We spent the rest of that night in the home of this man that we'd never know before, it's funny when you get that close it's kind of hard to hate. What a line, wisdom that is so needed now.
@@germanshepherd5314 Well, I'll be darned. Ive had that line wrong my whole life lol. I always thought the plumber was expressing the anti-hippie sentiments of the time
Reading the Lyrics while listening and this song just brought me to tears. In my office. At work. First time I have heard this Chapin song. "It's funny when you get that close it's kind of hard to hate." Look what Social Media is doing to us.
I was born after Harry's death, but my father introduced me to his music, and I fell in love. This song is one of my favorites. Every time I need to get a quote, I typically use the bit about "We have the choice to make each man who dares to dream, reaching out his hand a prophet or just a crazy damn dreamer of a fool". I don't know what I would do if I had never heard any of Harry's music. He was a blessing to the world. If only he had been around longer to write more music.
Everyone these days who views others with beliefs that differ from theirs as not deserving of respect or being treated like humans (on all sides) should be forced to listen to this beautiful song. No one wrote about humanity like the great Harry Chapin.
I wish we could flood the internet with this amazing song. America needs it now more than ever. Coronovirus, Black Lives Matter conflicts, white-supremacists, trump. What a time! You know Harry would be fighting with his every breath for progress and justice if he were with us now.
I agree with you!! I saw Harry in the early 70s. I was about a foot/foot and a half away from him. Right in front and I was 10-11 years old. I miss him sooo much.
There will never be another Harry Chapin. I was lucky enough to see him do a solo show at St. John's University in Staten Island when I was a kid. I still remember how awesome it was. We were all asked to bring cans of food for the hungry!!
This is one of my favorite songs. I simply love the beauty of a man moving beyond his prejudices to see that beneath it all, we are all people. Nothing is more important than that. Thanks to Harry for making this song
One of many classics off my favorite album of his. Greatest story teller ever. A legend who died too early & doesn't get enough credit. Who cares if his songs were "too long for radio". They were loved by many, would u drag u into them & were told so elegantly you you picture every one in your mind. R.I.P. Harry. An absolute legend & a great person as well. I guess in some cases the Good do die young
I was lucky enough to have met Harry in Hartford CT. I was only 3 years old and Harry is one of my first memories. I grew up with his stories on my mind and his music in my heart.
This song could've been written in 2024. History repeats. All left and right wing extremists should be forced to sit down and really listen to this song. I doubt it would do any good, but I'd like to believe in Harry's dream of "the America that made America famous".
I lived down the block from his place in Point Lookout, LI. He had gone beyond by then. An ocean town 6 blocks long 4 blocks wide. 6 bars, 4 churches and 3 firehouses. One Christmas Eve, there was an apartment fire in the only building in town where black people lived. Fire Department sat outside and let it burn! They drank and played Carols on a stereo. A local taxi driver wrote a play and a song that obliquely refered to the incident. Called it the Night that made America Famous. Harry Chapin got ran off the Expressway a few years later.
I kind of remember that Harry said one time that his song never got much air play because they were too long for the radio stations to get in their commercials. Or something like that, This is too heartfelt..... A wonderful lesson to all... Replace the hippie references with any group that is being persecuted and this is a timeless lesson. Unfortunately America still has a long way to go.
I was six when Harry died. It was the second time in my early childhood that I learned what death was all about and really brought to light my recognition of fragile life. Still I felt it was a much higher being that had died and my parents would not leave me. I knew nothing about death like I do today. Still i remember growing up to his music and my parents were really into the philanthropic work that Harry had been doing. My favorite songs by him became even stronger after his death and Cats in the Cradle, Taxi, Vacancy and What made America famous remained among my favorite songs to this day. I wish we could have received many more songs by him or from him but I guess God needed a minstrel to join in with Lennon. Harry Chapin, gone but not forgotten.
The death of Harry Chapin didn't get a lot of publicity. He didn't die a twisted death like some other celebrities This is one of his most important songs.
This was the first LP I bought when I was in Junior High because of Cats. I fell madly, deeply in love with Harry as a songwriter because of this song and 30,000 Pounds of Bananas. And She Sings Her Songs Without Words.
Classic Har! This was an excellent flip-side to the timeless "Cat's in the Cradle" single! I just love it! In fact, I'd say that it was a double-A-side 45 to me!
@@keathgraham2742 the first pressing. After the show of the same name and the reissue 45's (especially Elektra's Spun Gold line) this became the B side.
Awesome song. B-side to Cats in the Cradle. Can still remember my friend Tim and I watching this 45 spin around my turntable and saying 'What the hell?' Great live version on PBS too. RIP Harry.
songsofharry...my comment was complete and total sarcaasm :-) I love Harry Chapins music, and while I don't know if he was a Christian or not, songs like 'the shortest story' say to me he understood the root meaning of the faith.
Really? Which of the lyrics exactly? Maybe these "We all lived the life that made America famous The cops would make a point to shadow us around our town And we "love children" put a swastika on the bright red firehouse door America, the beautiful, it makes a body proud" Or maybe these lines "It was the fire that made America famous The sirens wailed and the firemen stumbled sleepy from their homes And the plumber yelled: "Come on let's go!" But they saw what was burning and said: "Take it slow Let 'em sweat a little, they'll never know And besides, we just cleaned the chrome." Said the plumber: "Then I'm going alone."" Sounds like Harry found the USA nothing but disgusting
@@Ilselovesall I totally understand where you're coming from, but I think this song is about interpersonal connection overcoming the structural corruption of America in the 1970's. That's just my interpretation though. Maybe patriotism is the wrong word, but to be perfectly honest I was 14 when I wrote the original comment so I may not have the most nuanced perspective on this.
Amen, I'm right there with ya. Except with Harry being a Christian, he's with his Jesus and VERY happy! He is happily saved and living for eternity in heaven! John 3:16
I have everyone of his Elektra LP's and Sequel which was on Boardwalk. Play them all, love Harry Chapin. I was 11 when he died and never got the chance to see him live.
No, there's still places you can find it, the hard part is finding somewhere where everyone agrees that there's still America here. Who knows, you might be able to be the person that finds that place.
I hadn't heard this in @ 20 yrs. In HS this was favourite song on the lp. I still love this song and wish Harry had had the courage to drop the last verse. Maybe just half. The problem with writing a near hymn is the trust you have to have in the listener. At the end, Harry didn't trust us with a parable. He made it into a sermon.
Honey, Harry Chapin was way ahead of his time; prophetic, comedic and musical. He was, in fact one of the best entertainers I have known and loved in my 55 years. It's a shame if you don't want to embrace every word and note of his songs, like the rest of his fans, but everyone is entitled to their opinion. THAT is what makes America famous! God bless you and God bless America.
I find your ideology troubling, and your use of Jesus just the same... this song isn't about saving worthless people it's about saying that they are people just the same, that's what made America famous. A plumber willing to risk his life on his own despite what everyone else thought for what he felt was right. I'm not that familiar with Jesus but I doubt very much he'd every say "let 'um burn." in reference anyone.
SongsofHarry The Plummer, a regular guy, in the late, dark night, he pushes onward to save the hippy gang from the burning house. He even takes them home so that they have a place to sleep that night. That's what made America great to the singer. He has aware of the generation gap, but when he saw that chubby face and the hand reaching out to save them, he couldn't hate the older generation anymore. For him, that night, was about the real, true America. To him, it made America great.
I lived down the block from his place in Point Lookout, LI. He had gone beyond by then. An ocean town 6 blocks long 4 blocks wide. 6 bars, 4 churches and 3 firehouses. One Christmas Eve, there was an apartment fire in the only building in town where black people lived. Fire Department sat outside and let it burn! They drank and played Carols on a stereo. A local taxi driver wrote a play and a song that obliquely refered to the incident. Called it the Night that made America Famous. Harry Chapin got ran off the Expressway a few years later.
Small town. The charm was everyone knew everyone and everything. Sure not perfect, but nobody were left to die. I know this well. It was a community that really cared about one another. Today? All Fucked Up!
"Kids all going to hell"? Well the goverment cares, they took care of You... byebye sir. They have hamburgers and sodas, electricity and electronics what can one want more? Freedom whats that?
Late on September 26, Helene made landfall at peak intensity in the Big Bend region of Florida, near the city of Perry, with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (220 km/h). Helene weakened as it moved quickly inland before degenerating to a post-tropical cyclone over Tennessee on September 27. The storm then stalled over the state before dissipating on September 29. In advance of Helene's expected landfall, the governors of Florida and Georgia declared states of emergency due to the significant impacts expected, including very high storm surge along the coast and hurricane-force gusts as far inland as Atlanta. Hurricane warnings also extended further inland due to Helene's fast motion. The storm also caused catastrophic rainfall-triggered flooding, particularly in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, and spawned numerous tornadoes. As of October 1, a total of 162 deaths have been attributed to Helene, making it the second-deadliest hurricane to strike the continental United States in fifty years, after Katrina in 2005. On this date of 10/1/2024 under the Biden/Harrris Administration FEMA has yet to show up.
We spent the rest of that night in the home of this man that we'd never know before, it's funny when you get that close it's kind of hard to hate. What a line, wisdom that is so needed now.
"It's funny how, when you get that close, it's kinda hard to hate." Well done, Harry. Well done.
Said the plumer "Let Em Go It Alone" ..............And I never thought that a Fat Man's face would ever look so sweet
@@jasonvoorhees895 said the Plummer "I'm going alone."
The Plummer is only one who is not willing to wait, he is the one who goes.
@@germanshepherd5314 Well, I'll be darned. Ive had that line wrong my whole life lol. I always thought the plumber was expressing the anti-hippie sentiments of the time
@@jasonvoorhees895 I used to think the same thing then saw the lyrics and heard live recordings.
I am overwhelmed with emotion. John Lewis was the incarnation of this ineffable thing that made America famous
Reading the Lyrics while listening and this song just brought me to tears. In my office. At work. First time I have heard this Chapin song.
"It's funny when you get that close it's kind of hard to hate."
Look what Social Media is doing to us.
Love Harry.Lucky I saw him in 79
I wore out this album.Still do.
We all need to listen to this song NOW!!
I was born after Harry's death, but my father introduced me to his music, and I fell in love. This song is one of my favorites. Every time I need to get a quote, I typically use the bit about "We have the choice to make each man who dares to dream, reaching out his hand a prophet or just a crazy damn dreamer of a fool". I don't know what I would do if I had never heard any of Harry's music. He was a blessing to the world. If only he had been around longer to write more music.
exactly i quote him all the time
Same here. I was born right after he passed. But my father was the same way. Sadly I lost my father this February of 2022.
You get it, dude.
Bro when the plumber says he's going alone the music makes him sound like the ultimate badass
Everyone these days who views others with beliefs that differ from theirs as not deserving of respect or being treated like humans (on all sides) should be forced to listen to this beautiful song. No one wrote about humanity like the great Harry Chapin.
Singer/Songwriters, like Harry Chapin, take you on a journey each time.
I wish we could flood the internet with this amazing song. America needs it now more than ever. Coronovirus, Black Lives Matter conflicts, white-supremacists, trump. What a time! You know Harry would be fighting with his every breath for progress and justice if he were with us now.
Loved Harry. Will never be another. This album is a classic.
The problem now is Bidet, not Trump, and things are getting worse. The rest of the problems are still there.
@@kennethjacobus6541 the problem is not the democrats or the republicans, the problem is the divide between them
I agree with you!! I saw Harry in the early 70s. I was about a foot/foot and a half away from him. Right in front and I was 10-11 years old. I miss him sooo much.
@@kennethjacobus6541 I'm sorry, but I know without a shadow of a doubt that Harry would have detested trump.
There will never be another Harry Chapin. I was lucky enough to see him do a solo show at St. John's University in Staten Island when I was a kid. I still remember how awesome it was. We were all asked to bring cans of food for the hungry!!
Thanks.
This is one of my favorite songs. I simply love the beauty of a man moving beyond his prejudices to see that beneath it all, we are all people. Nothing is more important than that. Thanks to Harry for making this song
If you love America, and what it stands for, then that's why you love this song.
we all miss Harry very much
Glad we still have his music.
One of many classics off my favorite album of his. Greatest story teller ever. A legend who died too early & doesn't get enough credit. Who cares if his songs were "too long for radio". They were loved by many, would u drag u into them & were told so elegantly you you picture every one in your mind.
R.I.P. Harry. An absolute legend & a great person as well. I guess in some cases the Good do die young
I was lucky enough to have met Harry in Hartford CT. I was only 3 years old and Harry is one of my first memories. I grew up with his stories on my mind and his music in my heart.
This song could've been written in 2024. History repeats. All left and right wing extremists should be forced to sit down and really listen to this song. I doubt it would do any good, but I'd like to believe in Harry's dream of "the America that made America famous".
I lived down the block from his place in Point Lookout, LI. He had gone beyond by then.
An ocean town 6 blocks long 4 blocks wide. 6 bars, 4 churches and 3 firehouses.
One Christmas Eve, there was an apartment fire in the only building in town where black people lived.
Fire Department sat outside and let it burn! They drank and played Carols on a stereo.
A local taxi driver wrote a play and a song that obliquely refered to the incident. Called it the Night that made America Famous.
Harry Chapin got ran off the Expressway a few years later.
I kind of remember that Harry said one time that his song never got much air play because they were too long for the radio stations to get in their commercials. Or something like that,
This is too heartfelt..... A wonderful lesson to all... Replace the hippie references with any group that is being persecuted and this is a timeless lesson. Unfortunately America still has a long way to go.
I was six when Harry died. It was the second time in my early childhood that I learned what death was all about and really brought to light my recognition of fragile life. Still I felt it was a much higher being that had died and my parents would not leave me. I knew nothing about death like I do today. Still i remember growing up to his music and my parents were really into the philanthropic work that Harry had been doing. My favorite songs by him became even stronger after his death and Cats in the Cradle, Taxi, Vacancy and What made America famous remained among my favorite songs to this day. I wish we could have received many more songs by him or from him but I guess God needed a minstrel to join in with Lennon. Harry Chapin, gone but not forgotten.
So that makes you 41 now, as the 35 th Anniversary of his passing was 7/16/16...
The death of Harry Chapin didn't get a lot of publicity.
He didn't die a twisted death like some other celebrities
This is one of his most important songs.
This was the first LP I bought when I was in Junior High because of Cats. I fell madly, deeply in love with Harry as a songwriter because of this song and 30,000 Pounds of Bananas. And She Sings Her Songs Without Words.
He was one of the best storytellers and got his audience going at concerts😅
OMGs! She Sings the Songs Without Words! Songs that sailors and blind men and beggars have heard! My childhood memories just burst into flame lol
Production is absolutely insanely good.
Classic Har! This was an excellent flip-side to the timeless "Cat's in the Cradle" single! I just love it! In fact, I'd say that it was a double-A-side 45 to me!
When I bought "Cat's in the Cradle" in 1973, "Vacancy" was on the B-side.
@@keathgraham2742 the first pressing. After the show of the same name and the reissue 45's (especially Elektra's Spun Gold line) this became the B side.
@@keathgraham2742, I guess it depends at times on where and when the singles were issued.
We need the plumber now more than ever.
no it needs a proctologist to clean out the country's collective asses, they're all clogged with heads.
One of the first artists I ever mourned when he passed. Even as his his music wrapped itself in my soul.
Gone way to f***ing soon.
me too a little part of me died too
God Bless America 2024
Awesome song. B-side to Cats in the Cradle. Can still remember my friend Tim and I watching this 45 spin around my turntable and saying 'What the hell?' Great live version on PBS too. RIP Harry.
When I bought "Cat's in the Cradle" in 1973, "Vacancy" was on the B-side.
This man was a genius!!
songsofharry...my comment was complete and total sarcaasm :-) I love Harry Chapins music, and while I don't know if he was a Christian or not, songs like 'the shortest story' say to me he understood the root meaning of the faith.
This song makes me patriotic, and I'm not even American.
Ger Hew haha sweet!
then be american and love the foriegner..
😂😂😂😂😘😘😘😘
Really? Which of the lyrics exactly? Maybe these "We all lived the life that made America famous
The cops would make a point to shadow us around our town
And we "love children" put a swastika on the bright red firehouse door
America, the beautiful, it makes a body proud"
Or maybe these lines "It was the fire that made America famous
The sirens wailed and the firemen stumbled sleepy from their homes
And the plumber yelled: "Come on let's go!"
But they saw what was burning and said: "Take it slow
Let 'em sweat a little, they'll never know
And besides, we just cleaned the chrome."
Said the plumber: "Then I'm going alone.""
Sounds like Harry found the USA nothing but disgusting
@@Ilselovesall I totally understand where you're coming from, but I think this song is about interpersonal connection overcoming the structural corruption of America in the 1970's. That's just my interpretation though. Maybe patriotism is the wrong word, but to be perfectly honest I was 14 when I wrote the original comment so I may not have the most nuanced perspective on this.
The second they invent time travile im going back in time and saving harrys life.
AMEN
Amen, I'm right there with ya. Except with Harry being a Christian, he's with his Jesus and VERY happy! He is happily saved and living for eternity in heaven! John 3:16
God Bless America 2020
I have everyone of his Elektra LP's and Sequel which was on Boardwalk. Play them all, love Harry Chapin. I was 11 when he died and never got the chance to see him live.
I think this song is more appropriate now than ever. In fact, if Harry was still alive I could've seen him playing this at an Obama/Bernie rally.
This may be a good song to play at a time like this.
this is about a night in Point Lookout on Long Island---true story,,Harry lived there for a while..
+FunkyMarcel, the picture of the older Elvis in your ID icon really stands out well.
Love this
Yo Mama made America famous. HARRY CHAPIN FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
he was and still THE best
real people...real places....the sentiment of this song is long gone..America is dead
No, there's still places you can find it, the hard part is finding somewhere where everyone agrees that there's still America here. Who knows, you might be able to be the person that finds that place.
I hadn't heard this in @ 20 yrs. In HS this was favourite song on the lp.
I still love this song and wish Harry had had the courage to drop the last verse. Maybe just half.
The problem with writing a near hymn is the trust you have to have in the listener.
At the end, Harry didn't trust us with a parable. He made it into a sermon.
Honey, Harry Chapin was way ahead of his time; prophetic, comedic and musical. He was, in fact one of the best entertainers I have known and loved in my 55 years. It's a shame if you don't want to embrace every word and note of his songs, like the rest of his fans, but everyone is entitled to their opinion. THAT is what makes America famous! God bless you and God bless America.
Very Good Carol Hill....
brilliant tune..
Lyrical Genius
Relevant to now.
And somethings burning somewhere
Does anybody care?????
I like that
Yep.
im with you man.
What Made America Famous? Still apropos after all these years.
I find your ideology troubling, and your use of Jesus just the same... this song isn't about saving worthless people it's about saying that they are people just the same, that's what made America famous. A plumber willing to risk his life on his own despite what everyone else thought for what he felt was right. I'm not that familiar with Jesus but I doubt very much he'd every say "let 'um burn." in reference anyone.
SongsofHarry The Plummer, a regular guy, in the late, dark night, he pushes onward to save the hippy gang from the burning house. He even takes them home so that they have a place to sleep that night. That's what made America great to the singer. He has aware of the generation gap, but when he saw that chubby face and the hand reaching out to save them, he couldn't hate the older generation anymore. For him, that night, was about the real, true America. To him, it made America great.
I lived down the block from his place in Point Lookout, LI. He had gone beyond by then.
An ocean town 6 blocks long 4 blocks wide. 6 bars, 4 churches and 3 firehouses.
One Christmas Eve, there was an apartment fire in the only building in town where black people lived.
Fire Department sat outside and let it burn! They drank and played Carols on a stereo.
A local taxi driver wrote a play and a song that obliquely refered to the incident. Called it the Night that made America Famous.
Harry Chapin got ran off the Expressway a few years later.
Small town. The charm was everyone knew everyone and everything. Sure not perfect, but nobody were left to die. I know this well. It was a community that really cared about one another. Today? All Fucked
Up!
"I never thought that a fat man's face would ever look so sweet."
entered Cashbox July 7, 1974
Even in 2014 so many demographics still fighting for equality and recognition. This song being so true today in different ways.
That's Self Serving Government For You....
Angelique Devereaux
Equality of opportunity! Demanding any more gets tribal real quick bruh.
@@jamesa643 what equality of opportunity is there if the kids of rich folks get into good school because of money?
Said the plumber, *"Then I'm goin' alone."*
maybe he was ready.... I would sit in on some of the small shows.
The plumber saves them!
I live in this building now, only in this era it's full of assholes... Thanks hip hop...
when one cannot improve on previous comments, nor the lyrics, someone tell me to shut up
"Kids all going to hell"? Well the goverment cares, they took care of You... byebye sir.
They have hamburgers and sodas, electricity and electronics what can one want more? Freedom whats that?
Late on September 26, Helene made landfall at peak intensity in the Big Bend region of Florida, near the city of Perry, with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (220 km/h). Helene weakened as it moved quickly inland before degenerating to a post-tropical cyclone over Tennessee on September 27. The storm then stalled over the state before dissipating on September 29.
In advance of Helene's expected landfall, the governors of Florida and Georgia declared states of emergency due to the significant impacts expected, including very high storm surge along the coast and hurricane-force gusts as far inland as Atlanta. Hurricane warnings also extended further inland due to Helene's fast motion. The storm also caused catastrophic rainfall-triggered flooding, particularly in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, and spawned numerous tornadoes. As of October 1, a total of 162 deaths have been attributed to Helene, making it the second-deadliest hurricane to strike the continental United States in fifty years, after Katrina in 2005. On this date of 10/1/2024 under the Biden/Harrris Administration FEMA has yet to show up.
It's obvious that I'm slow... bare with me.
"And we love children put a swastika on the bright red firehouse door." What does that mean? Were the firemen nazis?
Among the hippie culture of the late 60's, any authority figure (policemen, firemen, soldiers) were equated with Nazis.
@@cjburke62 Oh, that makes sense.
This could be the song that could be used for this upcoming election - and not by Trump
As Phish N' Chimps
said
"No Hate. Don't start it here. Dont spread it. STOP"
Stop dividing people. To nearly one half the country Trump IS the plumber. You missed the whole point of the story.