best Band LogosSong Writing

Queen, Phish and The Stones are among our picks for the best band logos. Here are their histories and a design analysis from an expert.

Jimmy Jam

Jimmy JamSongwriter Interviews

The powerhouse producer behind Janet Jackson's hits talks about his Boyz II Men ballads and regrouping The Time.

Charlie Benante of Anthrax

Charlie Benante of AnthraxSongwriter Interviews

The drummer for Anthrax is also a key songwriter. He explains how the group puts their songs together and tells the stories behind some of their classics.

Adam Young of Owl City

Adam Young of Owl CitySongwriter Interviews

Is Owl City on a quest for another hit like "Fireflies?" Adam answers that question and explains the influences behind many others.