Laura Nyro, songwriter, singer, and pianist, whose songs "Wedding Bell Blues", "Stoned Soul Picnic", "And When I Die", "Eli's Comin'" were hits for others, was born on Oct. 18, 1947 (d. 1997). #LauraNyro

"And When I Die" (Laura Nyro) (1967)
#Music #CoSoMusic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1Jvry-y_Wg

Laura Nyro, songwriter, singer, and pianist, whose songs "Wedding Bell Blues", "Stoned Soul Picnic", "And When I Die", "Eli's Comin'" were hits for others, was born on Oct. 18, 1947 (d. 1997). #LauraNyro

"Eli's Comin'" (Laura Nyro) (1968)
#Music #CoSoMusic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaFD-s66VG8

Laura Nyro, songwriter, singer, and pianist, whose songs "Wedding Bell Blues", "Stoned Soul Picnic", "And When I Die", "Eli's Comin'" were hits for others, was born on Oct. 18, 1947 (d. 1997). #LauraNyro

Three Dog Night - Eli's Comin'" (Laura Nyro) (1969)
#Music #CoSoMusic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9y6pXcIl20

@Wbtphdjd Great version. Thanks.

@heatherdale You're welcome. For years, I didn't know who had written these songs. I've become a fan of hers over the years. I read this last fall.

Soul Picnic: The Music and Passion of Laura Nyro
by Michele Kort (2002)
https://www.librarything.com/work/1033119

@nealfig
And though I was never a B,S&T fan, the “not scared of dying” song always kind of captured my imagination

@heatherdale She was 20 years old when she wrote it!

@nealfig
What!!! That’s impressive !

@heatherdale Well, that's when she first released a recording of it. Perhaps she wrote it earlier!

@heatherdale Yes. And I didn't really know her versions well until after she died.

@nealfig
I just listened to her version of Stoned Soul Picnic
The lyrics are clearer but they still don’t make sense to me … is it hippy code for something 😂

@heatherdale It does have a nice sound (the song's interesting melody and her playing and singing). Regarding the lyrics, to me it's about having a good time with friends with music and wine in a relaxing place (a garden, park or the country).

I think she invented the word "surry". Wikipedia:
When asked by producer Charlie Calello what the word meant, Nyro told him, "Oh, it's just a nice word." One possible meaning is that surry is a shortening of "let's hurry."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoned_Soul_Picnic_(song)

@nealfig
When I was a kid I just said “hurry down” because that made sense
I also thought it was “stone cold picnic” until I learned to read
But “stoned soul” also made no sense to me (for awhile … until I got stoned) 😂

@heatherdale She might have meant it figuratively, a "stoned soul" being a soul intoxicated with the life, (nature, wine, friends). Or not. 🙂

@nealfig
I like that she just used a word she liked.
The word surry (Surrey)? also has connotations of a very old horse buggy … like the one in the musical Oklahoma … but that also doesn’t match the vibe of her song

@nealfig
Seems she wasn’t well-enough known in her lifetime as the writer of all those great songs
It’s sad
But maybe more people will find their way to her
I shared this intel with my siblings who also grew up belting them out