Dear Mr. Fantasy Lyrics
(Winwood/Capaldi)
Something to make us all happy
Do anything take us out of this gloom
Sing a song, play guitar
Make it snappy
You are the one who can make us all laugh
But doing that you break out in tears
Please don't be sad if it was a straight mind you had
We wouldn't have known you all these years
One evening, Capaldi was doodling in the battered old notebook he kept for potential song lyrics and ideas. "I drew a little character I called Mr Fantasy and next to him, I started to write, Dear Mr Fantasy . . . It was a letter to my cartoon character." Retiring to bed, Capaldi woke later to hear Winwood and Wood playing in the music room. When Capaldi came downstairs he discovered that they had found his drawing and put a melody to his letter.
@LexGabinia It looks like that link got moved to:
@LexGabinia It looks like that link got moved to:
@LexGabinia What a great little story about how the song got created. Thank you for sharing that.
@LexGabinia What a great little story about how the song got created. Thank you for sharing that.
it is obvious what this song means. everyone knows a person who plays music or sings or acts humorous constantly to make everyone else feel better. the only problem with that is people want it all the time, they want more and they want it on command, in doing that this person gets sad and starts to cry because the people he trusted now use him as a tool to escape reality. So his life consists of pleasing others but hardly pleasing himself. so the person without the straight mind is not happy with his life role and yet because he doesn't think the way normal society does, he is constantly being liked by people for the mere fact he can make them feel better.
@lyricist101 You sir, are a fucking genius. So insightful. So brilliant. LOL.
@lyricist101 You sir, are a fucking genius. So insightful. So brilliant. LOL.
@lyricist101 Very great explanation.\r\n\r\nDo you think that there is an aspect of Mr. Fantasy\'s relationship with society that is hurtful to him because of his own success? In other words, he got into the business of pleasing other people because he thought it would make him happy. But as he continues to please others, he gets more and more detached from his own goals and dreams?
@lyricist101 Very great explanation.\r\n\r\nDo you think that there is an aspect of Mr. Fantasy\'s relationship with society that is hurtful to him because of his own success? In other words, he got into the business of pleasing other people because he thought it would make him happy. But as he continues to please others, he gets more and more detached from his own goals and dreams?
I’ll let Jim Capaldi tell you about the creation of the song:
I’ll let Jim Capaldi tell you about the creation of the song:
“It was the summer of 1967, and we were all living in this cottage in Berkshire. We were one of the first English bands to live together like that. We thought we’d try it and see if anything came of it. I remember the day very clearly: A bunch of friends came over early in the day and we had quite a party. It was sunny and the corn was coming up nicely around the cottage, and we were quite enjoying ourselves if you know what I mean. As things finally wound...
“It was the summer of 1967, and we were all living in this cottage in Berkshire. We were one of the first English bands to live together like that. We thought we’d try it and see if anything came of it. I remember the day very clearly: A bunch of friends came over early in the day and we had quite a party. It was sunny and the corn was coming up nicely around the cottage, and we were quite enjoying ourselves if you know what I mean. As things finally wound down in the evening, I was sitting around just doodling, as I would often do, drawing this character. It was this little fellow with a spiked sun hat. He was holding some puppeteer’s strings, and the puppet hands on the end of the strings were playing a guitar. Under that, I just scribbled some words: ‘Dear Mr. Fantasy,’ play us a tune, something to make us all happy’ and on a bit. It was nice, but I didn’t think much of it; certainly, it wasn’t intended to be a song.
i believe the lyric is, "please don't be sad if it was the straight LINE you had".
a "straight line" is a bit in a comic dialog when the stooge, or "straight man" (usually a serious acting individual) feeds lines to his jokster counterpart who twists his words into jokes. bud abbott was a famous straight man.
it makes sense in the context of the song where a straight man may be seen as being made a fool of for the humor of others.
this is what music is about :D
This is a very chillin song, one to put on when smoking a #&%*@ and just staring into space with. Plus one kick ass guitar solo
When the world is in a low point another Great Manifestation of God comes to mankind. He lifts the world to a new level, but he is persecuted in the process.Those Great Messengers could be a Buddha, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, etc., that come from age to age. The "tune" is their message. Their tears is from the persecutions they receive.
@Transcend Interesting interpretation. I could see this potentially making sense. Do you think that was the author\'s original intent?
@Transcend Interesting interpretation. I could see this potentially making sense. Do you think that was the author\'s original intent?
Sort-of a sixties version of “here we are now, entertain us”.
the way i look at this is that entertainers in general are usually people who are different from the norm. They find a release of expression in their art...but there is always something that makes them feel like they don't fit in, that they're even a bit weird by their own definition.
This mindset can become overwhelming at times, and will bring on tears and probably question of "why do i have to be this way, to be different"...but the last two lines are reassuring.
They're telling the entertainer/artist that what makes you different is also part of what makes him/her special. their special talents brought them to the forefront so the world can enjoy what they can offer that no one else can.
i love this song! i can't believe no one has commented. to me this song is about how powerful music can be to people's emotions. when i have a bad day there are certain songs that make me feel better. I thinkt he part: Please don't be sad if it was a straight mind you had We wouldn't have known you all these years Is about how even though his life hasn't been perfect he wouldn't change it becase it got him to where he is now and he made alot of friends along the way.
@klincker128 Can we say that he wouldn\'t change it if he could? This is a very interesting take.\r\n\r\nI am not saying I am right about this, but I just sort of interpreted that bit more along the lines of it coming from the perspective of the people listening to him. In other words, it is still about them. They don\'t really care that he is unhappy, they just tell him to get over it because they wouldn\'t have gotten their enjoyment from him for the previous years if he hadn\'t played for them....
@klincker128 Can we say that he wouldn\'t change it if he could? This is a very interesting take.\r\n\r\nI am not saying I am right about this, but I just sort of interpreted that bit more along the lines of it coming from the perspective of the people listening to him. In other words, it is still about them. They don\'t really care that he is unhappy, they just tell him to get over it because they wouldn\'t have gotten their enjoyment from him for the previous years if he hadn\'t played for them.
i think this is one of the most beautiful songs ever. one of my favourites, deffinately. the guitar in it is so peaceful... and... just pretty. it's a great example of the calming effects of good music on the mind.