I’d love to know how many of you have even heard of this song. Harry Chapin was a singer-songwriter, most famous for “Cat’s in the Cradle,” the tear jerker about the mean ol’ Dad who ignores his kids until it’s too late. He also penned and sang “Taxi,” about the pot-head who picks up his old high school girlfriend in his taxi one rainy night and is forced to confront the regret he has about all the things he didn’t do with his life. You know, happy, uplifting stuff like that.
Harry’s songs are actually some of the best-written short stories I’ve ever heard put to music. He managed to cram fully developed characters and their arcs into 4-minute tunes. This song is off his live album, aptly titled “Greatest Stories.” In it, a semi-truck driver meets his demise when he loses control of his vehicle and spills its contents – 30,000 pounds of bananas – onto the highway. Miserable, right? But Harry tells the story with humor and great skill, starting slow and building to a crescendo right about the time the driver picks up speed.
My favorite Chapin character of them all has to be Mr. Tanner, “a cleaner from a town in the mid-west” who “also was a baritone, who sang while hanging clothes.” The story follows his failed attempt to launch his singing career at the urging of his friends and neighbors. The refrain is haunting, especially when Big John Wallace, a member of Harry’s band, adds his voice, singing “O Holy Night” as Harry sings this:
Music was his life.
It was not his livelihood.
And it made him feel so happy.
It made him feel so good.
And he sang from his heart,
and he sang from his soul.
He did not know how well he sang.
It just made him whole.
I was introduced to Harry Chapin by Charlie Crow, the father of my childhood best friend Suzanne. When Suzanne and I were 15, the Crows took me to Europe with them for three weeks. My parents had just announced their separation, which would end a few months later in divorce. The Crows had recently moved from Little Rock to Birmingham, separating me from Suzanne for the first time since we were six years old. Charlie and Anne knew I needed a break from Little Rock and graciously offered to take me along on their family vacation.
After a week in Paris, we rented a car and drove from France through Switzerland and Germany. Charlie had “Greatest Stories” on tape, and we listened to it over and over again. I remember looking out the window at the passing landscapes while Charlie sang along to “Mr. Tanner” in his own baritone. It’s such a good memory of feeling safe, secure and happy during a time in my life when the combination of those emotions was rare.
There are a few versions of “30,000 Pounds” on You Tube, but none of them are as good as this version of “Mr. Tanner.” Grab a hankie and enjoy!
Jennifer,
What a pleasant surprise to read your blog note about the late (tragic loss), great Harry Chapin, with the reminder that I had introduced his wonderful and unmatched song-stories to you! I have many fond memories of that fun-filled trip, many of which involve the adventurous encounters of you and Suzanne–two American teenage pizza-seeking, museum-spurning, sleep-deprived girls using their rather limited French to negotiate Paris and environs.
I, too, have always liked Chapin’s “Mr. Tanner” the best, as he represents the latent unrealized dreams most of us harbor deep inside. The poignancy of the story of his failure to secure a big break takes nothing away from the fact that he did his best in the effort…the emotional toll it took was undoubtedly devastating, but he returned home to his dull routine and sang to please himself.
We are so very proud that you and Suzanne have, in your respective ways, turned out to be the fine young women–wives/mothers/professionals/friends–we knew you would be. Keep up the great work!
Charlie Crow
Love Harry. My favorite, which I unfortunately have cause to reference often, is the one with the teacher who says, “Flowers are red, young man. Green trees are green. There is no need to see flowers any other way, than the way they always have been seen….”
This shuffle project seems pretty cool. I am so out of the loop on music it is not even funny. I don’t even own an ipod. Thank goodness for Pandora, which is kind enough to just tell me what I like. 😉