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SpartyScott Post subject: Graham Nash on "Carrie Anne"
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On VH1 Classic, I was watching a special on the British Invasion. No, the Hollies didn't get much mention.

But this bit was fascinating, and worth sharing:

Mick Jagger is being interviewed (current interview, not something with a "young" Mick), and he's talking about As Tears Go By. He says that after he wrote it, he realized that it was a song that was best for a woman to perform, rather than the Stones. That's why Marianne Faithful was given the track and got the hit single.

So they switch to a current interview with Marianne Faithful, and she was talking about her TV performance of As Tears Go By, and she says that she was sure that adult audiences thought it was cute and charming to see the beautiful little girl (my God, was she really only sixteen years old?) with knees shaking and in obvious terror performing that song. I'm sure most of you have seen that TV appearance, because I've seen it dozens of times over the years. She also talks about how the song was a strange one for her, as she really didn't understand the lyrics and frankly hated the song for the longest time. If you listen to the lyrics, you'll see that they are NOT written for a young girl. Rather, it's a song intended for someone looking back on their life, and it's about (I think) missed opportunities and regrets. Actually, it's probably Mick's most thoughtful lyric ever, but that's beside the point.

Anyway, you get that picture in your head. Young Marianne Faithful, sort of both a child and a woman (and wow, what a woman - she was a true beauty) at the same time, singing a song that's beyond her years.

OK, then they switch to Graham Nash, in an interview recorded somewhat recently. Graham says something along the lines of "that song was first called Marianne, and of course it was about Marianne Faithful. But, we didn't have the nerve to release a record that way, so we made up a name 'Carrie Anne' out of thin air, and that's how the record got made."

Then they show the last minute of the Hollies performing Carrie Anne on television, in a clip that's been widely shown before. They're lip-synching to the song but the group is also singing live on top of the record.

So think about the Hollies school girl lyric of Carrie Anne, and then think back on the young Marianne Faithful, and you see it all makes sense.

Finally, they jump back to the current interview of Marianne Faithful, and she says that she had wondered at the time if the Hollies had really been singing about her, and that idea really seemed to delight her. It was sort of like back in 1967 she was thinking "Oh, that song's about me. Could it be? No, it couldn't be, could it?" I found her excitement over the Hollies creating a song about her to be quite touching and absolutely charming.
PostPosted:Wed Jan 24, 2007 11:50 am
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Gee Post subject: As Tears Go By...
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"Carrie Anne" is perfect for the lovely Ms. Faithful,
PostPosted:Wed Jan 24, 2007 12:17 pm

Last edited by Gee on Thu Jan 28, 2010 10:29 am; edited 1 time in total
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Hope2005 Post subject:
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I heard Graham tell that story in a Radio 2 documentry about Crosby,Stills & Nash. The Hollies were great friends of The Rolling Stones.

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PostPosted:Sat Jan 27, 2007 21:43 pm
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Lou Post subject:
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This is from the article published in Goldmine in 1996.
It makes no mention of any particular female or Graham.


Carrie Anne" had been started by Hicks in 1965, while the band was on tour in Norway, and started out in the wake of the Byrds' "Mr. Tambourine Man," with Hicks writing to the phrase "Hey Mr. Man." Two years later, it was finished in its familiar form and recorded on May 3, 1967, in only two takes. Released later the same month, it ascended to #3 in the United Kingdom and #9 in America.

I'm not saying , I'm just saying. Wink

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PostPosted:Sun May 27, 2007 14:02 pm
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Gee Post subject: Hey Carrie Anne....
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Tony Hicks began the song with the chorus as based on "Mr.Tambourine Man"...as you say "Hey Mr.Man..." in Stavanger Norway.....

Hicks and Nash then got to work on the song creating the verses and chorus line....duly becoming "Hey Carrie Anne...."

The song was almost completed when Allan Clarke went off for a walk round a garden while they were rehersing it....and came up with a "middle eight" section:
"Your so, so like a woman to me.....",
which he duly sings on the finished version....
hence a true Clarke-Hicks-Nash composition....
from a time when the team was writing more and more independantly of each other.....
PostPosted:Tue May 29, 2007 18:46 pm
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MichealC Post subject:
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Having seen both stories in different places I've always assumed Mr. Man was the polite version of the story and Marianne the reality. Given the relationships she had with the band members it does make sense but I dunno..
PostPosted:Sat Jun 02, 2007 14:11 pm
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John Truman Post subject:
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Another version of the story here:

According to today's Daily Mail (so it must be true!!), Mick Jagger's brother, Chris, married model Kari-Ann Moller, who was the inspiration for the Hollies' hit, Carrie-Anne.

Incidentally, the couple have 5 sons.

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PostPosted:Sat Jun 09, 2007 18:38 pm
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brandy Post subject:
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Not in dispute is that the song itself was the source of the given name of Canadian actress Carrie-Ann Moss when she entered the world in August, 1967, three months after "Carrie-Anne" was released. Smile

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PostPosted:Mon Jun 11, 2007 14:49 pm
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