Taxi
Harry Chapin
Watch: New Singing Lesson Videos Can Make Anyone A Great Singer
It was raining hard in 'Frisco I needed one more fare to make my night A lady up ahead waved to flag me down She got in at the light Oh, where you going to, my lady blue It's a shame you ruined your gown in the rain She just looked out the window, she said "Sixteen Parkside Lane" Something about her was familiar I could swear I'd seen her face before But she said, "I'm sure you're mistaken" And she didn't say anything more It took a while, but she looked in the mirror And she glanced at the license for my name A smile seemed to come to her slowly It was a sad smile, just the same And she said, "How are you Harry?" I said, "How are you Sue? Through the too many miles And the too little smiles I still remember you" It was somewhere in a fairy tale I used to take her home in my car We learned about love in the back of the Dodge The lesson hadn't gone too far You see, she was gonna be an actress And I was gonna learn to fly She took off to find the footlights And I took off to find the sky Whoa, I've got something inside me To drive a princess blind There's a wild man, wizard He's hiding in me, illuminating my mind Oh, I've got something inside me Not what my life's about 'Cause I've been letting my outside tide me Over 'till my time, runs out Baby's so high that she's skying Yes she's flying, afraid to fall I'll tell you why baby's crying 'Cause she's dying, aren't we all There was not much more for us to talk about Whatever we had once was gone So I turned my cab into the driveway Past the gate and the fine trimmed lawns And she said we must get together But I knew it'd never be arranged And she handed me twenty dollars For a two fifty fare, she said "Harry, keep the change" Well, another man might have been angry And another man might have been hurt But another man never would have let her go I stashed the bill in my shirt And she walked away in silence It's strange, how you never know But we'd both gotten what we'd asked for Such a long, long time ago You see, she was gonna be an actress And I was gonna learn to fly She took off to find the footlights I took off for the sky And here, she's acting happy Inside her handsome home And me, I'm flying in my taxi Taking tips, and getting stoned I go flying so high, when I'm stoned
Watch: New Singing Lesson Videos Can Make Anyone A Great Singer
Written by: HARRY F. CHAPIN
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
11 facts about this song
MUSIC COMPOSITION"Taxi" by Harry Chapin is a 1972 song from his debut album, "Heads & Tales" which length is approximately 6 minutes and 44 seconds, making it one of the longer pop songs during its time.
|
LYRICSThe song's lyrics tell a narrative of a taxi driver who encounters a rich former lover who does not recognize him. This encounter leads him into pensiveness of dreams versus reality.
|
RECORDThe song peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and is Chapin's highest charting song.
|
TYPES OF INSTRUMENTSThe track incorporates the use of string instruments and includes a long instrumental introduction which is about two minutes long.
|
LIVE PERFORMANCEHarry often performed the song live and it became one of his signature tunes.
|
SEQUELA sequel to "Taxi," called "Sequel," was written and performed by Chapin in 1980, making it one of the few songs to have a sequel.
|
AUTHOR INSPIRATIONThe song was partially inspired by Chapin's ex-girlfriend, Claire, who became a successful actress.
|
SONG'S POPULARITY"Taxi" continues to receive regular airplay on radio stations until today, despite its length, which is atypical for most pop songs.
|
AWARDSEven though "Taxi" didn't win any significant music awards, it remains an iconic song in Chapin's career.
|
IMPACT ON CAREERThe popularity of "Taxi" launched Chapin's career, leading to appearances on popular television shows and making him a household name.
|
CHARITY EFFORTSChapin was known for his philanthropy and charity work, and he often used the proceeds from the song "Taxi" to fund those efforts.
|
Citation
Use the citation below to add these lyrics to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Taxi Lyrics." Lyrics.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/656432/Harry+Chapin/Taxi>.
Discuss the Taxi Lyrics with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In