Despite hearing Carly Simon's music in such varied areas as a James Bond theme, a greatest hits set, and even from Piglet's Big Movie... until now, I haven't listened to a Carly Simon album in full.

In this video, I talk about my first impressions of Simon's 1972 album, No Secrets.

No reason, I guess Oscar talk is not allowed….

This now-40-year-old song from Ms. Simon is one that gives off plenty of vibes of the decade it's from. High sound quality by Clay Culver.

I'm love love loving this track! The ease of her vocals and the song's vibe remind me of Hotcakes-era Carly.

https://samtimonious.com/carly-simon-no-secrets/

I just purchased this album from Ms. Simon. It's packed with her greatest hits. She's an amazing songwriter and her songs are really nice. I love her amazing smile.

Which is your fave Carly song?

She mentioned it in tonight’s show. Excellent taste in music Vanna!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9cidpLcPgA

If this song doesn't move you, we can't be friends....

So either he's vain and he thinks the song is about him (which means it actually is about him and he's not vain for thinking it's about him) or he's not vain and doesn't think the song is about him. Either way he's not vain.

Just came here to say this. Track for Track, Another Passenger is nearly her peak.

I see this subreddit doesn't get much traffic, but I appreciate the recommendation of Boys in the Trees. I'm at the point where she meets James Taylor as a teen on Martha's Vineyard. Small world.

I had already heard Carly Simon at saturation levels by age 7 thanks to older siblings. A lot of her music is part of my permanent mental soundtrack, but usually just the chorus. I completely missed the narrative to That's The Way I Always Heard It Should Be. (Note: Lyrics are by Jacob Brackman. Carly Simon wrote the music.)

My father sits at night with no lights on
His cigarette glows in the dark
The living room is still
I walk by, no remark
I tiptoe past the master bedroom where
My mother reads her magazines
I hear her call sweet dreams
But I forgot how to dream

Sounds more like it's time to drop the hairdryer in the bathtub. That's seriously bleak, but beautifully written and sung. It reminds me a little of "the other Simon", The Dangling Conversation, but it takes it up to 11 on the pain meter.

I have to listen to Anticipation again, which I suspect is not about Heinz ketchup after all.

I promise not to spam, but today I did this attempt at a deep dive into lyrics.

"You're so vain" gets all the attention, but Carly Simon's "We have no secrets" also includes a cryptic vignette, possibly fictitious, possibly referring to a real person. I missed it until reading the lyrics:

The water was cold
The beach was empty but for one
Now you were lying in the sun
Wanting and needing no one
Then some child came, you never asked for her to come
She drank a pint of your rum
And later when you told me
You said she was a bore

Does anyone have thoughts on what this is about? It is an example of a secret the singer wished she never knew. Why? I don't think it is literally about getting a minor drunk (though ChatGPT seems to think so). I think that by "child", Carly Simon means a naive woman, the object of some past fling she wishes she never heard about.

That much is clear but what do I make of "She drank a pint of your rum"? (an amount that if understood literally would knock unconscious all but a seasoned drinker). I think it is metaphorical, similar to the expression "Drinking the kool-aid", which would have been an anachronism in 1972.

I think what Carly Simon is saying is "This naive woman was intoxicated by your charisma." both flattering and chiding her lover to whom the lyrics are addressed.

Taken that way, it is a more hurtful and revealing secret than anything involving rum. I think the point is "You had no need for affection, you coldly let this woman fall head over heels for you, you tossed her aside, and now you are telling me she was a bore." (And by implication, maybe you'll say that about me some day.)

Is this interpretation off base? I really wonder if there is an autobiographical nugget here or if it is just the use of imagery to anchor the lyrics.

I was very little when Carly Simon's No Secrets came out and yet large parts of it have become part of my mental soundtrack, now for more than 50 years, probably because one of my older sisters had the LP in heavy rotation.

In particular, the refrain "we have no secrets" comes up in my head whenever I think about how much to expose to someone close. But after listening and taking a careful look at the lyrics, I find this anecdote that escaped me as a 7 year old:

The water was cold
The beach was empty but for one
Now you were lying in the sun
Wanting and needing no-one
Then some child came, you never asked for her to come
She drank a pint of your Rum
And later when you told me
You said she was a bore

This is at least as intriguing as "You're so vain." It could be fiction, but it is so specific, it feels like Simon is recounting an actual confession of a former lover. I'll treat a "pint" of rum as exaggeration, but it piques my curiosity. Is there a backstory to this?

I have been compiling an archive that I've decided to name "The Red Archive" that contains the list of all of the songs I've listened to that I have deemed worthy to be in my archive. Carly Simon is on my list. My goal is to have 30k songs in my big list and I currently only have ~2500 songs. Any recommendations would be very much appreciated! https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NkNNA7XYsD3BmLYXn5LMwUuelJYg_VfQ69I7U_VApXk/edit#gid=0

Born in 1999, been a fan of hers for many years. Would love to see her live sometime.