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Leon Russell — Manhattan Island Serenade
Album: Carney
Avg rating:
6.5

Your rating:
Total ratings: 325









Released: 1972
Length: 3:16
Plays (last 30 days): 0
Sittin' on a highway in a broken van
Thinkin' of you again
Guess I have to hitchhike to the station
With every step I see your face
Like a mirror looking back at me
Sayin' you're the only one
Making me feel I could survive
I'm so glad to be alive
Nowhere to run and not a guitar to play
Mixed up inside and it's been raining all day
Since you went away
Manhattan Island Serenade

Sittin' on a highway in a broken van
Thinkin' of you again
Guess I have to hitchhike down the highway
With every step I see your face
Like a mirror looking back at me
Sayin' you're the only one
Making me feel I could survive
I'm so glad to be alive
Nowhere to run and not a guitar to play
Mixed up inside and it's been raining all day
Since you went away
Manhattan Island Serenade
Comments (23)add comment
 lkovathana wrote:
How is a guy with that accent entitled to sing about Manhattan?  Ugh, this grates on the nerves ... I would settle for a Jersey accent.

That's one of the silliest comments on RP and lord knows I made a few
Oh that piano playing.
Had the chance to see Leon in 2015. A Friday night show, something else was going on. God I can be stupid sometimes.
I never knew that much about Leon Russell, well as a kid there was the cover of the Wedding Album, which I guess was a little scandalous at the time, and not the best LP to begin with.

So  after these many years I was quite happy to come upon the doco "A Poem is a Naked Person" which did a lot to remind me of Leon's many accomplishments. Highly enjoyed it.
 Amazon wrote:

Leon's not singing *about* Manhattan Island - he just wrote the song there, while sitting broke down along a road there while it was raining. Notice the sound of passing vehicles on wet pavement that underlies the entire track. He doesn't claim to be an authority on NYC - he's just upset that he's going to have to hitch-hike in the rain to get help, on top of mourning a lost girlfriend.

 
HA!  Interesting way, if true, to turn a mundane moment in life into something a bit more.....lyrical?  I guess inspiration can strike at some of the strangest moments, eh? 

Highlow
American Net'Zen


Not his best song.... But I can't dis Leon...
Leon on Saturday morning.. It is going to be a great day...
 lkovathana wrote:
How is a guy with that accent entitled to sing about Manhattan?  Ugh, this grates on the nerves ... I would settle for a Jersey accent.

 
haha
apparently this commenter has no idea who Leon Russell is, all the brilliant songs he wrote for other artists WHILE  WORKING IN MANHATTAN and LA writing and producing music for Jan & DeanGary LewisGeorge HarrisonGram ParsonsDelaney BramlettRingo StarrDoris DayElton JohnRay CharlesEric Claptonthe ByrdsBarbra Streisandthe Beach Boysthe VenturesWillie NelsonBadfingerTijuana BrassFrank Sinatrathe BandBob DylanJ.J. CaleB.B. King, Dave MasonGlen CampbellJoe Cocker and the Rolling Stones
 lkovathana wrote:
How is a guy with that accent entitled to sing about Manhattan?  Ugh, this grates on the nerves ... I would settle for a Jersey accent.

 
Leon's not singing *about* Manhattan Island - he just wrote the song there, while sitting broke down along a road there while it was raining. Notice the sound of passing vehicles on wet pavement that underlies the entire track. He doesn't claim to be an authority on NYC - he's just upset that he's going to have to hitch-hike in the rain to get help, on top of mourning a lost girlfriend.
44 years ago carumba!  he's cool imo
Love Leon
Amazing! For some reason I would like a stroopwafel right now. 
 lkovathana wrote:
How is a guy with that accent entitled to sing about Manhattan?  Ugh, this grates on the nerves ... I would settle for a Jersey accent.

 
Yeah, his voice is something I can only take in small doses. But that's true for a lot of things, many of them good!
 dwhayslett wrote:

You should buy the uploader a beer or something.  ;-)

 
I'd be happy with a bottled Dr. Pepper.
Thank you RP, I always thought that "Carney" was Leon Russell's Sgt Pepper.
How is a guy with that accent entitled to sing about Manhattan?  Ugh, this grates on the nerves ... I would settle for a Jersey accent.
sounds like "messed up inside and it's been raining all day"

The verses are dopplegangers. Guess he ran out of lyrics.  
King Leon
Inderdaad!

Strange....
 
{#Clap} Like this one! But ... I know the song from a different interpretation. The song was made famous in the Netherlands by "De Amazing Stroopwafels" in which the second verse is a Dutch translation of the first ... Try it! 
 KurtfromLaQuinta wrote:
Great song from a great album!
And what a great upload!
 
You should buy the uploader a beer or something.  ;-)
Great name for an album!
Great song from a great album! And what a great upload!