Taxi (song)
Encyclopedia
"Taxi" is a song
written and performed by Harry Chapin
from his 1972 album Heads and Tales
. Chapin debuted the song on NBC
's The Tonight Show in 1972 which was followed by many calls and telegrams sent from viewers to NBC demanding that Chapin return to the show. It was the first time in the show's history that host Johnny Carson
brought a performer back the very next night for an encore performance. Taxi thus front-lined his defining work. The single helped establish Chapin's musical style and fame, and as a result many Chapin items feature taxi
-related imagery. Legendary WMEX
-Boston Radio Personality Jim Connors
is credited with a Gold record for discovering Chapin and pushing his single "Taxi" to #24 on the Billboard
charts, where it would last 16 weeks on the Hot 100
, in the United States
.
In flashback, Harry remembers how he "used to take her home in [his] car" and also how they "learned about love in the back of a Dodge". Sue had wanted to be an actress, while Harry was going to learn to fly (hinting at Chapin's earlier real-life experience at the United States Air Force Academy
). Their relationship ended when Sue "took off to find the footlights" and Harry "took off to find the sky".
The middle section of the song features the bass player, John Wallace
, in falsetto
, singing the following lines:
"Skying" is an obscure slang reference to what would later become "streaking". Skying was the act of walking around naked in 'less than private' settings. Hence, "Baby's so high that she's walking around naked."
Harry arrives at Sue's home where she offers to get together with him sometime, with Harry knowing "it'd never be arranged". Sue pays him a $20 bill for "a $2.50 fare" and says, "Harry, keep the change" to which he "stashed the bill in [his] shirt". As Sue walks into her "handsome home", Harry finally realizes that "[they'd] both gotten what [they'd] asked for such a long, long time ago": Sue is now "acting happy" in a loveless marriage, while he is "flying" by taking drugs ("I go flying so high when I'm stoned").
). Written in the same style as "Taxi", it continues the story of Harry and Sue with them meeting again ten years later. Released as a single, "Sequel" reached #23 on the Billboard chart, ironically one position higher than "Taxi" reached.
In the song, Harry, now a successful musician, decides to take a taxi to Sue's 16 Parkside Lane address only to discover that she no longer lives there. He later finds her at a rundown apartment where she once again recognizes him:
Sue has nothing, but is happy with herself. Harry is cryptic about their reunion, saying "If I answered at all I'd lie". The song ends with:
, not San Francisco. Chapin also stated that "Taxi" is only "about sixty-percent true".
However, according to Chapin's biography Taxi: The Harry Chapin Story, by Peter M. Coan, this song was based on a relationship that Chapin had with a Bennett Junior College student named Clare MacIntyre, the inspiration for Sue. They met when they were both camp counselors at neighboring summer camps during their college years.
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
written and performed by Harry Chapin
Harry Chapin
Harry Forster Chapin was an American singer-songwriter best known in particular for his folk rock songs including "Taxi", "W*O*L*D", and the number-one hit "Cat's in the Cradle". Chapin was also a dedicated humanitarian who fought to end world hunger; he was a key player in the creation of the...
from his 1972 album Heads and Tales
Heads and Tales
Heads & Tales is the first studio album by the American singer/songwriter Harry Chapin, released in 1972 . The album contains Chapin's early signature song "Taxi."...
. Chapin debuted the song on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's The Tonight Show in 1972 which was followed by many calls and telegrams sent from viewers to NBC demanding that Chapin return to the show. It was the first time in the show's history that host Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
brought a performer back the very next night for an encore performance. Taxi thus front-lined his defining work. The single helped establish Chapin's musical style and fame, and as a result many Chapin items feature taxi
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
-related imagery. Legendary WMEX
WWZN
WWZN is an AM radio station licensed to serve the Boston media market. Its programming is a time-brokered mix between progressive talk radio during the daytime , sports talk and religious programming in the overnight hours...
-Boston Radio Personality Jim Connors
Jim Connors
Jim "JC" Connors was a popular radio personality of the 1960s through 1980s in the United States.-Highlights:...
is credited with a Gold record for discovering Chapin and pushing his single "Taxi" to #24 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
charts, where it would last 16 weeks on the Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Content
The song tells the story of Harry, a cab driver, on a rainy night in San Francisco. He picks up a woman, his last fare for the night, and she asks to be taken to her home at 16 Parkside Lane. Harry finds the woman familiar at first, but she doesn't seem to recognize him until after she looks at him in the rear-view mirror and at his license. It is then revealed that she is Sue, Harry's old lover.In flashback, Harry remembers how he "used to take her home in [his] car" and also how they "learned about love in the back of a Dodge". Sue had wanted to be an actress, while Harry was going to learn to fly (hinting at Chapin's earlier real-life experience at the United States Air Force Academy
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
). Their relationship ended when Sue "took off to find the footlights" and Harry "took off to find the sky".
The middle section of the song features the bass player, John Wallace
John Wallace (musician)
"Big" John Wallace was a bassist and backup singer for singer-songwriter Harry Chapin. John gained membership to Harry's band by responding to an ad placed in the Village Voice in 1971...
, in falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
, singing the following lines:
- Baby's so high, that she's skying
- Yes she's flying, afraid to fall
- I'll tell you why baby's crying
- Cause she's dying, aren't we all...
"Skying" is an obscure slang reference to what would later become "streaking". Skying was the act of walking around naked in 'less than private' settings. Hence, "Baby's so high that she's walking around naked."
Harry arrives at Sue's home where she offers to get together with him sometime, with Harry knowing "it'd never be arranged". Sue pays him a $20 bill for "a $2.50 fare" and says, "Harry, keep the change" to which he "stashed the bill in [his] shirt". As Sue walks into her "handsome home", Harry finally realizes that "[they'd] both gotten what [they'd] asked for such a long, long time ago": Sue is now "acting happy" in a loveless marriage, while he is "flying" by taking drugs ("I go flying so high when I'm stoned").
Sequel
In 1980, Chapin wrote a successor to the song, titled "Sequel" (on the album of the same nameSequel (album)
Sequel is the ninth studio album by the American singer/songwriter Harry Chapin, released in 1981 . It was the last complete album released during Harry's lifetime...
). Written in the same style as "Taxi", it continues the story of Harry and Sue with them meeting again ten years later. Released as a single, "Sequel" reached #23 on the Billboard chart, ironically one position higher than "Taxi" reached.
In the song, Harry, now a successful musician, decides to take a taxi to Sue's 16 Parkside Lane address only to discover that she no longer lives there. He later finds her at a rundown apartment where she once again recognizes him:
- And she said, “How are you Harry?
- Haven't we played this scene before?”
- I said, “It's so good to see you, Sue
- Had to play it out just once more.
Sue has nothing, but is happy with herself. Harry is cryptic about their reunion, saying "If I answered at all I'd lie". The song ends with:
- I guess it's a sequel to our story
- From the journey 'tween heaven and hell
- With half the time thinking of what might have been
- and half thinkin' just as well.
- I guess only time will tell.
Origins
According to the liner notes in The Essentials: Harry Chapin, Chapin was inspired to write the song when he happened upon an old lover, as the cabbie in the song does. Chapin was merely on his way to a taxi license examination in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, not San Francisco. Chapin also stated that "Taxi" is only "about sixty-percent true".
However, according to Chapin's biography Taxi: The Harry Chapin Story, by Peter M. Coan, this song was based on a relationship that Chapin had with a Bennett Junior College student named Clare MacIntyre, the inspiration for Sue. They met when they were both camp counselors at neighboring summer camps during their college years.
Covers
- The song was covered by William ShatnerWilliam ShatnerWilliam Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
in a performance on Dinah!Dinah!Dinah! is a daytime talk show hosted by singer and actress Dinah Shore, which aired in American syndication markets through 20th Century Fox Television from its premiere on September 9, 1974 until the summer of 1980...
. - During Chapin's later concerts, Big John would sing the song's first verse in the form of a disco-style as the third alternate ending to 30,000 Pounds of Bananas30,000 Pounds of Bananas"30,000 Pounds of Bananas", sometimes spelled "Thirty-Thousand Pounds of Bananas", is a song by Harry Chapin from his 1974 album, Verities & Balderdash. The song became more popular in its live extended recording from Chapin's 1976 concert album, Greatest Stories Live that started the phrase...
. - The song was covered by Mandy PatinkinMandy PatinkinMandel Bruce "Mandy" Patinkin is an award-winning American actor of stage and screen and a tenor vocalist. He is a noted interpreter of the musical works of Stephen Sondheim, and is best-known for his work in musical theatre, originating iconic roles such as Georges Seurat in Sunday in the Park...
on his Experiment album. - After "Sequel", Chapin once joked that if he wrote a third act to the song, that it would be called "HearseHearseA hearse is a funerary vehicle used to carry a coffin from a church or funeral home to a cemetery. In the funeral trade, hearses are often called funeral coaches.-History:...
" so he could just kill off the characters. - The song was covered by Lee Hazlewood on his I'll be Your Baby Tonight album.