FIRST TIME REACTING TO | Harry Chapin "Taxi"

Harry would be proud to know that the Harry Chapin Food Banks now feed 250,,000 less fortunate people a month..R.I.P. Harry 🙏❤️

This was a man filled with love and goodness, who cared about others more than himself. I saw him three times in concert, and got to meet him briefly. We lost him so very much too soon.

“Sequel” he wrote the follow up 10 years later. Tremendous. Also “A better place to be” “Mr Tanner” “WOLD” “I wanna learn a love song” “Coreys coming” so many great stories!

Apparently 'Chapin was inspired to write “Taxi” in 1971, when he had indeed become a cab driver in order to support his wife, Sandy, and their growing family. He read old girlfriend MacIntyre's marriage announcement in The New York Times and began to fantasize the song's scenario.'

Met him and his brother Tom at the Air Force Academy for a concert. Spent a couple of hours with him, very personable. He said he'd attended for a few months then quit, stating he thought he'd make a bigger impact on the world with his music rather than as a pilot. This song refers to that ; he was going to learn to fly.

There is a sequel to this song aptly titled sequel

Be honest how many are you like me heard this song on the radio for years and didn't know the high soprano part was sung by a gentleman named Big John and not a woman

"I've got something inside me, not what my life's about. Cause, I've been letting my outside tide me over til my time runs out." This might literally be one of the greatest lines ever written. This dude is so slept on

I love your reviews of Harry Chapin. He's so amazing and underappreciated.

So many masterpieces. “A Better Place To Be,” “We Grew Up A Little Bit,” “Mr. Tanner,” “Dreams Go By,” “Flowers Are Red,” “Dance Band On The Titanic,” “W.O.L.D.,” “I Wanna Learn A Love Song,” “There Only Was One Choice,” “30,000 Pound Of Bananas,” “Country Dreams,” “She Is Always Seventeen,” “All My Life’s A Circle,” “Saturday Morning.” No particular order because EVERY song is a masterpiece. There are more, but these popped off the top of my head.

A similar song about meeting up with a longlost love is Dan Fogelberg's "Auld Lang Syne." Based on a true story. Fogelberg bumped into an old flame years after they were involved. And he was on the top of charts at the time. Bittersweet and lovely song. You should react to it.

My favorite Harry Chapin song. I had the pleasure of seeing him perform at a local college in southeast PA in the late 70s. He was so down to earth. After the show he went to the rear of the Auditorium and greated people as they departed while also soliciting contributions for his pet charity which was feeding the hungry. He was a true humanitarian.

I've loved Harry Chapin for as long as I can remember.. I had all his albums as a young teen... yeah, I'm old.. I remember crying like a baby when he died in a senseless car accident when I was 16. He was a kind and generous human being! An awesome and talented story teller and artist. His song Sequel, is the sequel to this story.. please check that out soon. He has SO many GREAT songs! Well deserving of a deep dive... Peace!

Here is that very high falsetto lyric as it is hard to hear. I think it helps with the meaning of the song: (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)

Please let "Mr. Tanner" be the next HC song you cover... Then, "A Better Place to Be." So emotional....

I used to use this song to help my students see what precise, simple language can do.

With these old songs, I am reliving my teens. Wonderful to see you react to the old great music of the old great songwriters. Thank you for helping to keep these alive.

He had you right to the end, then he opened the door and let you walk into his story. Masterpiece.

We all start out as actors then we learn our own realities through life experience. There is a sequel to this song. RIP Harry Chapin.

Harry was the ultimate story teller, writer and humanitarian. I saw him so many times, and then he was gone! He did over 200 full shows a year ,to benefit World Hunger. You can read his biography, The Harry Chapin Story, written by Peter Morton Coan. I was at one concert in NY where he invited all those attending to come to his house for a charity barbecue with the band and Pete Seager! Please review "A Better Place to Be". If not, please at listen to it. A beautiful story so elegantly written and delivered!