The Hollies - Maker (1967)

The Butterfly album by The Hollies was the last album to feature Graham Nash as a member of the group. For some time, there was a growing divide between Nash and the other members of the band regarding the musical direction of the group. Nash, as he recounts in his autobiography Wild Tales, wanted to take the band in a more political and “enlightened” direction by writing lyrics that alluded to drug use, sex, and the issues he saw in the world around him. Conversely, his fellow bandmates (lead by Nash’s best friend growing up, Allan Clarke) wanted to keep the formula they had been successfully using: happy-go-lucky pop music. The straw that broke the camel’s back came when Nash learned that the group wanted their next album to be entirely made up of covers of Bob Dylan songs. (This would later be released, without Nash, as Hollies Sing Dylan and was disliked by fans and critics alike.)

The song heard below was written and composed entirely by Graham Nash. It was featured as the third track on the Butterfly album, released in November 1967, which coincidentally featured more tracks written and sang by Nash than any Hollies album had yet. In the United States, Butterfly was released under the title Dear Eloise / King Midas in Reverse. On that version of the album, the track below was found on the flip side as the tenth overall song.



The Hollies - Maker (1967)

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Lyrics:

Days of yellow saffron.
Nights with purple skies
Melting in the sunbeams
From my maker's eyes

Mountain-colored lilac
In the distant haze
I would like to lie here
Timing all my days

Move past my window
Sunshine is shimmering
Jack-o-lanterns glimmering
Giant moths are flickering around

See, the moon is hiding
Underneath the sea
Pretty soon he'll venture
To take a look at me

So I humbly stand here
Beneath his golden glow
Doesn't he remind me
Of somebody I know?

I must be leaving
Back to reality
Don't you just pity me?
I could so easily stay here

The Hollies - Separated (1970)

Graham Nash (b. 1942) and Allan Clarke (b. 1942) began singing together when they were schoolmates in Salford, Lancashire, England. Together- and with others- they formed The Hollies and found a great deal of success on both sides of the Atlantic. But near the end of the sixties, Nash was disappointed with the artistic direction of the band and their reluctance to use less pop-oriented and more adult-oriented themes in their music. This major artistic divide led Nash to leave the band and pursue a new musical direction with what would become Crosby, Stills & Nash.

Meanwhile, The Hollies continued without Nash, replacing him with Terry Sylvester. Without Nash, the band continued to be successful, releasing popular songs such as “Sorry Suzanne,” “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,” “The Air That I Breathe,” and many others.

The song below was released in 1970 on the UK-titled album, Confessions of the Mind; but was not included on the US version, titled Moving Finger. The song was written by Allan Clarke.



The Hollies - Separated (1970)

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Lyrics:

Why- why ignore me?
And keep me out all the time?
Do you think I don’t love you?
It’s only in your mind

(¡Vamo! ¡Vamo!)

You don’t give me a reason
You don’t explain all your ways
It must be the change of the season
That’s all I can say

(¡Vamo!)

Was it something that I said
That made you stop loving me?
I only want for the best
Not to see you in my life
Makes me so unimportant
I can’t live with myself

Gone- gone is tomorrow
I’m only living for today
I never thought you’d ever leave me
Now you have gone away

(¡Vamanos!)

The Hollies - I Can't Let Go (1966)

This band’s roots go all the way back to 1955 when Graham Nash and Allan Clarke were playing together as The Two Teens. In 1956, still performing as a duo, they switched their name to The Guyatones. In 1959, the duo renamed themselves yet again to The Two Tones; and, when adding more members, they became The Fourtones. Although the incarnations mentioned so far were short lived, Nash and Clarke stuck together after they fell apart, performing as Ricky & Dane Young in 1960. They stole a guitarist from Kirk Daniels & The Deltas, got together with a few more guys, and named themselves The Dominators of Rhythm. Finally, in December 1962, The Dominators of Rhythm settled on their final name, The Hollies. The very first official lineup of The Hollies consisted of Graham Nash (guitar), Allan Clarke (vocals, guitar), Eric Haydock (bass), Don Rathbone (drums), and Vic Farrell (guitar). More than twenty people have been able to claim to have been a member of the band, but none of the original members still perform with them today. The most consistent members of the group, Tony Hicks and Bobby Elliott, have the prestige of being the only members of the band present for all of their recorded work.

Released February 18, 1966, this song was put out by a lineup of the band that featured Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, Tony Hicks, Eric Haydock, and Bobby Elliott. It was the last single to feature Eric Haydock. The song was written by Chip Taylor (with help from session musician Al Gorgoni), who also wrote many other famous songs of the era, such as The Troggs' "Wild Thing". It was first recorded by Evie Sands in 1965, but failed to do well. When recorded by The Hollies, the song reached number two in the United Kingdom, but only number forty-two in the United States. Paul McCartney was especially fond of the song, once noting that he mistakenly thought Graham Nash's singing in the chorus (the line "Baby please") was a trumpet playing.



The Hollies - I Can't Let Go (1966)

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Lyrics:

Oh, I try and I try but I can't say goodbye

Feel so bad, baby
Oh, it hurts me
When I think of how your lovin’ desert me
I'm the broken-hearted toy you play with
Baby

You got me going
I need you, baby
(I can’t let go, baby)
I can't let go
And I want you, baby
(I only want you, baby)
I gotta have you
You know I can't let go
(Baby, please)

Though I'm just one of your lovers
And I know there are so many others
You do something strange to me, baby
(Baby) Baby
(Baby)

You got me going
I need you, baby
(I can’t let go, baby)
I can't let go
And I want you, baby
(I only want you, baby)
I gotta have you
You know I can't let go
(Baby, please)

Oh, I try and I try but I can't say goodbye
I know that it's wrong and I should be so strong
But the thought of you gone makes me want to hold on

You got me going
I need you, baby
(I can’t let go, baby)
I can't let go
And I want you, baby
(I only want you, baby)
I gotta have you
You know I can't let go
(Baby, please)

You got me going
I need you, baby
(I can’t let go, baby)
I can't let go
And I want you, baby
(I only want you, baby)
I gotta have you
You know I can't let go
(Baby, please)

I can't let go
I can't let go
I can't let go
I can't let go…

The Hollies - Carrie Anne (1967)

Written by Graham Nash, Allan Clarke, and Tony Hicks, this song was inspired by the then-girlfriend of Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithfull. It was recorded in the beginning of May 1967, reached number three in the UK, and number nine in the US. It was backed with the B-Side "Signs That Will Never Change."



The Hollies - Carrie Anne (1967)

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Lyrics:

Doo doo doo-doo doo doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo-doo doo doo doo-doo doo
Hey, Carrie Anne
Hey, Carrie Anne

When we were at school our games were simple
I played a janitor, you played a monitor
Then you played with older boys and prefects
What's the attraction in what they're doing?

Hey Carrie Anne
What's your game now, can anybody play?
Hey Carrie Anne
What's your game now, can anybody play?

You were always something special to me
Quite independent, never caring
You lost your charm as you were aging
Where is your magic disappearing?

Hey Carrie Anne
What's your game now, can anybody play?
Hey Carrie Anne
What's your game now, can anybody play?

You're so, so like a woman to me
(So like a woman to me)
So, so like a woman to me
(Like a woman to me)

Hey Carrie Anne
What's your game now, can anybody play?
Hey Carrie Anne
What's your game now, can anybody play?

People live and learn but you're still learning
You use my mind and I'll be your teacher
When the lesson's over you'll be with me
Then I'll hear the other people saying:

Hey Carrie Anne
What's your game now, can anybody play?
Hey Carrie Anne
What's your game now, can anybody play?

Carrie Anne
(Carrie Anne, Carrie Anne...)