# RIP Melanie Safka **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death, music\ **Created:** [January 25, 2024, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-melanie-safka/996606 "2024-01-25T01:25:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-melanie-safka/996606/1 "2024-01-25T01:25:00Z")
Folk singer/songwriter Melanie Safka, best known as simply Melanie, has died at the age of 76. While no Joni Mitchell, she was beginning to have a following with people who liked somewhat folky introspective music in the late 60s/early 70s and scored a Top 10 hit with “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)” in collaboration with the Edwin Hawkins Singers in 1970, a song about her impressions of performing at Woodstock. It was a great single and I vividly remember how it simply barreled out of your AM radio back in the day. Then, disaster. She recorded a silly little song called “Brand New Key.” The story goes that it was just going to be an album cut, but her record company put it out as a single, and it became a huge hit. She lost all credibility as an up-and-coming singer/songwriter. Her childlike voice didn’t help. In her words, “it became the bane of my existence” and totally derailed her career. She deserved better. At the time of her death, she was working on an album of cover songs. Farewell, Melanie. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-melanie-safka/996606/2 "2024-01-25T01:29:57Z")
Aww. I have several of her albums from way back. I really like “Photograph.” RIP. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-melanie-safka/996606/3 "2024-01-25T01:47:22Z")
She was great. The songs Ring the Living Bell and Look What They Done to My Song come to mind. Always liked her. RIP lovely lady ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-melanie-safka/996606/4 "2024-01-25T02:09:03Z")
> **[Melanie, 'Brand New Key' Folk Singer Who Played Woodstock, Dead at 76](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/melanie-folk-singer-woodstock-dead-obituary-1234953843/)** > > Melanie, the chart-topping folk singer of "Brand New Key" who also performed at the Woodstock, has died at the age of 76. I found her songs very evocative, and listened to her “greatest hits” album frequently, especially when i was in college. “Lay down (candles in the rain)” was my favorite. She was only 76. No cause of death was given. 😢 ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-melanie-safka/996606/5 "2024-01-25T02:28:26Z")
I like"Brand New Key". It’s a cute little double entendre song. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-melanie-safka/996606/6 "2024-01-25T02:42:37Z")
She had a delightful sense of humor which popped out from time to time. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UhxL8ZvH-c](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UhxL8ZvH-c) ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-melanie-safka/996606/7 "2024-01-25T02:58:26Z")
Here’s a couple of her wonderful performances you might not know: I’m So Blue [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/CU9N0g9W_lA/maxresdefault.jpg "I'm so Blue") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU9N0g9W_lA) Lover’s Cross [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HXYjq4U9e10/hqdefault.jpg "Lover's Cross - Melanie Safka") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXYjq4U9e10) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-melanie-safka/996606/8 "2024-01-25T03:00:10Z")
I watched Melanie on YouTube a couple years ago. Her son was accompying her on guitar in some live sets. I this was from 2016. Her brand new Key 🔑 and skates now shelved. I hate seeing counterculture icons pass away. It’s a stark reminder of how much time has passed. RIP Melanie and her son [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/vS96iEqtHPw/maxresdefault.jpg "Melanie - Candles in the Rain") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS96iEqtHPw) ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-melanie-safka/996606/9 "2024-01-25T13:50:42Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > I like"Brand New Key". It’s a cute little double entendre song. Not according to her, it’s not. She has repeatedly denied that there was any winking going on with the song. Sometimes a key is just a key. mmm ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-melanie-safka/996606/10 "2024-01-25T14:04:49Z")
OK, I gots to know: why is the subtitle of Brand New Key (Combine Harvester)? ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-melanie-safka/996606/11 "2024-01-25T14:13:41Z")
Don’t know where you saw that but [The Combine Harvester](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Combine_Harvester) is a parody version of brand new key. I never heard the original versions mentioned in the link but there was a version by the Ukrainian/Canadian comedian Metro. If you’ve never heard of Metro that just means you’re not a 60 year old Western Canadian. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-melanie-safka/996606/12 "2024-01-25T14:15:54Z")
[![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/btEpF334Rtc/hqdefault.jpg "The Wurzels - Combine Harvester") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btEpF334Rtc) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-melanie-safka/996606/13 "2024-01-25T14:18:59Z")
Much obliged. I’d seen the “subtitle” in a couple sheet music books but no parody lyrics accompanying. **Gyrate** , that’s hysterical! Thanks for posting. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-melanie-safka/996606/14 "2024-01-25T14:38:57Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Not according to her, it’s not. She has repeatedly denied that there was any winking going on with the song. > > Sometimes a key is just a key. And sometimes an artist just likes to be vague about the songs meaning in order for people to come up with their own interpretations and keep a controversy going. Consider the line “Don’t go to fast, but I go pretty far”. That and some people thought that key meant ki as in kilo of drugs, definitely not about that if that’s the meaning you are referring to. I have been listening to it since it came out and never once thought it was just about roller skating. It’s about a young girls attraction to boy. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-melanie-safka/996606/15 "2024-01-25T15:10:32Z")
As I said in another thread: > [@Songs you insist have a different meaning than the writer claims](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-insist-have-a-different-meaning-than-the-writer-claims/993725/10): > > As a wanna be songwriter, I deny that the writer has a monopoly on meaning. Just because I wrote the song and it means something to me doesn’t mean I should impose my interpretation on everyone else. Others’ interpretations are just as valid. > > Melanie Safka said she did not intend “Brand New Key” to be about sexual intercourse and I believe her. That doesn’t mean it isn’t. It obviously is. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-melanie-safka/996606/16 "2024-01-25T15:20:10Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > She recorded a silly little song called “Brand New Key.” The story goes that it was just going to be an album cut, but her record company put it out as a single Does the label or record company control that? Because if it’s the label, it was [owned by Melanie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neighborhood_Records) and her husband. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-melanie-safka/996606/17 "2024-01-25T15:47:25Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > _Does the label or record company control that? Because if it’s the label, it was [owned by Melanie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neighborhood_Records) and her husband._ That’s why I said “the story goes…” because it was on her own record label (Neighborhood) and presumably she and her husband had control over how her recordings would be released, as album cuts or singles. I’ve never seen a definitive answer. Perhaps the distribution company had a say in it, or perhaps it was her own decision which she later came to regret. Either way, that cute little song getting played over and over on Top 40 radio blew any cred she might have built up as a serious artist. There was a lot of musical snobbery back in those days. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-melanie-safka/996606/18 "2024-01-25T19:34:03Z")
I was a big fan…and honestly thought she had died _years_ ago. I remember posting a song and mentioning how I wish I could have seen her live before she passed and a friend responded “She’s still alive…and is playing a show not far from me.” Floored me. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-melanie-safka/996606/19 "2024-01-25T20:11:59Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > > > Not according to her, it’s not. She has repeatedly denied that there was any winking going on with the song. > > > > Sometimes a key is just a key. > > And sometimes an artist just likes to be vague about the songs meaning in order for people to come up with their own interpretations and keep a controversy going. Consider the line “Don’t go to fast, but I go pretty far”. That and some people thought that key meant ki as in kilo of drugs, definitely not about that if that’s the meaning you are referring to. I have been listening to it since it came out and never once thought it was just about roller skating. It’s about a young girls attraction to boy. I suppose. I found [this](https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/melanie-singer-songwriter-brand-new-key-70s-hits-106666901#:~:text=%E2%80%9CWell%2C%20I%27ve%20got,it%20weren%27t%20necessarily%20wrong.) on the ABC News site: > [@](#): > > She would say in later interviews that she didn’t necessarily intend sexual innuendo in the song, but those who heard it weren’t necessarily wrong. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-melanie-safka/996606/20 "2024-01-25T21:23:24Z")
I think I saw her on TV one time, some variety show in the mid '70s. She was performing a song called “Hurricane,” replete with some wind effects, IIRC. But I remember “Brand New Key” being all over the radio at one time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-melanie-safka/996606.md?page=2)