There has always been a lot of interest in the genesis of one of the most enduring pop songs of a generation. The Guardian reports that this mystery has recently been solved. For music lovers everywhere, it’s one of the iconic songs of the ’60s, a catchy, upbeat love song for a girl known simply as Sweet Caroline. Now, 40 years after its release, singer-songwriter Neil Diamond has revealed the inspiration behind the song: The Caroline in question was Caroline Kennedy, now the only surviving daughter of President John F. Kennedy.
Diamond, 66, revealed that he had never revealed the song’s origins to anyone, preferring to keep it a secret until the day he met Caroline face-to-face. Diamond let the cat out of the bag, telling both the press and the theme song about her origins, when he finally met the now Caroline Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg and performed the song for her 50th birthday. He said that the song was extremely important to him and one of his first big hits, and would become a big seller. “I have to thank you for the inspiration,” he said. The song really made its mark and left the audience in no doubt that Neil was a great songwriter and performer.
He told the Associated Press that he was happy to get it off his chest and to express it to Caroline. “I thought she might be embarrassed, but she seemed to be surprised and very, very happy.” The motivation for the song came from a photograph of Kennedy, then nine years old, that the singer saw in a magazine while staying at a hotel in Memphis. “It was a picture of a little girl dressed to the nines in her riding gear, next to her pony,” Diamond said. “It was such an innocent and wonderful image, I immediately felt like there was a song in there.”
Diamond later wrote the song inspired by the photograph. It became a hit, reviving her flagging career and eventually selling over 2 million copies and giving countless karaoke singers a chance to shine.
Always popular, the song recently reappeared on the singles chart in the US, thanks in part to the fact that it is belted out during home games at Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox baseball team. “I think they consider it good luck,” Diamond told the Associated Press, adding that the Red Sox have become his favorite baseball team.
Just as a reminder, here are the lyrics to the great song: you can hum the tune…
where did it start
I can’t begin to know
But then I know it’s growing strong
it was in spring
And spring turned into summer
Who would have believed that you would come?
hands, touching hands
attain
touching me
touch you
sweet Caroline
The good times never seemed so good
I have been leaning
To believe that they never would
but now i
look at the night
And it doesn’t seem so lonely
We fill it with just two
and when it hurts
Hurtin slips off my shoulders
How can I hurt myself when I’m with you?
Warm, touching warm
attain
touching me
touching me
sweet Caroline
The good times never seemed so good
I have been leaning
To believe that they never would
oh no no
sweet Caroline
The good times never seemed so good
I have been leaning
I thought they never could
sweet Caroline
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
