Back in the day you could buy steel wheeled skates for sidewalk skating. One size fits all but you had to have a skate key to adjust them. But yeah, she totally wants his key in her lock.😉
At most it was about a young girl with a schoolgirl crush. Melanie herself said, "There was no deep serious expression behind the song, but people read things into it."
Brad & Lex, you’ll love her "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" and "What Have They Done to My Song Ma"!! You were told about the sexual innuendos in Brand New Key in the chat.
Brad's right; it's a metaphor for . . . what pop songs most often use metaphors for. I want to add my vote to others who have suggested her "Look What They Done to My Song, Ma".
Great 70's hit.... One of those songs you don't hear for years and then hear it and experience all the great memories of better times come flooding in your head.
This is one of my all-time favorites songs. I've sung it all these years. I had those skates as a kid, they clamped onto your shoe, you used a key to tighten the clamps. Yes, Brad, her meaning is metaphorical, but the rollerskates she is singing about are real, and all kids had a pair. The key was the same for all rollerskates, it wasn't a lock key.
If you take a look at the skates she's wearing you'll notice that they are adjustable and fit on shoes. They are adjusted by the key. Perhaps a matter of convenience to meet the dude...peace and love
I was wondering if anyone else understood what a skate key was. Do they have those kind of shoe skates for kids anymore ? Besides it sucked if you lost your own key, right.
@@mitchellaj2302 They often came with an adjustment screw like a butterfly screw but big, and were rather uncomfortable to wear with soft soled shoes, but you adjusted how you stood on them to make it more comfortable, which is why we looked a bit ungainly when skating back then.
I learned to skate with metal one first. Then up graded to the rink back when the floors were made of wood, then moved to key's where the floors were coated flooring. But haven't skated In about 40 yrs, used to go ice skating in the winter on lakes in DC as well. Things we did to have fun when we were young.
Melanie Safka was a great folk artist of the late 60's& earlier 70's. This 1971/72 hit, was band by some station because of the perceived subject of the song. Definitely a sign of the times song. Just so you know quad roller skates came with key (or what was called a key) it was like wrench to tighten the wheels of the roller skates.
Yep. SOME radio stations caught the metaphor and -- because they feared backlash from conservative advertisers -- wouldn't let their DJs play it. Stations where I grew up played it -- no problem.
funny. a "rollerskate key" has not been used in several generations...people less than 50(?) years old, maybe 60, don't know what a roller-skate key is...we are getting old Mick...I don't even know where my roller-skate key is...maybe the junk drawer in the kitchen
@@raymo6795 now that I think about it, those skates were terribly dangerous. Our whole generation can be explained by all the concussion inducing toys and sports our parents foisted upon us.
Melanie Safka rose to international fame with her hit "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" performed with the Edwin Hawkins Singers. It struck a real chord with the 1970s vibe. I think you'll love it.
You've GOT to check out the version that got big in Britain! It was by a group called The Wurzels, and it was changed from roller skates to a combine harvester (and they dressed and sang like oldy timey farmers) "I've got a brand new combine harvester, I'll give you the key"
Such a fun song. You can just hear Melanie's upbeat, fun loving, and cute style of music. Those old roller skates could be hard to skate on especially if there was any kind of gravel on the sidewalk and you'd fall and bust your butt really good. LOL
Melanie was one of my favourite singers growing up. (There's a Chance) 'Peace Will Come' is an awesome song, as is 'Lay Down ' (Candles in the Rain) backed up by the Edwin Hawkins Singers.
@@mournblade1066 Fluff, dear. This is just fluff. Crap is when good groups sell out to get AM play. "Who's Crying Now" is Crap. "I Can't Fight This Feeling" is Crap. "I Want to Know What Love is" isn't quite Crap…but you can smell it from there. But there's nothing wrong with fluff. It's just not all there is to Melanie. No more than "When I'm Sixty-Four" is all there is to The Beatles, or "Squeeze Box" is the sum total of The Who. JMO.
Love Melanie. This track does not showcase just how much power she has with that quavery little girl voice. She can blow the roof off the place when she gets going. And so many quirky but great tunes!
Look, sometimes a skate key is just a simply a key and while the video used adults, the song was about kids and a girl with a crush. Melanie said, "There was no deep serious expression behind the song, but people read things into it." A side note; Back in the early 60's we take skates and screw or nail them to a shaped piece of wood and had our skateboards.
In the summer of1971 I lived in NYC. One of the concerts I saw that summer was Melanie in Central Park. Partaking of herb and Boones Farm wine, it was a great fun time!
Great that you have reacted to Melanie Safka. I feel sure you would love her version of the Rolling Stones "Ruby Tuesday". Her voice is amazing and it's very different from this song. You guys are great!! Best wishes from the UK. Take care.
Oh, the memories!!! I had those same roller skates!! And I rode my bike all over the place! I was in grade school when this song came out, and we LOVED it because it was so fun and cute and quirky. When I heard this song many years later, I got the distinct impression there was more to this song than I thought. That, as Brad said she wants the boy to take his key out of some other girls lock and put it into hers. If that's too, too subtle, let me know, and I'll explain it in greater detail...
two great memories...i was 8 when this was out and remember it being played in dance hall for kids.... then in late 70's uk band The Wurzels did a comedy remake of this title "I Got a Brand New Combined Harvester"..
I LOVE Melanie!! Back in the day roller skates were metal and adjustable with a key to adjust the size. Look What They Did To My Song and the song she wrote after performing at Woodstock called Lay Down. And the songs she sang at Woodstock, Close To It All, Talk One, Momma Momma, Talk Two, Beautiful People. Of those she sangBeautiful People is my favorite.
Her song "Lay Down", also 1970 ,is about her experience in the rain at Woodstock. Her song "Look What They've Done to MY Song, Ma" is about her experience with record companies. I remember those skates. In the 50s we would salvage old skates from the dump and use them to make wheels for our scooters/skateboards made from scrap lumber. The key was used to adjust the size of the skates to your shoes. But this song is about relationships, sex.
You must hear her in her live tv appearance with an all-Black choir, singing her most popular song, "Lay Down." Unbelievable performance. This was right after Woodstock Rock Festival in 1969. She is an American of Ukrainian decent. She was drop dead gorgeous and has such a powerful voice. You won't see her true vocal ability in this cute little pop song from the early 70s, but if you watch her sing "Lay Down," in that video, it will blow you away, just like it does everyone who watches it. The "All Black" singing group backing her up, are called "The Edwin Hawkins Singers," also American, and famous in their own right. The video may have been done on a British TV show by the "BBC." Thanks
Really? Brad and Lex, really? Lol! I'm 60 years old and I haven't heard this classic in 50 years! WOW!! This is why I'm a fan of your channel. Because you cover so much ground as far as music goes! Thanks for sharing!👍
Been looking for this since , paved paradise put a parking lot , started to suggest it but figured you get to it , and here it is. .. the. volume you put out makes it not to have to wait long , makes it a plus for your channel , ... again Congratulations
Turns out, Melanie wrote the song about using the Rollerblade key to get to know a boy she liked. But the song has grown to have different meanings. She did write it as an innocent song. Big hit back in the day. Melanie is actually still performing.
The ultimate hippie girl (I think she still tries to be..lol) was folk-rock with a very loud voice and some real nice tunes. This was her biggest hit but she had a few that's for sure.. she was at Woodstock (as we pass another anniversary of it) and wrote a great song about it called Lay Down (Candles In The Rain) worth listening to. This was a cute song with an underlying meaning... You nailed it.. nice reaction..
I haven't heard this in like 50 years but it was all over the radio when I was like 8 years old!! My older sister really loves this song mainly because of the sexual innuendo.
I add my voice to the others here who suggest that you listen to Melanie's "Lay Down", live with The Edwin Hawkins Singers in 1970 (Candles In The Rain). It is about her experience at the Woodstock music festival and is a deeply moving song, especially with the gospel addition of the Hawkins band and choir. It was filmed for Dutch television, and the studio audience was filled with older, very square-looking White folk. If they had been a 1970 U.S. audience of such conservative appearance, they would have been hostile, but those lovely Dutch people open-heartedly accept what they see and hear, and I fell in love with the audience.
I am 60 and I still have my Key too my rolling skate's I would roller skate on a Basketball court bout 200 ft from my house here I Anniston ,Alabama. I am Darlene still in alabama just bout less than a mile from that old court 🥰💯 I love you two people yall are so different in all ways of hearing the old classic band's of my youth that ,you guy's work I am facinated by yall much I send much 💘 and Peace and yes I still rock out too classic Rock 60's 70's 80's 90's
During the 60s and 70s, one style of roller skates was the most popular. These skates required a special key, which people would use to tighten the sole of the skates to fit your foot.
Some songs are about learning about "the physical act of love" after your 16th birthday [eg Seger's "Night Moves"] and others [eg "Brown-Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison] are about not waiting so long before experimenting and satisfying natural urges and curiosity. See also "Son of a Preacher Man", "Young Girl", "Go Away, Little Girl", and "Little Sister".
Your MUST LISTEN by Melanie(Safka) is 'Lay Down (Candles In the Rain)' with the Edwin Hawkins Singers. Gorgeous Woodstock-era hymn to the skies and spirits.
Old style roller skates came in a clamp on style that attached to your shoes. The key allowed you to adjust the width so they would fit on your size shoe... You NEED to check out Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)!!!
I think I nearly killed myself trying use those when I was a kid. I never really got the hang of rolling skating so I always walked around the skating rink instead.
Check out her song “Lay Down” - 1970. Although those skates were clamped on to shoes using a “skate key,” back in the day, many of us liked to believe it was metaphorical, as did some radio station’s MGMT that banned the song. Melanie said the ref to sex was unintentional, but she gets why people might think that.
As no one else seems to have mentioned it I recommend Melanie singing “Alexander Beatle” from a poem by AA Milne. Definitely one to keep for when you have children.
People have already pointed out the ancient skate technology (I had a pair like that when I was eight), but this song is just overflowing with double entendre, sexual metaphor, etc. I've got a part that isn't much good without your part, and you've got a part that's not much good without my part. I think that we should get together and try them out, you see. And it goes from there. Today maybe it would be "I got a brand new XBox, you got a brand new controller." Good luck rhyming that. "Don't go too fast, but I go pretty far." You can get to every last base with this girl, if you're willing to take your time. "Some people say I've done alright for a girl." She doesn't have shagging numbers like Casanova or James Bond, but more than you might expect a sweet girl like her to have.
Her "skates". His "key". Let's "get together and try them out". Speaking in metaphors. Even " going around the world " is an old metaphor for "adult " activity. Lol. Peace y'all!
In my youth (and a decade or so after) roller skates were simply metal wheels on an adjustable frame that you strapped onto your sneakers. They came with a key that you used to make them fit lengthwise. Actually I think the brand new 'thing' she discovered she had was a bit more personal than roller skates and the 'key" she wanted was something different than a wrench with big ears.
Remember the tune but in England it was " I've Got A Brand New Combine Harvester" by Somerset country band The Wurzels! It reached No1 in the charts. Lol. They also had a hit with "I Am A Cider Drinker." Hilarious!
Apparently when I was a baby, if I was being difficult at bedtime, my parents would put on Melanie's Greatest Hits and I would go down pretty quickly. I'd also recommend "Lay Down", "Arrow", "Ruby Tuesday" "Beautiful People" and "Alexander Beetle"...great stuff. 👍❤
My first set of skates had Metal Wheels. WTF? This was mid 1970s. I wore that metal down on the mean streets of Brooklyn. What a noise they made, metal on cement sidewalk.
I love this song so much and heard this video was made by a girl in school and she won first prize for making it at school, I couldnt figure out the key either till someone told me that skates used to have keys you tightened them with to make them fit, her voice makes this song, clearly a little girl with a crush, I can tell you as a kid I saw this as a crush on a boy and she is just using the key to get him to like her, I never ever thought of anything else but I was so innocent , I only saw crushes and innocent meanings, and I think this is how she meant it
Those old over-the-shoe roller skates needed a key to adjust to size, but that's not too important to know. because it's totally a metaphor.
I checked out the comments to see if anyone answered Brad's question properly. Succinct and on point; well said.
I remember back in the 60s when I needed a key. The 70s wanting one. Of course in the 80s finding a few.
Yep. It's one of the funniest sexual metaphors to make it onto American radio back in the day.
Melanie herself said, "There was no deep serious expression behind the song, but people read things into it."
But remember, the skates had the square stud and the key had the socket.
Back in the day you could buy steel wheeled skates for sidewalk skating. One size fits all but you had to have a skate key to adjust them. But yeah, she totally wants his key in her lock.😉
At most it was about a young girl with a schoolgirl crush. Melanie herself said, "There was no deep serious expression behind the song, but people read things into it."
yep, and yep.
KEvron
don't go too fast, but I go pretty far 😁 Cause I've been all around the world ... so many metaphors
@@Glasher1 When you put double entendres in it, people are GOING to read things into it...
@@Sportsref13 ...plus this was over 50 years ago....a whole different era
Brad & Lex, you’ll love her "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" and "What Have They Done to My Song Ma"!!
You were told about the sexual innuendos in Brand New Key in the chat.
Her duet on Look What They've Done ...... with Miley Cyrus is worth a look.
I saw your comment and immediately went and listened to "Look What They've Done To My Song, Ma". I hadn't heard it in years. Thank you.
@@batmanforpresident9655 you're welcome
☝️
her version of Ruby Tuesday is one of my all time faves
Love Melanie! She is still around, in fact I've seen her comment on other reactions to her music. Thanks, it's a great tune!
Brad's right; it's a metaphor for . . . what pop songs most often use metaphors for. I want to add my vote to others who have suggested her "Look What They Done to My Song, Ma".
Yes ... love that song, have not heard it in ages !
Now I've got to go find it ! : )
Also The Nickel Song. Love Melanie.
Her 1970 song "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)."
...it is a great tune! I especially like the live version, I think it is from a concert in Austria. Also "Candles in the Rain"
Wrong! It's exactly what it says...a skate key to meet the boy she likes.
Great 70's hit.... One of those songs you don't hear for years and then hear it and experience all the great memories of better times come flooding in your head.
This is one of my all-time favorites songs. I've sung it all these years. I had those skates as a kid, they clamped onto your shoe, you used a key to tighten the clamps. Yes, Brad, her meaning is metaphorical, but the rollerskates she is singing about are real, and all kids had a pair. The key was the same for all rollerskates, it wasn't a lock key.
If you take a look at the skates she's wearing you'll notice that they are adjustable and fit on shoes. They are adjusted by the key. Perhaps a matter of convenience to meet the dude...peace and love
I was wondering if anyone else understood what a skate key was. Do they have those kind of shoe skates for kids anymore ? Besides it sucked if you lost your own key, right.
@@mitchellaj2302 It's been years but I've seen updated versions that were made of plastic. There is no way they worked as well as the old metal type.
@@mitchellaj2302 They often came with an adjustment screw like a butterfly screw but big, and were rather uncomfortable to wear with soft soled shoes, but you adjusted how you stood on them to make it more comfortable, which is why we looked a bit ungainly when skating back then.
I learned to skate with metal one first. Then up graded to the rink back when the floors were made of wood, then moved to key's where the floors were coated flooring. But haven't skated In about 40 yrs, used to go ice skating in the winter on lakes in DC as well. Things we did to have fun when we were young.
yes I remember having these ! 😄
Back in the day roller skates were fastened to your shoes. The key was to tighten them on.
Melanie Safka was a great folk artist of the late 60's& earlier 70's. This 1971/72 hit, was band by some station because of the perceived subject of the song. Definitely a sign of the times song. Just so you know quad roller skates came with key (or what was called a key) it was like wrench to tighten the wheels of the roller skates.
Yep. SOME radio stations caught the metaphor and -- because they feared backlash from conservative advertisers -- wouldn't let their DJs play it. Stations where I grew up played it -- no problem.
She is still great and still performing :)
@@twenty3enigma the song almost made me blush back then.
funny. a "rollerskate key" has not been used in several generations...people less than 50(?) years old, maybe 60, don't know what a roller-skate key is...we are getting old Mick...I don't even know where my roller-skate key is...maybe the junk drawer in the kitchen
@@raymo6795 now that I think about it, those skates were terribly dangerous. Our whole generation can be explained by all the concussion inducing toys and sports our parents foisted upon us.
This was actually a NUMBER 1 Hit Song in 1971.
Melanie Safka rose to international fame with her hit "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" performed with the Edwin Hawkins Singers. It struck a real chord with the 1970s vibe. I think you'll love it.
*Lay Down, by Melanie w/The Edwin Hawkins Singers , is my favorite of hers. But this is a good one too.*
You've GOT to check out the version that got big in Britain!
It was by a group called The Wurzels, and it was changed from roller skates to a combine harvester (and they dressed and sang like oldy timey farmers)
"I've got a brand new combine harvester, I'll give you the key"
Haha, yeah, that's a wonderful one, I found that on the internet twenty years ago or so, had no idea it's a cover.
Lmao - I defo don't think Brad and Lex are ready for the Wurzels!
Yeah definitely the live black & white version of “Laydown”. Lady’s got great pipes.
100% this. Melanie Safka has a great voice. A Woodstock artist who is still touring.
Maybe the most serious song she ever did.
@@larrystuder8543 "Peace Will Come" is pretty darn serious, too.
@@Jessica_Roth i shoulx hsvd rellied before this. Sadly, I don't know "Peace Will Come." Will have to find it...
@@larrystuder8543 No problem. Melanie singing "Peace Will Come" on The Ed Sullivan Show, 1970:
ua-cam.com/video/IDyni9AIp9E/v-deo.html
A must is "Laydown" Melanie and the Edward Hawkins singers. You guys are a riot. In the "olden days" you needed a key for rollerskates.
Such a fun song. You can just hear Melanie's upbeat, fun loving, and cute style of music. Those old roller skates could be hard to skate on especially if there was any kind of gravel on the sidewalk and you'd fall and bust your butt really good. LOL
Melanie was one of my favourite singers growing up. (There's a Chance) 'Peace Will Come' is an awesome song, as is 'Lay Down ' (Candles in the Rain) backed up by the Edwin Hawkins Singers.
Ruby Tuesday!! Best cover ever made!! Melanie has such a powerful voice.
This is one of the sweetest sounding dirty songs ever went out on the airwaves
You guys are so sweet. Yes, it's a very innocent double entendre .
Her 1970 song "Lay Down" (Candles in the Rain) is a very moving tribute to the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival, where she played during a rainstorm.
Such a great song. Unlike this piece of crap.
@@mournblade1066 Fluff, dear. This is just fluff. Crap is when good groups sell out to get AM play. "Who's Crying Now" is Crap. "I Can't Fight This Feeling" is Crap. "I Want to Know What Love is" isn't quite Crap…but you can smell it from there.
But there's nothing wrong with fluff. It's just not all there is to Melanie. No more than "When I'm Sixty-Four" is all there is to The Beatles, or "Squeeze Box" is the sum total of The Who. JMO.
Love Melanie. This track does not showcase just how much power she has with that quavery little girl voice. She can blow the roof off the place when she gets going. And so many quirky but great tunes!
Look, sometimes a skate key is just a simply a key and while the video used adults, the song was about kids and a girl with a crush. Melanie said, "There was no deep serious expression behind the song, but people read things into it."
A side note; Back in the early 60's we take skates and screw or nail them to a shaped piece of wood and had our skateboards.
You need to hear The Worzels version of this called I GOT A BRAND NEW COMBINE HARVESTER
Oooh ...... aaaar!
Two of my favs from melony her version of ruby Tuesday and nickel song ,sums up people really pleased you reacted to the great Melony
A MUST HEAR Classic,, Melanie "Lay Down"
(Candles In The Rain)
In the summer of1971 I lived in NYC. One of the concerts I saw that summer was Melanie in Central Park. Partaking of herb and Boones Farm wine, it was a great fun time!
Great that you have reacted to Melanie Safka. I feel sure you would love her version of the Rolling Stones "Ruby Tuesday". Her voice is amazing and it's very different from this song. You guys are great!! Best wishes from the UK. Take care.
Yes, Her version of Ruby Tuesday is beautiful!
HILARIOUS.. I always feel better after watching you two so uplifting.
It's the innocence... and good nature.
This song was a little weird one when it came out, but most of us got used to it. (Was listening to rock and blues at the time)
This song was used in an epic scene from the movie Boogie Nights.
Oh, the memories!!! I had those same roller skates!! And I rode my bike all over the place!
I was in grade school when this song came out, and we LOVED it because it was so fun and cute and quirky. When I heard this song many years later, I got the distinct impression there was more to this song than I thought. That, as Brad said she wants the boy to take his key out of some other girls lock and put it into hers.
If that's too, too subtle, let me know, and I'll explain it in greater detail...
Those ribbons are giving me flashbacks.
two great memories...i was 8 when this was out and remember it being played in dance hall for kids.... then in late 70's uk band The Wurzels did a comedy remake of this title "I Got a Brand New Combined Harvester"..
For a different side of Melanie you should listen to Lay Down (Candles in the Rain) which was about Woodstock. She performed there.
I LOVE Melanie!! Back in the day roller skates were metal and adjustable with a key to adjust the size. Look What They Did To My Song and the song she wrote after performing at Woodstock called Lay Down. And the songs she sang at Woodstock, Close To It All, Talk One, Momma Momma, Talk Two, Beautiful People. Of those she sangBeautiful People is my favorite.
She also did Mr Tambourine Man, a Bob Dylan tune.
She performed at Woodstock in 1969. Her biggest hit was probably "Candles in the Rain"!!!
Melanie is my dads favorite singer. He loved her cover of lay lady lay by bob dylan
Great early rock n roll rhythm. Such a nice song. "Lay Down", Ruby Tuesday" and " Look What They Done To My Song" are also good song choices for her.
Lol... I haven't heard this song in yrs, thanks for the memories.
Her song "Lay Down", also 1970 ,is about her experience in the rain at Woodstock. Her song "Look What They've Done to MY Song, Ma" is about her experience with record companies. I remember those skates. In the 50s we would salvage old skates from the dump and use them to make wheels for our scooters/skateboards made from scrap lumber. The key was used to adjust the size of the skates to your shoes. But this song is about relationships, sex.
You must hear her in her live tv appearance with an all-Black choir, singing her most popular song, "Lay Down." Unbelievable performance. This was right after Woodstock Rock Festival in 1969. She is an American of Ukrainian decent. She was drop dead gorgeous and has such a powerful voice. You won't see her true vocal ability in this cute little pop song from the early 70s, but if you watch her sing "Lay Down," in that video, it will blow you away, just like it does everyone who watches it. The "All Black" singing group backing her up, are called "The Edwin Hawkins Singers," also American, and famous in their own right. The video may have been done on a British TV show by the "BBC."
Thanks
1971. Great ole song.
Really? Brad and Lex, really? Lol!
I'm 60 years old and I haven't heard this classic in 50 years! WOW!!
This is why I'm a fan of your channel.
Because you cover so much ground as far as music goes!
Thanks for sharing!👍
I still have this on 45. And we ALL had those cheapo strap on skates. 1 size fits all. The special 'Key' was a 1/4" square shape.
Been looking for this since , paved paradise put a parking lot , started to suggest it but figured you get to it , and here it is. .. the. volume you put out makes it not to have to wait long , makes it a plus for your channel , ... again Congratulations
This song is so effing cute! They just fit together - her rollerskates fit with his key.
The greatness of the ‘70’s, so many genres, sounds and songs and could not/would not be done today.
This was such a fun song back in the day. They played it at the roller rink.
Love you videos, sitting in silver springs Florida waiting for the rain to pass 🥰
Turns out, Melanie wrote the song about using the Rollerblade key to get to know a boy she liked. But the song has grown to have different meanings. She did write it as an innocent song. Big hit back in the day. Melanie is actually still performing.
The ultimate hippie girl (I think she still tries to be..lol) was folk-rock with a very loud voice and some real nice tunes. This was her biggest hit but she had a few that's for sure.. she was at Woodstock (as we pass another anniversary of it) and wrote a great song about it called Lay Down (Candles In The Rain) worth listening to. This was a cute song with an underlying meaning... You nailed it.. nice reaction..
I haven't heard this in like 50 years but it was all over the radio when I was like 8 years old!! My older sister really loves this song mainly because of the sexual innuendo.
I played in a club band way back when and we covered this song. The drummer and I would sing "new key... new key.. nookie" in the background.
Let's give props to the homemade video , love this song. Reminds me of my childhood
My Mom actually listened to Melanie. This was a good 8-track for a road trip.
Melanie performed at Woodstock.
I add my voice to the others here who suggest that you listen to Melanie's "Lay Down", live with The Edwin Hawkins Singers in 1970 (Candles In The Rain). It is about her experience at the Woodstock music festival and is a deeply moving song, especially with the gospel addition of the Hawkins band and choir.
It was filmed for Dutch television, and the studio audience was filled with older, very square-looking White folk. If they had been a 1970 U.S. audience of such conservative appearance, they would have been hostile, but those lovely Dutch people open-heartedly accept what they see and hear, and I fell in love with the audience.
I am 60 and I still have my Key too my rolling skate's I would roller skate on a Basketball court bout 200 ft from my house here I Anniston ,Alabama. I am Darlene still in alabama just bout less than a mile from that old court 🥰💯 I love you two people yall are so different in all ways of hearing the old classic band's of my youth that ,you guy's work I am facinated by yall much I send much 💘 and Peace and yes I still rock out too classic Rock 60's 70's 80's 90's
Ed Sullivan really liked this song and the singer, which was rare for him
One of my favorites! My mom used to sing this to us.
Lay Down (Candles in the Rain) is very different to this light hearted song but it's worth a listen for sure.
You need to listen to her Lay Down Candles in the Rain with the Edwin Hakins singers. Great song.
During the 60s and 70s, one style of roller skates was the most popular. These skates required a special key, which people would use to tighten the sole of the skates to fit your foot.
We all knew what it meant when it came out. His "key", her "lock", and "around the world". Good one, Brad. Cute song, however you want to take it.
"I don't go very fast, but I go pretty far..."
Some songs are about learning about "the physical act of love" after your 16th birthday [eg Seger's "Night Moves"] and others [eg "Brown-Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison] are about not waiting so long before experimenting and satisfying natural urges and curiosity.
See also "Son of a Preacher Man", "Young Girl", "Go Away, Little Girl", and "Little Sister".
Keys all around! (The World) YES old roller skates had a KEY
Love this song. Thank you KITH and Dave Foley
This tune was all over AM radio in the wonderful year of....1971!
Your MUST LISTEN by Melanie(Safka) is 'Lay Down (Candles In the Rain)' with the Edwin Hawkins Singers. Gorgeous Woodstock-era hymn to the skies and spirits.
1969, my first skates had to have a key to adjust them to my street shoes , i Loved them skates. They had steel wheels on them.
Old style roller skates came in a clamp on style that attached to your shoes. The key allowed you to adjust the width so they would fit on your size shoe...
You NEED to check out Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)!!!
I think I nearly killed myself trying use those when I was a kid. I never really got the hang of rolling skating so I always walked around the skating rink instead.
OMG. They were in Wichita Kansas. Nancy Walterscheid was the one that filmed this. I sang for the roller skating girl or her sisters wedding.
Great song, I'm 11yrs. old again 😎 Play this song by Benny Bell called "Shaving Cream" it will have y'all in stitches 🤣🤣🤣
I love this song! My mom used to sing it to us as kids 💜
Loved this song when it came out.
Check out her song “Lay Down” - 1970. Although those skates were clamped on to shoes using a “skate key,” back in the day, many of us liked to believe it was metaphorical, as did some radio station’s MGMT that banned the song. Melanie said the ref to sex was unintentional, but she gets why people might think that.
As no one else seems to have mentioned it I recommend Melanie singing “Alexander Beatle” from a poem by AA Milne. Definitely one to keep for when you have children.
Lay Down (Candles in the rain) is the polar opposite of Brand New Key. Melanie was cool. Lay Down is haunting.
Old skates needed a key to adjust the size, etc! Love it!
Back a long long time ago,the roller skates fit on shoes (keds,sneakers. The key was used to adjust the size to the shoe
Back in the day, roller skates did have keys. And I think it is a metaphor.
People have already pointed out the ancient skate technology (I had a pair like that when I was eight), but this song is just overflowing with double entendre, sexual metaphor, etc.
I've got a part that isn't much good without your part, and you've got a part that's not much good without my part. I think that we should get together and try them out, you see.
And it goes from there.
Today maybe it would be "I got a brand new XBox, you got a brand new controller." Good luck rhyming that.
"Don't go too fast, but I go pretty far."
You can get to every last base with this girl, if you're willing to take your time.
"Some people say I've done alright for a girl."
She doesn't have shagging numbers like Casanova or James Bond, but more than you might expect a sweet girl like her to have.
We lived in Germany (I am an Army brat) when this song was a hit and I distinctly remember ice skating to this song.
Check out “Candles in the Rain” (Lay Down Lay Down) by Melanie. A roller skate key was a must in the day!
Melanie has said the line, "Some people say, I done alright for a girl" in this song, is a "social comment" about her success
at the time.
Her "skates". His "key". Let's "get together and try them out". Speaking in metaphors. Even " going around the world " is an old metaphor for "adult " activity. Lol. Peace y'all!
Old school roller skates required a special key to adjust the size.
The song hook is a metaphor.
"Boogie Nights". Rollergirl doing her thing
There's a recurring sketch in one of the new episodes of The Kids In The Hall on Amazon Prime that puts this song to good use.
Melanie is such an incredible singer 😍
Melanie 🤘❤️ she is speaking about the bird and the bees
In my youth (and a decade or so after) roller skates were simply metal wheels on an adjustable frame that you strapped onto your sneakers. They came with a key that you used to make them fit lengthwise.
Actually I think the brand new 'thing' she discovered she had was a bit more personal than roller skates and the 'key" she wanted was something different than a wrench with big ears.
Fifty-three years ago this week, Melanie sang at Woodstock. Please do "Look what they done to my song".
Remember the tune but in England it was " I've Got A Brand New Combine Harvester" by Somerset country band The Wurzels! It reached No1 in the charts. Lol. They also had a hit with "I Am A Cider Drinker." Hilarious!
Melanie had a hit in the UK with this song long before the flamin Wurzels ruined the tune.
Of course the cider one was based upon Una paloma blanca (One white turd).
@@stoobydootoo4098 Never realised that. Makes it all the more funny!
@@auldfouter8661 Having now heard the original, they really did ruin it!
You really should hear her version of the the Rolling Stones "Ruby Tuesday". Such an emotional voice.
Apparently when I was a baby, if I was being difficult at bedtime, my parents would put on Melanie's Greatest Hits and I would go down pretty quickly.
I'd also recommend "Lay Down", "Arrow", "Ruby Tuesday" "Beautiful People" and "Alexander Beetle"...great stuff. 👍❤
My first set of skates had Metal Wheels. WTF? This was mid 1970s. I wore that metal down on the mean streets of Brooklyn. What a noise they made, metal on cement sidewalk.
We all had those skates or used those street skates as kids, you adjusted them to fit your feet buy sliding them open and then locking them
I love this song so much and heard this video was made by a girl in school and she won first prize for making it at school, I couldnt figure out the key either till someone told me that skates used to have keys you tightened them with to make them fit, her voice makes this song, clearly a little girl with a crush, I can tell you as a kid I saw this as a crush on a boy and she is just using the key to get him to like her, I never ever thought of anything else but I was so innocent , I only saw crushes and innocent meanings, and I think this is how she meant it