DJ Allyn – The Soundtrack for my Life

I am, I said ~ Neil Diamond  

Neil Diamond is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actor.

Neil Diamond was born into a Jewish Russian-Polish family, the son of a dry-goods merchant. He grew up in several homes in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, attending Erasmus Hall and Abraham Lincoln High Schools. At Erasmus Hall, he took part in SING! and sang in the school choir with Barbra Streisand, who then spelled her name “Barbara.” At Lincoln, the school from which he received his high school diploma, he was a member of the fencing team. He later attended NYU on a fencing scholarship, specializing in épée. In a live interview with TV talk show host Larry King, Neil Diamond explained his decision to study medicine. He said: “I actually wanted to be a laboratory biologist. I wanted to study. And I really wanted to find a cure for cancer. My grandmother had died of cancer. And I was always very good at the sciences. And I thought I would go and try and discover the cure for cancer.” However, during his senior year a music publishing company made him an offer he could not refuse to write songs for $50 a week and this started him on the road to stardom.

Diamond spent his early career as a writer in the Brill Building, and had an early success writing “I’m a Believer”, “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You,” “Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow),” and Love to Love which were recorded by The Monkees. There is a popular misconception that Diamond wrote and composed these songs specifically for the “Pre-Fab Four.” In reality, Diamond had written, composed and recorded these songs to release himself, but the cover versions were released before his own. The unintended, but happy, consequence of this was that Diamond began to gain fame not only as a singer and performer, but also as a songwriter. “I’m a Believer” was the Popular Music Song of the Year in 1966. Other notable artists who covered early Neil Diamond songs were Elvis Presley, who interpreted “Sweet Caroline” and “And The Grass Won’t Pay No Mind”, the English hard rock band Deep Purple which interpreted “Kentucky Women”, Lulu, who covered “The Boat That I Row”, and Cliff Richard, who released versions of “I’ll Come Running”, “Solitary Man”, “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon”, “I Got The Feelin’(Oh, No, No), and “Just Another Guy”.

I am, I said

L.A.’s fine, the sun shines most the time
And the feeling is ‘lay back’
Palm trees grow, and rents are low
But you know I keep thinkin’ about
Making my way back

Well I’m New York City born and raised
But nowadays, I’m lost between two shores
L.A.’s fine, but it ain’t home
New York’s home, but it ain’t mine no more

“I am,” I said
To no one there
An no one heard at all
Not even the chair
“I am,” I cried
“I am,” said I
And I am lost, and I can’t even say why
Leavin’ me lonely still

Did you ever read about a frog who dreamed of bein’ a king
And then became one
Well except for the names and a few other changes
I you talk about me, the story’s the same one

But I got an emptiness deep inside
And I’ve tried, but it won’t let me go
And I’m not a man who likes to swear
But I never cared for the sound of being alone

“I am,” I said
To no one there
An no one heard at all
Not even the chair
“I am,” I cried
“I am,” said I
And I am lost, and I can’t even say why
Leavin’ me lonely still

Other Songs Posted for this Artist

• July 9, 2009 -- Cracklin’ Rosie ~ Neil Diamond
• July 25, 2008 -- Shilo ~ Neil Diamond
• January 21, 2008 -- Solitary Man – Neil Diamond