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Taxi Lyrics
Artist: Harry Chapin
It was raining hard in 'Frisco,
I needed one more fare to make my night.
A lady up ahead waved to flag me down,
She got in at the light.
Oh, where you going to, my lady blue,
It's a shame you ruined your gown in the rain.
She just looked out the window, and said
"Sixteen Parkside Lane".
Something about her was familiar
I could swear I'd seen her face before,
But she said, "I'm sure you're mistaken"
And she didn't say anything more.
It took a while, but she looked in the mirror,
And she glanced at the license for my name.
A smile seemed to come to her slowly,
It was a sad smile, just the same.
And she said, "How are you Harry?"
I said, "How are you Sue?
Through the too many miles
and the too little smiles
I still remember you."
It was somewhere in a fairy tale,
I used to take her home in my car.
We learned about love in the back of the Dodge,
The lesson hadn't gone too far.
You see, she was gonna be an actress,
And I was gonna learn to fly.
She took off to find the footlights,
And I took off to find the sky.
Oh, I've got something inside me,
To drive a princess blind.
There's a wild man, wizard,
He's hiding in me, illuminating my mind.
Oh, I've got something inside me,
Not what my life's about,
Cause I've been letting my outside tide me,
Over 'till my time, runs out.
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.
There was not much more for us to talk about,
Whatever we had once was gone.
So I turned my cab into the driveway,
Past the gate and the fine trimmed lawns.
And she said we must get together,
But I knew it'd never be arranged.
And she handed me twenty dollars,
For a two fifty fare, she said
"Harry, keep the change."
Well another man might have been angry,
And another man might have been hurt,
But another man never would have let her go...
I stashed the bill in my shirt.
And she walked away in silence,
It's strange, how you never know,
But we'd both gotten what we'd asked for,
Such a long, long time ago.
You see, she was gonna be an actress
And I was gonna learn to fly.
She took off to find the footlights,
And I took off for the sky.
And here, she's acting happy,
Inside her handsome home.
And me, I'm flying in my taxi,
Taking tips, and getting stoned,
I go flying so high, when I'm stoned.
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Comments/Interpretations
This song cuts to the heart and exposes the truth with its pants down. You can't listen to this song because it hurts so much - especially when you're 45ish - but you can't stop obsessing and clinging to it because it's so damn beautiful, meaningful, and true. A VERY PERSONAL truth about me and many others stopped dead in our tracks by this song.
WE HAVE ALL BEEN HARRY OR SUE SOMETIME IN OUR LIFE.I REGRET VERY LITTLE BECAUSE I AM A PRODUCT OF MY EXPIERIENCS THIS SONG SAYS IT ALL AND I HAVE LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT.
I discover this song about 10 years ago,i´m 26 and it was so beautiful the moment i heard the song,i never knew the name and if i did a forgot until this days i was thinking of the song and today i found it again,like Mike & Doug say,we ourselves become Harry somewhere in our life and got our own Sue,it´s the sadness of the ¿What if...?
I first heard this song when I lived in San Diego California 1971 or 72. Only heard bits and pieces cause it is such a long song then I acutally got to hear it all the way thru and wow, it made me sad. I was very young and listening to it again, I feel alot like Harry.
Every time I hear this beautiful song I get a lump in my throat,and
like the fine comment made by Doug
this song stops me in my tracks.
I'm surprised I'm still impacted by this song. I was a big fan in the 70's but for some reason it's come back into my head a lot. (45-ish.... isn't that odd!) I'm still confused why my eyes well up. There is just something painfully universal about this song.
I just noticed this song today. If I'd heard it before, I hadn't noticed it. But today, my own "Sue: is back and we are finding we have lots to talk about. What we once had is very much still there. Sorry for you, Harry.
Few songs of any era have the emotion and sentiment of "Taxi". Rest in eternal peace, Harry...for "we'd both gotten what we asked for, such a long, long time ago."
I first heard this when I was in third grade when my mother played it on her album all the time. She was in love with the song. I haven't heard it since about fifth grade, but I always remembered the lyrics. I'm 43 now, and still haven't heard the song since... I came here to see if my memory of the lyrics was correct. It's amazing what you can retain from an amazing story... Harry Chapin was an incredible story-teller... R.I.P.
A dangerous song, a sentiment so strong that it can blind one to the future. I'm talking to my Sue again and my marriage is less safe because of it.
This song is poignant even if you didn't have a "Sue" in your past because of the two wasted lives. Luckily Harry's wasn't wasted at all; he affected millions of people as only a true poet can. I was lucky enough to see him in person opening for Woody Allen when Woody was still doing "Stand Up". I won't say how long ago that was but Groucho Marx was in the audience!
Im a singer / song writer and i can tell you, this is the art. If you can tell a story in 4 minutes and have an effect , inject the picture in your mind and take some one to where the story takes place, you have a gift. In the time it takes to listen to this song, it would take hours in movie format or days in book . Harry was an artist. A very lost aspect of music today. I am so happy i lived in his generation ( mine ) . Musicians are so lazy now. God Bless Harry Chapin .
The killer part of "Taxi" is the bridge in the middle, where you seem to hear what the characters are thinking. Harry really lets his guard down there, and he lets the lady do the same. So raw. By the time he gets back to the narrative of the taxi ride, it's a whole different ballgame.
..."Through the too many miles and too little smiles I still remember you."...
Treacly sentimentality. Yet I still get misty-eyed. Between this song and "Cat's in the Cradle" Mr Chapin was a specialist in making me cry.
the lucky ones don't get this song.............lucky them
It's a great song about who you wanted to be and who you are now. It's sad some of us identify with the lyrics and we realize it may be to late for that second chance. I'm proud of who I am now cause it's the only thing I can control. As for the Sue,s in the world, if they left - it's there loss.
I agree with all of the commenters (it says something about you if you stopped to comment on Harry's lyrics TODAY after so many years since its release). I get the song, but can't really fathom the true meaning of these lines... Insights??
"... Oh, I've got something inside me, To drive a princess blind.
There's a wild man, wizard,
He's hiding in me, illuminating my mind.
Oh, I've got something inside me,
Not what my life's about,
Cause I've been letting my outside tide me, Over 'till my time, runs out. "
The beauty of Harry Chapin's songs is not just that he sang from the heart but that he always took the time to pay attention to his own emotions while being so wonderfully open to others, particularly those living on the margins. I only saw him perform live once, on a night when his brother Tom stopped by to share a couple of songs with him but it was a treasured, forever memorable evening!
i was stationed in Quonset Pt Rhode Island when i first heard Taxi.....being a southern boy from the deep south i had never heard that song .this was in 1972 by the way.........ive loved it and Harry's music ever since........saw him twice in person...a great live performer.....and im not ashamed to say.....i cried when he was killed
I am both amazed and glad that there are so many recent comments written here about a song that was written so long ago. I was a freshman in college when Taxi first hit the radio waves and brought Harry Chapin into the mainstream in 1972. I've been one of his biggest fans ever since. My 20-year-old son is also a Harry Chapin fan.
I have never had a good grasp on what Harry intended with the lines that Bob quoted above on 9/3. I guess he was saying that there was a better man inside of himself than his current life was demonstrating. If so, he certainly proved that to be true between 1972 and 1981.
There are two people whose death so greatly saddened me that I can still remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I learned that they had been killed. One was JFK; the other was Harry Chapin.
Always loved this song, even if I am a "Sue"!! I, like Bob, don't understand those lines either.
The lines in question simply mean that Harry is more than what he appears to be on the outside, but because he has let his outside "tide" him in for so long, we never get to see the wild wizard hidden deep inside...unless he gets high or is jogged out his memory (by seeing Sue) of earlier times when the inside was less inhibited. Doesn't this make sense? Don't we all get this way with age? Not many songs like this one are written nowadays. I keep it alive though by listening to it every now and then. A 45 year old guy.
I LOVE this song--pure poetry, as is most of Chapin's work. Harry Chapin was like the wandering story-telling minstrel of our times. Saw him live in 1979: one of the BEST performances I've ever witnessed.
I was 16 working in a restaurant when this song caused my nickname to be "Harry" for a few years (not my idea). This actually has no bearing on the fact that I think it's one of the best songs of all time. In my opinion, the wild man wizard lines refer to what he was capable of, and could have achieved... but unfortunately didn't. My most recent enlightenment is the four lines sung by John Wallace (baby's so high that she's skying.. etc.). I didn't know the actual words until fairly recently when I looked up the lyrics online. When I did, it became the only song I've ever heard that blew me away twice.
Bill, you're right on the money. I didn't find this song until the 1980s and think its one of the most underrated classics of all-times because it stirs so many different emotions from people. It's a song of lost dreams, hard realities and how a chance meeting can send all those memories flooding back to us. Few songs (if any) do that today.
it not just a song its more like a time and a place you can not buy a memory but somtimes you mite have to pay for one lessons as our lives go on
this is not just a song it is a time and a place in a life you can not buy a memory but sometimes you have to pay for one always becareful what you ask for time is everything
This a beautiful, poignant song, but as he said in the end "we'd both gotten what we asked for. . . . ." It is bitter-sweet and evokes both sad and happy feelings for me (to listen to and sing). To me it speaks to the acceptance of the decisions I've made over the years, that cannot be changed, and as I get older (55) I've learned you have to make the best out of life regardless of the choices you have made. Peace
This song has been giving chills for 35 years. From the guitar harmonics in the beginning, to the falsetto singing part in the middle (dream sequence), and the sad parting of Harry and Sue at the end. It is true masterpiece! By the way, he wrote a sequel in 1980 when Harry and Sue meet again 10 yrs later.
Regrets and irony--very powerful
Came to this site to finally discover the falsetto lyrics which have eluded me all these years. Needless to say, they are as haunting as the rest of the song. "Taxi" has always been a personal song for me - I used to drive a taxi and my first great love was a "Sue". Sad to say, I'm still hoping to find my rainy night in Frisco, and find her again.
My hobby is quilting and I just finished a screaming yellow, black and white quilt called Taxi. Harry's song kept spinning through my head while I worked on this. Quilters always put labels on the back of their finished quilts and mine will be dedicated to Harry Chapin with a few lines from his beautiful bittersweet song.
I would never want to see my 'Sue' again, unless it was in these very circumstances. Fortunately, I don't drive a cab. Unfortunately, Harry's words and voice cut right through me, and this song brings me almost to tears every time.
i hear this song and i fly back 32 to years to a girl named julie and damn if i don't weep
I'm 56. I've heard this song hundreds of times--and each time I still get misty-eyed, for reasons I'll keep private.
I remember hearing this song when I was 10 or so, and I loved it but of course I couldn't really understand - BUT I was impacted anyway by the art. It was one of those songs that felt somewhat "sacred" to me, like I knew it was (going to be) important. Now here I am aged 47, just heard it again, and the lyrics really grabbed me, and I had to re-read them. So real, and the structure of the song just floors you.
I certainly agree with Bill's comments and sometimes it is "that" simple. Also, "... we'd both gotten what we'd asked for...", which reminds me of a old Springsteen tune - "With every Wish" and today's McMurtry "Ruby and Carlos". All 3 make me "feel" and "smile" which is why I listen as an 'old man' who turns 50 tomorrow. Cheers and Thanks Harry!
I'll never forget one of the most amazing nights of my life. I was either a freshman or sophomore at Hofstra University in 1970 or 1971 when Harry played at the Rathskeller, a small gathering place. I was sitting no more than 10 feet from him. It was such an amazing evening, I left and came right back for his second show. His songs and story-telling are simply breathtaking. "A Better Place to Be," is truly a haunting song, but there are so many. The other night, I sang "Taxi" in karaoke, and never had because it's such a long song. People loved it, and I even did the falsetto part! In our hearts and minds, Harry Chapin never died.
oh yes Dan! at 50 it tears me up too. i try my darnedest not to have any regrets, but there is always that one guy that I let go. . . chapin tells a poignant, bittersweet tale--have you heard his Taxi, pt. 2?
This song is powerful not only for its lyrics, which with the exception of the slight flaw "the too little smiles" are rock solid and lean, but also the subtlety of the accompaniment - elaborate and with not a hint of the maudlin to be heard. In my English classes I back-to-back this song with Joni Mitchell's "Last time I saw Richard" - the "Blue" album edition (her other renditions are not as pure). I think these songs complement each other well.
I first heard this song in the mid 70's after I became interested in Harry Chapin after Cats in the Cradle came out (another goose bumper). Learning more, I discovered that the nation became aware of Harry after he performed Taxi on The Tonight Show, and the response to the performance was so overwhelming, Harry became the first, and (to my knowledge)only performer ever brought back by Carson the next night due to popular demand.
W-O-L-D is yet another classic I listen to often.
I've loved "Taxi" since I first heard it in 1972. It's been on my Zen Music Player for years, and every once in a while I think about and listen to it again. The lyrics have been stuck in my head now for days, so I've played it several times today. I found all the comments after I'd thought a long time about what a great story teller Harry Chapin was, and what a lost talent. Harry could really "paint with words" and make us see inside ourselves. At 56, I've found there are some painful truths hiding in there. Harry, we miss you, but you will always be with us when we hear your stories.
A remarkable man! Saw him live in the late 70's at the Air Force Academy - seems he left under a cloud; they told him he would never amount to anything. He put Taxi and Sue into context for the cadets-as I recall confirming Bill/Ken/Clyde's views. A tremendous inspiration--standing ovations and encores. Not what you'd expect from that audience, but he made his stories theirs!
nice lyrics... i can't fully appreciate it as i haven't lived that long. I luv cats and the cradle... my fav. as a kid and i only found out a few years ago much to my dismay it wasn't written by cat (yusuf) stevens but I like lyrics more than the music so i can get used to harry.
I too have loved this song for years. It sometimes hurts to listen to it. At 50, I have lived long enough to appreciate it. Thanks Harry.
beautiful song although I cannot fully relate. I don't live a life of regrets-I take hold and take actions and contol my life, not let my life control me. They had a choice, they made the choice. I would never have put career or other pursuits above true love. Never. But that is just me I guess and it has served me well.
Fans should check out the sequel he did of this song. 10 years farther down the road. Do your research, I can't remember the name. Its a nice next chapter to the story.
I have always loved this song. It means so much more now as I have just turned 50 and look back on my dreams and where I am now....
Bot bad but not what I thought either...
The monster inside was addiction, that was tiding him over till..
The deepest lyrics and most moving song I have ever heard, not because of the words but the thought of finding someone you might not want to find. Someone who reveals the life you don't want to see. It's so hard. Blind princess, disease. Harry's words, not mine. A friend lost to time.
So far away.
I've listened to this song hundreds of times, and each time I think of a young lady I met in the early 70's who I loved and lost. I'm in my second marriage now to a lady fifteen years younger than I who treats me like gold - just like my lady in the 70's. As a Vietnam Combat Veteran at age 62, this song still moves me like it did almost 40 years ago - God Bless Harry Chapin! We have all had a "Sue" some time in our lives.
The way I see this song is that they both left for what they thought were better things but neither attained their goals, much the same as the rest of us. I'd always thought the line in the song went "IF we'd both gotten what we'd asked for" instead of "We'd both gotten what we'd asked for". I'd thought that to mean, would they have been happier in their life if they'd acheived their goals after leaving love behind? Reading the lyrics now I believe that they'd both gotten what they'd asked for, in each other but both longed for something else not realizing what they had.
SMOKE FAT BLUNTS NIGGUHHH
I heard this song all of the time as a kid, as well as other Harry Chapin songs, but I never appreciated the lyrics until I was older. It is quite an amazing song, and as others have assesed, Harry Chapin is a great story teller. It's a shame he died the way the did. He should have been able to live longer, but I guess it was just his time. His songs are timeless and he lives on in his songs.
this is what is great about the internet. I always thought it was me being a sap but look how many people are so effected by this song. It well up every time I hear it. Obviously I am not alone. Cool. I am also 45ish and now I sing it to my daughters who are 2 1/2 and 10 monthts old. It gets me every time. Such a sweet sadness. Of course I chang the last line to "home" from stoned BUT I do "fly so high when I'm stoned. Go Harry!
I was Harry & my Sue was Tammy, mine wasn't a Dodge but a Ford. I was a 'po boy & she a rich Air Force brat. We had the "Summer Love" ala Danny & Sandy in "Grease" that ended when her dad retired & moved the family away. My interpretation of the middle verses is of love that was how a 'po boy won over a rich girl &,though a passionate love, ended unfulfilled & the lingering regret.
For me it was 35 yrs ago & still touches my emotions when I remember that summer.
Harry was a master. Compare this to someone like todays Kanye West who says he's the voice of a generation; "I ain't sayin she's a gold digga, but she ain't goin with no broke nigga.."
Yes kanye, brilliant. It's sad to say that you might just be the voice of this generation. Thank god I'm in my 50s and part of Harry's generation.
I found Harry when i was younger. His music has always pushed me to think,even when i did not want to.The
song Taxi takes some growing into,as
does all his music.A person once told
me,"an entity is not dead as long as someone remembers a part of them."
Harry is simply teaching/playing somewhere else. Thank-you Harry....
where have all the women gone?
Back then I never caught the words to the bridge in the song. Seeing them now in print even heightens my appreciation of his poetic talent. I suppose a baby is the ideal metaphor for that which is innocent in all of us . The trick is retaining that soul despite lifes many setbacks.
I first heard this song when I was 18 or 19 (I'm 55 now). I was a smart kid, but kind of a rebel, so I had decided not to go to college and was working in a skilled trade. The lyrics had a big effect on me, because I saw my future self looking too much like Harry in the song. I was still young enough to change, though. A few years later, I quit my job and put myself through school, and eventually earned my doctorate (following my inner wild-man wizard, I guess). It was the best thing I ever did.
Like Mark, 2/25, I had missed the bridge lyrics and was singing the song today and decided to look them up. Nor did I catch that "Harry" was in his thoughts and Sue expressing hers. Awesome! I heard the song and memorized a lot of the lyrics because it was good poetry and story set to music. Still lives!...
So personal to me. I recently got back together with man I lived with 33 years ago. Odly enuff after we broke up, he was a taxi driver and this is his favorite song ever. He was wrong but thought I was going to end up in big city so this was very personal to him also.
I saw Harry at Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown, Ohio back in the late 70's. He was late and came running down the aisle, guitar in hand. Put on just a great, intimate show. Taxi, of course was the highlight. I get sentimental when I hear it. The perfect song that describes the wisdom of age and a life well-lived. No regrets.
We miss you Harry !
Creative and Artistic performer. Every time I hear the song onr can experience being in the taxi with him Harry and Sue. The rain falling, the sound of the windshield wippers,the conversation is so poetic and the lyrics powerful, "You ruined your gown in the rain"
Taxi came out when I was a senior in high school, and I loved it back then when it was played a lot on the radio along with “W.O.L.D.” and “Cat’s in the cradle”. When I bought his greatest hits album I found another great song in “A better place to be”. But Taxi is, after all these years, the only song that I can sing word for word... but now more that ever it leaves my eyes swelled up. I guess it’s that years have just shot by and memories tend to have a saddening effect. In most of us there are always feelings of “if we could have had more time” and the hopes and dreams that were never realized. After all we can thank Harry’s wild man wizardry for his touching stories and reflections of life.
I drive a 70 mile round trip commute to work each day and every day last week, I played Taxi on repeat from my XM MP3 player the entire time. This song never gets old. I distinctly remember the first time I heard this song on AM radio back in 1972 when I was seven years old. I have been a Harry Chapin fan ever since. Harry inspired me to learn guitar just so I could try to play his music. Today's music isn't nearly as poetic or touching as the 1970s ballads. I have worked hard and played hard, trying never to have regrets. However, I have failed on the last point. I have a "Sue" in my past and I wish I hadn't let her go. But life goes on and I continue to do the best I can with the family that I love. I have learned to obey that wild man wizard that is hiding in me, illuminating my mind. That wizard is my conscience and God put it there. Harry, thanks for capturing some of life's most poignant teaching moments in such a poetic way.
My Dad asked me to print off the lyrics to TAXI today for him. Not only did I do that, but I pulled out a Chapin CD & a video from the Midnight Special from my collection. I'm 33 and have been drawn to this song for years. Fantasy & reality are a fine line. It is troubling to know that the perception of -what could have been- controls so many people's lives. I've seen how it has damaged my Dad and am trying to keep it from destroying me too. Like Cat's in the Cradle.
I would just like to add that this song perhaps is also about getting "closure."
I've always loved this song. Such a great song about the meaning of life and of love. One of the truly great songs to come out of the early seventies--or for that matter, from any time period.
I was packing to come home from Active Duty the week I first heard this song in late May of 1972. I remember listening in stunned disbelief, shocked at the revelations it was putting me through.
Two years later I was fortunate enough to see Chapin in person with a fan whose enthusiasm equalled my own. I rate him up there with Dylan and maybe one or two others. This song and one other by him ("Changes") turned my entire life around. No one else I ever heard could put words together like this man. And this song's story was so like my own; no one will ever know.
Indeed his "time ran out" far too soon. Where are genuises like him now? Or would they even be appreciated now? I just wonder.
I'm enjoying reading this discussion (as I LOVE this song,) and am wondering (we'll probably never know) if "Sue" went on to live her dream? He was driving past "the gate a fine-trimmed lawn." Plus, she gave him $20.00. Was she well off? Or, did she just quickly want to get out of the cab and not wait for change? (Too painful for her?) Sad song.
priscilla,
the musings about sue's life after harry reminds me of the eagle's:lying eyes (...every port of refuge has its price)
I wouldn't say that "too little smiles" is a flaw, as per Jürgen on 12/14/2008, as I think it is the sort of awkward and nostalgic thing that one might say in those circumstances.
I remember listening to this song in high school and thinking how sad it was to lose love.When I was 43 I met a guy and we both heard this while talking on the phone, found out it was our favorite and binded us as soul mates! Love you Steve!
I was packing up from college, spring, '72, when this song was poplular...it was rainy in Lincoln...and everytime I hear or play this song I am right back there. Today, a rainy spring day, it came on TrueOldies and I thought, "what is she singing?" and I googled them and here I am. Your comments blew me away. Glad I'm in good company. Peace, Harry.
My "Sue" was named Julie.
All but one of my close friends has forgotten her name with all their lives brought them.
I will NEVER (like all of you) forget the ache in my heart. I know she would hate to know it, but I still have that fantasy in my mind, heart and soul. Julie, just CALL and leave a message. I WILL call you back !
This was always one of my favortie Harry Chapin songs, and I can sing Greatest Stories Live by heart, but it really came around full circle with the release of Taxi, the Sequel. How many games do we play and how many masks do we make. Rest in Peace Harry
This has always been my favorite song, But I've yet to understand the part that she is singing, in the middle of it.
This is the most haunting, poignant song I've ever known. I first heard it in college {am now 56} & one of the reasons my then boyfriend & I fell in love was because we both loved this song. We married in 1972. Sadly, the marriage didn't last, but every time I hear "taxi", I am thrown back into that achingly simple time when the future held only promise...
This song is the summary of human emotion. A grand wrapper such as risen apes not fallen angels.
Currently, I am 44. I knew "Cats in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin and that was it. Then I met a guy much younger than I who knew tons of 70's music an introduced me to all of Harry's songs. This song and the sequel just blew me away. I sing it all the time. I can listen to Harry sing every day without batting an eyelash. I also cry a lot over that really young guy.
I'm 52, a Presbyterian minister, and a deep lover of all poetry. I used to listen to this song as I was stalling instead of studying for algebra tests in the tenth grade. That spooky, tenor/mezzo soprano part in the middle always grabbed me hard, and I had to see it printed before I could figure out the words.
Just this day, I'm back from doing yet another funeral. Chapin took on true vulnerability in those four lines, because he let go of all machismo and even expressed his truth in a feminine way. Form equals function, because the vocal pitch matches his stoned out state. (I have also spent many years as an English teacher). Getting stoned is a great way to forget about death; only, there's that paranoid "Oh my God, I'm alone on the ceiling" experience...Hey, I'm a seventies child. I went to one or two seventies parties.
I fell in love with this song when i was 7 because i thought it sounded so meaningful, now that i am 16 and i know the meaning i love it even more.
I heard this son way back in the 70's I guess it was, and didn't think about it for years. Then I heard it again on the way home from work one day, and dammed if it didn't bring back memories or my own "sue." Whose real name was Suzanne, BTW. I lost her, through no fault of hers. I'm not sorry for what I found, I love my wife dearly, but you can't help but wonder...
What if?
Such an incredible song - I can't get enough of it. Are you listening "Sue"?
I am 62 years old and remember when this song was released in the early '70's. I feel fortunate that I am still around to hear and sing these beautiful lyrics (I do karaoke). I sing it quite often and whenever I get the chance. God bless you, Harry.
Can you imagine making such an impact on the world that almost 30 years after your gone, people other than your kids remember what you said or sang! Gone but not forgotten Harry!
This song gives me goosebumps everytime I hear it. It is strange how you never know. I guess i haven't gotten exactly what I asked for, but things aren't bad either. Sure would like to bump into "Sue".
A man before and after his time.His hits will go on forever
A true classic from a great musical era....songs that reflect special moments in time!
Don't think this was mentioned in the comments, but just checked Wikipedia for more info on the song. The four lines sung in falsetto are actually from a Sylvia Plath poem. Like so many others, this song was deeply moving to me, even at 17. Yet more so now, for bittersweet reasons.
I'm 50 now and have not heard this song since the 70's. Now I think I've lived enough to appreciate it. Great song.
Saw Harry sing this song and others live in Tahoe a few weeks before he was killed. He was into feeding the homeless and sold and signed products for donations to his charity. He gave my wife a kiss on the cheek for a donation. I think anybody working for a corporation and sacrafices family relationships can feel this song...not really living your dream. But just remember as Fritz Perils said, "Its never too late to have a happy childhood." So don't dream of Sue, go and find her, you don't have to own her to live the dream!!!
I sang this song a million times through the years and replaced the Harry with Larry and my (Sue) was Tina. Kept her picture in my wallet's over 20 years. Then out of the blue she puts an ad in our old towns paper looking for me. We have been married for 6 years now! I'm 51 and the luckiest man alive. Thanks for the song Harry, God bless you and yours.
Having just gone through a seperation of 21 years of marriage, this song has suddenly really hit home. I am 47 and I guess that is the age when you look back at your life and reflect on what was, is and what could have been. This song makes you think about all those questions.
I, too, had never known what the words were in the falsetto verse. To find that they were from a Sylvia Plath poem only adds more poignancy... and also a more down-to-earth wonder about copyrights -- how was Chapin able to use that verse in his song?
I had a Sue, but her name was Heather, and it was completely my fault that I lost her. Someone I know once told me that regret is like cancer, and that he had no regrets.
I've never been able to fathom that -- my life is full of regrets about what could have been, while at the same time, I count my blessings for what IS and what I do have.
I will add one thing more -- people who say, "this song is great, but I have no regrets because I lived my life properly" can go take a flying leap at a rolling donut.
1976-I was stoned one Saturday afternoon when this song came on the radio-filling the apartment-and I felt like I was in the Taxi. When it finished I went upstairs to the apartment of the girl I was "only friends with-but more" determined to kiss her. She and I were married in 1979-our children raised on Harry and the songs of love/life from his equally poignant brother Tom.
For me the saddest part of the song is "there was not much more for us to talk about, whatever we had once was gone". Not even their regrets could fill their silence as he was turning the cab into the driveway.
I saw Harry Chapin live in 1978 when I was 18 at Ontario Place in Toronto. I didn't know how lucky I was.
32 years later and this song still gives me chills.
Was driving home on the L.I.E. the other day and Harry Chapin popped into my mind..I turn on the radio and guess what song is playing? yep..Taxi...that song still rocks from the 70"s! its a shame we lost him so early :(
The story about the one you let get away cuts deep inside and leaves an indelible matk as permanent reminder.
Harry interpreted well.
I first heard this song in the 70’s when I was about 12. My brother had the Harry Chapin single, and Taxi was the B side. I used to play it over and over. I rediscovered it last year, after 35 years or so. It is magic, beautiful, everything about it. I am a Sue, and I feel a bit like Harry’s Sue in many ways, but wouldn’t admit it to anyone.
I too have loved this song since it was first issued. I saw Harry live in the late 70s and he explained the trigger in his own life for some of the lyrics. In looking at his bio on Wikipedia, I noticed that he as a taxi driver in NYC and there was a girl from his past. The question I would have loved to ask Harry is whether Sequel was always in his plans when he wrote Taxi or did something happen that triggered the song. It seems like many of his songs are autobiographical.
I 1st heard this song in the early 70's while my life was in shambles because my "Sue" kept coming in and out of my life. When I hear this I think of her. I hope she got what she came for because I sure did.
This song is so powerful. It reminds me of other great artists like Jim Croe who, like Harry, went way before their time.
Man, I'm glad I read Dennis' first comment. I feel that I'm on the tightrope between the inner wizard - my potential - and the taxi driver. It seems so make or break. I'm studying for a doctorate and can see a bright future, but something inside me seems content on failure and mediocrity.
This is a both a poignant song for those looking back and in a way a song of warning for those that still have the potential second chance of living their dream. I better get on with it.
i just heard this song on xm radio last week for the 1st time in years. what a re-awakening! a beautiful contructed song...so haunting & moving. sad but beautiful.
What else is there to say? Harry could have been any of these people and Sue? Well she will always be Sue, no matter who she is to you. We love you Harry and remember our past lives as if it were yesterday hopefully without regret. Getting high in our own personal "taxi" and getting by one day at a time. We remember you too. RIP, Harry and thank you for your songs.
Luckily, I found my Sue and I still have her but that doesn't stop me from listening to this song everyday on my CD in my car. Thanks, Harry.
You see, she was gonna be an actress
And I was gonna learn to fly.
She took off to find the footlights,
And I took off for the sky.
...... WOW!
I started singing this out of the blue yesterday. I am 53 and remember its release it was a big sing along number like Americn Pie. I can now relate to its lyrics, my life has been good but there have been one or two regrets about what could have been
To my Aragorn:
I will always have hope.......we got what we asked for a long time ago.....
Tom - The sequel to "Taxi" is called "Sequel." So you actually did remember the title.
What a great song! It's a shame that nobody makes good music anymore; it's not that I'm getting older, but the new music really is garbage! Great lyrics (a bit surreal), clean instrumentals... I love everything about it. I have been listening to this song now for about two weeks every chance I get. It's a little sad, but very deep, like "Cat's in the Cradle". That's another great one.
A few years later Harry wrote an "answer" to Taxi. I don't remember much of it. I only heard it once or twice thirty years ago, but in it he's become a big recording star and Sue is down and out and living in a dumpy apartment. I vaguely remember he sees her on the street and gives her a ride home in his limo.
There are two songs about lost love that hit me in similar ways. The first is "Taxi", which I remember loving since I was in high school. I would wake up early to study before school, and the local radio station played it about the same time each morning. The second is Hugh Prestwood's "The Song Remembers When", as recorded by Trisha Yearwood, which reminds me of an ex-girlfriend. I hear either of these songs and my mind's back a couple decades thinking of the "what if's".
i relate to fly so high when im stoned
Oh yeah. I go flying so high when I'm stoned. Hi Sue. I still love you.
My dad used to sing this one to me as a lullybye when I was little. It still puts me to sleep and makes me cry.
It still makes me cry. It is so sad. You see the dreams of the young have to end...
Taxi was always a song that I identified with due to a particularly difficult parting of the ways with at the time, the love of my life. I saw Harry Chapin in Western NY, and after the concert, he hung around and just rapped for about a half hour with a small group of us.
Keep coming back to you, Harry, cos i just got another email from my Sue. these lyrics have been a part of most of my 59 years and will continue to be as she flits around Europe. now it's time to read Harry's "Sequel". what a poet.
FIRST HEARD THIS SONG IN 1977 AND I STILL LOVE IT TODAY.BRILLIANT LYRICS.HARRY WAS A GREAT SONGWRITER AND STORYTELLER.
Great Song...........My Dad always played this song in his car and at home when I was little. I always think of him when I hear TAXI. He has had some regrets in his life and learned lessons along the way..Like us all......
I have been in love with this song since the 70's. I have never been able to hear what sue sings though......any takers? i would really love to know. Harry, you ARE the best, even if you are no longer here. your memory will be with us forever
A classic song. All about identification. All about life's journey. We all end up where we are supposed to be. That is, where God wants us to be.
what a classic, just like the movie cassablanca !! past love's, we all think about them ! and wonder what if. ?
Always liked the song - still do. The soprano solo in the middle is what made the song popular. Few no the lyrics, but the sound is so bearutiful...
Chapin was a brilliant storyteller who was able to make the not-always-easy transition of story into music. Both Cat's in the Cradle and Taxi are superb examples of what true folk music is all about. Folk was waning at the time, and the only other song that even comes close to this level of personal sentiment would be Janis Ian's At Seventeen. We lost Chapin way too early...a great pity and a loss to everyone who can appreciate music of this kind.
"Cause I've been letting my outside tide me,
Over 'till my time, runs out"
This one line is so gorgeous and insightful - this hit the mark about a part of the human condition - no bullshit. You climbed the ladder of success, congratulations. Are you really happy up there ?
I've always enjoyed this song when I was a kid in the 70s. Then in 73 I met Sue..just like the song. She was the girl of my dreams. We dated for 5 years and were going to get married if not for her dad. He and I didn't see eye to eye so he convinced her to marry my rival. I will never forgive him and I miss the wonderful life Sue and I could have shared together. Fortunately her husband is a great guy but that is little satisfaction when I come home to en empty home. I was never able to get over her and have spent my life alone.
Harry Chapin- One of the most underated musicians/storytellers ever-and such a tragic loss. How can anyone ever top this song/story? It hasn't yet, but I know in time this song will fit me to a 'T' also...just waiting to see 'her' again...
The song is probably going to hit a soft spot for most people over 16. I'm 57 and a songwriter, so I can relate to what Harry was trying to say with this wonderful composition. Opportunities come and go. Even for those with happy lives, there are moments in the past which we would like to do over. It never happens but that's no reason to quit. The characters in the song had quit trying. They were resolved to suffering through the rest of their unfulfilled lives. Harry did not write this song to be a 'death sentence' to the dreams of people. He wrote it in a attempt to empathize with and express the broken expectations of so many people who he knew existed, but didn't know how to help. If you know someone in that condition, try to help them. All of us could turn inward to dwell on failures of the past. The strong refuse to do so. The strong look for a way to make a positive difference. That's what Harry did.
RE; the above entry:
by deborah on 10/23/2008 3:46pm
This a beautiful, poignant song, but as he said in the end "we'd both gotten what we asked for. . . . ." It is bitter-sweet and evokes both sad and happy feelings for me (to listen to and sing). To me it speaks to the acceptance of the decisions I've made over the years, that cannot be changed, and as I get older (55) I've learned you have to make the best out of life regardless of the choices you have made. Peace
Could this be my 'Sue'?
I love this song I remember it when I was in jr. high/high school.
It is about life's journey. Unfortunately my husband and I just went through a nasty period in our marriage where he had an internet fb affair with some dumb broad from his ninth grade year in school.Mind you he is 52 and he wanted to divorce me and we have been married 31 year and she has been married 32 years and they were going to give it all up over a fantasy! Now I see where he downloads this song and I know what he is thinking....time to grow up and accept your responsibilities and deal with it.
I stil love and have never stopped, oh did I tell you he treated me like #*$#$ during this last year moving into one of our spare rooms and leaving me broke!!!
when I went to college I would request this (or Sequel) from the school radio station on the Friday night call in show after a few weeks the DJ would play it without me calling in. She and I became friends because of this song.
This was my boyfriend's favorite song in 1978, when we parted ways and went to college. This song has been playing in my head lately. He actually became successful, like Sue, and I am more like Harry. I would have swore it would've been the other way around, neverless, I wonder if he is "happy".
As one young man, Kurt, 9/18/2008 stated earlier, I know exactly where I was and what I was doing when JFK was shot and when Harry was killed. I cried both times. I am now 72 and recently met my Sue (Maryann) from 50 years ago. It was true; "whatever we had once was gone". We had a nice get together, but that was all there was to it. I miss Harry terribly, there is no other like him. RIP
I probably first heard this song when I was 6 or 7 years old. I am now 39. Harry Chapin & Jim Croce are the reason I first started writing songs when I was 17. I remember putting Taxi followed by Sequel on a cassette tape & always listening to them back to back. I met my "Sue" 25 years ago & was lucky enough that through a twist of fate she came back into my life. The most beautiful part of it all is that although we never stopped loving each other, the way we found each other again just happened, it wasn't forced. I was lucky enough to get my "Sequel". Even now, whenever I go away for work, the first thing I always listen to in my car is Greatest Stories Live. Harry Chapin truly was the greatest story teller ever. Hell, without him even knowing me, he wrote my story years ago. I am so happy to see how much you all appreciate his unparalleled talents & that he will never be forgotten.
I had tickets to see Harry on the weekend after he died. I remember my wife telling me he had been killed, and I actually said to her not to joke like that. As an amateur musician, and guitarist, I was always moved and in envy of the singer/songwriter he was, and always fantasized about playing like Harry.
I was in college when this came out yet I am still taken in by the haunting truth of this amazing work of art. I have always felt that great art is born in universal truth. I wanted to 'fly' from my youth and identify with the driver. I made it but a thousand times I could have, should have, gotten lost on my way. I can only say that I was blessed. We all have a 'Sue' somewhere in our past. I know now in retrospect that my 'Sue' was one of the many potholes on the road that didn't swallow my dream. The bump sure did hurt though.
RIP Harry.
A true classic and one that "haunts" me always. I have sung it to my child at night for the past 9 years now and he absolutely loves it.....hopefully he will understand the deep meanings in it one day.
I remember the sadness that engulfed me when HC died.
When a song Of six minutes hit one in the heart, then,
in the world of art, I beleive it to be equivalent of Michelangelo's
David
Here I am a 57 year old Sue and this simple, melodic, haunting HC song still puts a knot in my stomach. Haven't seen my Harry since 1973. Tried finding him but no luck. I hope to see him one day before "my time runs out".
All of Harry Chapins songs are awesome, have listened to them since 1978, just a shame had to lose him so young!
I drove cab in the early 70's to work my way through graduate school in New York and this song still makes my eyes water.
Another sad truth about this song is the word "skying" (as in, "Baby's so high that she's skying...")is now so obsolete that it isn't even in the dictionary anymore.
Been listing to Harry since the mid 70's. Dad didn't care for 'the big black bastard kicking ass'. I've worn out CD's and had to download the songs and albums. Still have the vinyl. I miss Harry and have since 1981, July. He spoke to me with every song. ...and Mr. Tanner inside.
My girlfriend came home late last night and told me she's now seeing someone else. We'd been drifting apart for several months, so I was at peace with it and said so. A little while later the words "Another man might have been angry, another man might have been hurt..." started rattling around in my head. I guess it's a good thing I'm not other men.
early 1970's at Temple Music Fair in Maple Glen Pa. First official concert i ever experienced. I was hooked immediately and Taxi was the lynchpin!
Its late, and i've just spent the last two hours listening to "taxi" and reading all those comments. I've always liked to tell people about it. I thought it was MY secret song. Goosebumps everytime I hear it. THANKS JIM
Heard it today for the first time in 10 years..now at age 55 i finally get it.
Saw Harry do this song twice, once at a concert at the University in Scranton, PA, which included his brother, Tom Chapin. While Tom performed, Harry came and sat next to us in the bleachers...and said hello when we said hello to him. The last time I saw him was at an outside concert in Pennsylvania at an old park called Rocky Glen. He did Taxi and when he sang "she gave me twenty dollars for a two-fifty fare and said...." The crowd said: "Harry, keep the change." I will never forget that. Ever.
So many memories come flooding back when I listen to this song. Harry was one of my favorite artists during the 70's when I was enjoying raising a family with my wonderful wife Kathy. We both saw Harry at the Valley Forge Music Fair in 1975.
Since I have an hour drive to work I dug out some old CD's to listen to---Harry Chapin was the first I put in the player and I haven't taken it out in a week. What memories that fine man gave me. 30,000 lbs of bananas was, is and will always be my favorite song of all time.
Music trivia.
Two other songs about meeting an old lover in the city?
answer:
1. Still crazy after all these years
2. Another Old Lang Syne
any of you hear the reprise to this song
Been a Harry devotee for 35 years. This song is right up there with the best.
RE: "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."
Which Plath poem is this supposed to be from? I can't find it anywhere. Searching for 'skying' should bring it up, but it doesn't.
I am 57 soon and this record still hurts me. My girlfriend and I listened to Harry Chapin back in the Mid 70s and Terri, through a stupid mistake by myself, unfortunately, became my Sue. I didn't hear Taxi, or Taxi Sequel until a few years after we parted but when I did, the years pealed back and to this day, 31 years after I last saw her it still brings memories flooding back, of the times we had together. As an earlier comment mentioned, I think there's some Harry and Sue in so many of us.
I first heard this song when I was about 12 and always liked it. Now that I'm 52 I really get it! I can't believe Harry Chapin wrote this when he wasn't even 30. It seems he understood the emotions of a much older person.
Like so many other commenters, I came in search of the words to the soprano middle part. Reading the entire song, though, brought back waves of emotion and tears to my eyes, reminiscing about days long past, and what was...and what might have been. RIP Harry.
I had the good fortune to see Harry Chapin perform this at the Hollywood Bowl in 1979. The high part in the middle was actually sung by a big burly guy. I can't remember his name but he was brilliant and he sang on lots of other HC songs.
i am 54 i was forunate enough to had seen harry in atlanta ga in 74 i believe my big sister took me it was a great show it was so terrible to lose this artist at such a young age. all of his songs were great. but this is my fav. check out they call her easy
The big burly guy's name was Big John. I saw Harry Chapin in several concerts in the 70's at Ravinia in Illinois. After his concerts, Harry would come out and sit on the steps and talk about the need to feed hungry people. There has never been anyone quite like Harry Chapin. And there will never be a song quite like Taxi and the cord it strikes -- because it's more than about a lost love, it's about our lost dreams... "such a long, long time ago".
I remember seeing the performance on the Tonight Show when Carson introduced Harry to America. Even as a kid I knew this was something way out of the ordinary, and the audience reaction was truly amazing. Miss both Harry and Johnny!
My "Sue" was named Ester. I am 64, and after the too many miles, I still remember her. I went off to get an education and she went off to marry young and make babies. She was my first true love and she will always have a part of me. ai know the "wildman wizard" all to well. He was hiding in me and making me look like a "milktoast" non-manly person. Age, finances, family constraints and my on personal religious values hid my true self! The wild man "got out" and today at 64 I am an accomplished person. And yes, I do have that pilot's license as well as a college degree. I run my own business and have 4 sons. Wish she could see me now! As much as I loved(worshiped?) her, we were wrong for each other and she was wise to drop me. Regrets? Must be why I tear up every time I hear the song. I hate that I can not have the same feeling for my very good wife that I had for her---something was just lost there!
I discovered Harry Chapin some 10 years ago through an American friend. I had never heard of him in France before. All we usually get from the USA here is mostly a rather unpalatable soup of a more commecial nature. I love him, all his songs. Maybe because they're just about true life and you know what it is like when you get near 60. Can anybody tell me if there are other such singers in the Sates?
I had gotten out of the Army in April of 70. I had a female friend that introduced me to a young lady (M.B.) who was to be married that summer. M.B. and I became close friends. We spent alot of Friday nights just hanging out together. One Friday night, on the banks for Old Hickory lake, drinking some cheap wine, Taxi came on the first FM rock station in our area. As we sat on the hood of my 64 Chevy Impala, sipping wine and listening, she st up, looked at me and said that she wished she had met me some time before. We never shared a kiss, held hands - nothing. I went to her wedding and as she came in through the door, escorted by here father, she passed me and touched my hand. Yeah, I wonder now about her even though I have been married nearly 39 years.
This song is beautiful and yes it does bring me back to a time when the world had Harry Chapin. The saddest aspect of Harry's life is that on the day he died from a car accident, he was on his way to receive an AWARD for his efforts in tryin to help end world hunger. Everyone was waiting for him at the U.N. In New York, he lost his life in a car accident just minutes away from receiving his award. GOD bless Harry Chapin. He is one of my heroes in my life. Raul in Los Angeles.
listen to this as often as possible.Don't really know why because things seemed to turn out okay for me. It just makes me feel sorry for those who (get to) look back only to come up feeling empty or lost. Such a great writer, such a great loss.
Listen to Harry in "Sequel" for the rest of the story. Saw Harry at P B Scotts in Blowing Rock in the 70's. Best concert I' ve ever seen.
I'm 56 years old and lost my 'Sue' over 30 years ago...'But another man never would have let her go'...Wow. I still get weepy. Great song.
A classic that we never get tired of. It pops up every now and then and people who might not have listened to its words or understood its meaning 30 or 40 years, shake their heads now -- as we have all acted in that play.
This song really struck close to home for me. I first heard this song in the mid 90's late at night while I was driving cab. You see, I wanted to be a pilot. Kept running across old friends I knew that I hadn't seen for years. I think I was lucky that I was spared finding my "Sue". Still tears me up when I hear this song. Still too close, and never far away.
I'm 43, lost my Sue some 20 years ago. This has always been a favorite song of mine. Moves me every time, I still sing it to myself all the time. I'm very happy to see this thread keeps being visited and added to, in a way, we're keeping Harry alive. God bless Harry Chapin and rest his soul.
the part about the wildman, the wizard is about mental illness, about emotional instability. They call me free but I call me a fool.
I'm 58 years old, and my "Sue" was actually Debby. This song came out when we were high school sweethearts. She's long gone to another life, but this song captures that moment in time together and still can bring tears.....
And it's from 1972!! Man, does it stand the test of time...
This song has also been me,and so many times I still weep for myself,and others when they, for what ever the reason,have their emotions stirred the way this song story stirs them!
Absolutely love this song.I think many of us can relate to this song because we all have been there at some point.I am 43 yrs old and just wish I had seen him live.Great musician and songwriter.I own most of his records and do have some live performances on dvd which I will enjoy for years to come.Thank you all for keeping Harry and his music alive.
OK people life goes on and so should we :)
I remember this as an original and I recall the sadness of Harry's tragic and pre-mature passing. For my own life this keeps playing in my head and I think it is a beautiful musical expression and poetry. I am all about the music but if I were about words - - this one would be a top 5. Enjoy.
I always thought that I would have that taxi moment: that I would one day run into my Sue. However, I envisioned it as a happy moment where two long-ago dear friends would reminisce about times past. Then we would once again go our separate ways to our present lives and loves. That moment will never happen. She just passed away tragically. I move on with the memories of times shared - joys, tears, and all.
In 1976 Harry did a benefit concert at my high school.And I had the pleasure to sing as a backup when he sang Taxie. I will never forget that day. The song came on the radio the other day when I was driving with my kids. And told them the story and they did not believe me. I had to call my friends who I still see every now and then and were with me that day. To tell my kids that it did happen. Because of this I had my daughter make me a CD of some of my favorite songs and Taxie was # 1 on the list. I play the CD all the time and brings back great memories.Especially when things aren't going well. Try it. It's great therapy.I was also very saddend to hear of Harry's Passing.
Harry Chap in has been one of my favs for nearly 40 years now. He was the master! Though I knew Taxi by heart forever it seems never could understand the words in the falsetto portion. Clarity at last! Taxi has it all, serendipity, irony, and the self loathing shown in the last line. Cathartic stuff. If you like Taxi, check out A Better Place to Be, another Chap in classic
Such a touching story about 2 people who fell short of their dreams.
One of the greatest songs of all-time seems to have touched so many peoples lives in different ways. That is what sets TAXI apart from other songs. Harry Chapin's legacy lives on and this shows the great love & respect people have for him and his music. Reading the comments and seeing the emotion Harry inspires is quite touching.
For Tazzilli looking for other american style artists, I would suggest she check out the works of Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, John Prine,Gordon Lightfoot& Jim Croce
I think the best part of Harry Chapin's music, or that of any singer-songwriter for that matter, is that the older one gets; the more one can understand the meaning behind the words that are sung.
I'm sure that nearly everyone has had a Sue in their past. My Sue is someone I have known for 4 years now. I love her with all of my heart, but I feel as if it might all be in vain. I'm 25 and she's 26 with a kid from some guy who left her while she was pregnant. And it seems like no matter how close we may get, there's a barrier she puts up, and I can't get any closer. It is so painful, but I stick around hoping that she might one day see how much I love her.
I've heard this song many times over the years and wondered about my "Sue".Even though I'm now married, it always brought me back there when I heard this song. I found her on Facebook and we got together for lunch. I have to say, it is the best thing I've ever done. My "Sue" turned out to be a total screwed-up mess....now I can enjoy the song and not think of her anymore.
As a singer I have always understood the impact of this song on an audience but in the last 10 years as so many others have said before me I now get it for myself. No one that has lived doesn’t have regrets, anyone who say they don’t is either lying to themselves or is not capable of looking inwards and seeing mistakes. This song forces an introspective view that most of us would avoid, but Harry would not let us turn away. And once done you are better for it. Thank You Harry! RIP you will always be remembered. And Kurt you are a very lucky Man.
After listening to this song for many years, I am 50 now; I finally looked up the lyrics and realized how powerful and sad the lyrics are to me. My Sue was a beautiful red hair freckled face 15 year old girl and I was one year younger. We had an amazing summer together that I would not trade for any other blessing in my life. While I did not stay in touch with my first love, I do know she had a turbulent life with many marriages, so in my case no regrets, but my heart still aches for her, I am not sure why. Thank you Harry for capturing life in such a beautiful song.
I'm 62 now and I actually forgot a few lines from Harry's emotionally powerful song. I just had to visit and fill in the gap. Now I can continue to hear the song in my head from start to finish as I cut the lawn! Thank you Harry. Your lyrics are perfect and will endure forever. They describe life in so many ways.
I can relate about the getting stoned part!:-)
The song speaks for it self. It was a song that stuck to me from the day it came out.
Back in the 1970's artists told a story in their songs. They don't do that anymore and it's a lost art. Harry Chapin was one of the Greatest Songwriter's and his loss is a loss for the world.
Simply and to sum all of the comments above, thank you Harry for making us be in touch with our emotions and helping us live our lives. May you rest in peace!
I am "Sue", hoping to finally have my "Harry" (Charlie)come back for me.
Listen to Taxi&Sequel 14mins on Youtube. He finds Sue 10yrs later and what a story. Only the way Harry Chapin could sing/tell it. Good luck and God's speed Susie.
The continuous stream of posts since the lyrics of Taxi were uploaded to this site are a testament to the resonance this song/poem.
I have not seen my "Harry" in over 30 years, but we have connected on FB, if only to send a message on our birthdays. Very sweet. He asked me to listen to this song - I guess he thought it was our story. First love - he never appreciated what he had with me until it was gone.
Well, it's good to know that having that "Sue" or "Harry" in one's past isn't an isolated thing. This (and so many of Chapin's songs) speak universal truths, that is why they are so timeless.
I have a couple of 'Sues' in my youth, and I have regretted losing them all my life.
I'm 67 now, but love will burn eternally in the spirit, even when the body is old and failing.
So many comments and so many lives touched. My youth was spent with the comfort of listening to Harry. A friend who found a way of weaving life's truths, sorrows and joys into a tapestry of song. Who could ever forget him, Taxi and so many other masterpieces will live forever.
Be sure to listen to the "Sequel" Harry Chapin wrote to this song! I scanned the board, and did not see that anyone has mentioned it.
Like many others I have a Sue in my life. I still love u Lulu.
I heard this song for the first time when Harry was on the Johny Carson show and I was 16. That was 1972 and that song is still burned into my soul. And yes, it does make me tear up for a lost time and life. mine
Speaking of other Harry songs, listen to WOLD. Nothing as good as Taxi, ever. Though this one makes you stop and think you're old when you're in your 20s. That's all I got to say.
All of my Sue's have left me better off in some way (wiser if nothing else) than when they found me. Call me Lucky. And thanks Harry.
Don't know why Harry had to leave so soon. Never saw him concert wish I did.I'm 50 yo now.So many powerfu songs which I love.Maybe it's better when we don't touch our dreams Harry. RIP.
My brother performed this song in the Mr. Wesleyan Pageant back in college at IWU in 1979/80. I sang the "Baby's so High" part for him. All the rest of the contestants performed ridiculous acts. Keith was so nervous, but was determined to sing Taxi, his favorite song, in the talent part of the show. He was 21/22 at the time. Now at 55, a successful farmer/family man in Illinois, I hope he doesn't feel like Harry or Sue. He's always been a winner in my eyes. Love ya, Big Brother!
I saw Harry in concert twice in Central Park, NYC. He was fantastic. He always dedicated at least one song to the people sitting outside the open air stadium or as he called them "the cheap seats". He is missed.
I've loved this song since I first heard it 41 yrs ago at age 18. It's a damn shame Harry was killed in that wreck at age 39, I guess it's true that the good die young.
I fell in love with a taxi driver named S A . He turned out to be a horrible person, and I was smart enough not to marry him.
Love that was lost, regrets from years ago. Have often wondered what ever happened to all those beautiful women that I was so dam lucky to have crossed my path. If I could go back knowing what I know today, would I. You bet I would
Sequel was indeed a wonderful follow up to taxi, Ironic that it was the last album I believe that he put out before his untimely passing. Miss you harry. You talked about feelings like no other and for that I will always listen to you.
Oh yea, like Segar said "I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then." Not so much regret, but wonderings of what might have been. A lovely song with a bittersweet message.
I was honored to be Harry's lighting designer for the Taxi and Cat's tours. His summer home in Andover, NJ was also only a half mile from my house.
I think of him every day and miss him.
I'm 69 and I choke up a little every time I hear it... My son chokes up whenever he hears Cat's in the Cradle... Chapin was a gift... still think of you when I hear this song, Em/Kay/Fran/Liz
Love this song. A few years back, I found "Harry". Visited, reconnected for a bit, and was reminded that things do happen for a reason. The wonderful vision in my mind over all the years turned out to be a guy who has become a player, a homeless guy who strings women along to get his own needs met. Love the one you're with, folks, and leave the past where it belongs.
I've been listening to this song off and on for decades, but not really focusing on it. I finally listened and pondered the lyrics fully -- just last week. Wow, what an impact.
This song was an anthem for me and my college roommates. We couldn't remember the molecular weight of hydrogen but we knew all the lyrics. One of the guys was a huge tough defensive lineman and he would get teary eyed when we played it. I'm 60 and every time I hear taxi I get transported back to 1972 and a ratty dorm room with my friends. It's beyond nostalgic; its surreal.
This song has so much truth to it, it hurts by hitting the truth we can all relate to in our lives. I knew a Sue in College, who I really liked, but it was not meant to be. Now, at age 62 and dying from A.L.S., I am taken back to the 70s. I did not realize then how lucky I was to have the energy and health I had. R.I.P. HARRY
yes as we go through life i think we all go through harry and sue it happen to me after 30 years my heart fluttered as i talked to her,we talked for hours in to night all i said is 30 years i made i mistake and inthink she knew i left that nite with a tear in my eye
My mom turned me on to Harry Chapin when I was a kid in the mid seventies. I have been a fan ever since. He is one of the greatest songwriters ever, and mentioning him in an off hand comment got me laid one night a few years back. Over the years my favorite song by him changes, but I always come back to the one that hooked me.
Was privileged to attend many concerts across the states.
His songs are timeless!
Harry could always count on the cheap seats!!
Taxi and WOLD both speak to me as no other songs really do. Taxi, because I, too, knew a 'Sue' in college who aspired to be an actress and I wanted learn to fly. I do not know if she ever fulfilled her dream, but I, ultimately, did. I became a pilot and have been flying for 40+ years. I also was a taxi driver for a while. WOLD speaks to me because I also worked as a radio DJ for some time back in the '80s. Harry was such an incredible story teller. All of his songs touch so many of us in many different ways and for so many different reasons. Harry, indeed, left us too soon. You are greatly missed Harry. RIP.
Love this song. I grew up in the 70's and used to listen to his Greatest Stories Live cassette all the time. He's someone who has never gotten the credit for how great he truly was, but his music will remain timeless as long as we keep passing it on to others. Great music transcends generations. RIP Harry
I've always enjoyed this song. Now that I'm 60, I enjoy it even more. It reminds me of the only woman I've ever loved. I met her the first day entering high school. I was a sophomore and she was a junior. I was shy when it came to woman and she was wild. I've never fallen out of love with this woman. Not a day has passed that I haven't thought of her since graduation. Unfortunately my love for her became an obsession. She soon had to marry and there was nothing I could do. No other woman has possessed me such as she.
I saw Harry in 1977 in a small amphitheater in Evansville Indiana. Magnificent. Used to sing along with my kids to 30,000 lbs of bananas! Taxi shows the true talent Harry shared with us. Listened to it today...a few times. Thanks Harry. Miss you .
This song still makes me cry. The first woman you fell in love with and
what might have been. And we all have
our flaws...I miss my Sue and wish
things were different...but we are
different people now.
I still love her..I can't help that.
Harry was taken from us much too soon. I still tear up whenever I hear this song. Life never turns out quite like we think it will.
This song has so many great memories for me. My dad use to sing this song to me every night when I was a kid. There's video of my when I was about 4 singing it. I use to ask him to sing rain hard (that's what I thought the name was). When I got married in 2007 I knew that would be my "wedding march" song. I walked down the aisle to this song. I'm 28 now and have a 3 month old daughter and my dad sings this song to her to put her to sleep. I looked up the lyrics to refresh my memory and I realized there was a lot my dad left out, especially the " makin' love in the back of a dodge" part! Not many people my age know this song, but i love it.
Maybe because it was your first true love or maybe because it didn't work out like you would have liked or maybe because you still think about her often... Whatever it is this song brings it all back. Those feelings that you want to feel but can't stand when you do. I remember when she broke it off and said "Maybe if we had met in a few years" and I said I don't think so... After 38 years i still wish I had said something different....
Tugs along with a melody that suddenly explodes with a bridge for the ages. ''I've got something inside me...'' Now this my friends, is the essence of what a singer-songwriter strives for. This masterpiece has been a nagging ear worm in my head for over 40 years. Expressed as musical soliloquies since my Seventh grade discovery. My list of 10 greatest contemporary compositions include Taxi.
Harry played a concert at our college. Wasn't a fan, almost didn't go. Phenomenal concert and when he sang "Taxi" - still gives me goose bumps when I hear it. It was mesmerizing. Such poetic lyrics painting a vivid picture. R.I.P Harry C. you left us too soon.
Sigh... all these beautiful posts make me misty-eyed and literally transported to the show at The Joint in the Woods where Harry blew us all away that night-thanks to you all I'm really there with Harry again, Taxi the masterpiece and everyone in attendance touched by the master poet forever. RIP good sir, thank you for the gifts. Peace.
Just heard this song today on the radio in VA after not having listened to it for well over a decade. A rush of memories came flooding in - saw him perform it live at Maria Regina Diocesan High School on L.I. in '76 in that school's beautiful auditorium. Maybe each of us eventually gets we ask for - in one manner or another.
This song hits hard. I actually dated a Sue my first great love she went off to college I started smoking weed with my friends not long after we went our separate ways and I think of her till this day and what could have been.
I still get a tear in my eye every time I hear this song. I was working in NYC the day he died and wish to this day I had seen him in concert. What a wonderful song writer, musician, and above all person. Hope to see you some day at a concert in the sky!
At 68 I rediscovered this song, after Sue passed permanently. Could not contact her and had not spoken for many years. Tried and failed 3 years ago, again a few months ago. Very painful, and very permanent time to have missed. Good comments on this board.
miss you, mike - my harry
A sad ending to an endearing icon of a man. Imagine what might have been had he not been so tragically taken from us. What he left were songs and writings that peered deep into the souls of many of his fans. A fantastic artist to be sure!
What a Beautiful Song............I had a few Sue's in my Life when I was Younger. One or Two that were very Special and taught Me what Love is. It's ironic that I Married a Sweet Girl named Sue, She is the 3rd Time I fell in Love. And We been Together 34 Years now. I am very Blessed........And I Love Her too much to ever give Her up for a girl I used to Love. James C.
The man was a story teller supreme,a great talent and a tireless worker against world hunger. Saw him on two occasions in his London concerts .He left an impression on me with his stories ,which I have passed on to my children .The world lost a great man when Harry went .Sadly his songs remind us all of events in our own lives and lines linger even now ......If I answer at all I will lie That classic line.....could have been penned for all politicians wherever they might be .
Great song by a fantastic artist. CATS IN THE CRADLE really comes home to me and pretty much describes how I was raised. But Taxi has a lot of meaning and I think about the words a lot.
It made me sick to hear he got killed in an auto accident. Did you know that he did many benefit concerts? One heckuva guy I was fortunate to talk to him twice.
My dad was pretty involved with me but I made sure I didn't "Cats-in-the-Cradle" my son as I raised him. I have a great wife so I didn't pull a 'Taxi'. Thank you Harry for some wisdom.
The inspiration for Sue (Claire) died yesterday. I've been singing the song to myself all day.
Saw Harry 2 or 3 times at Landmark Theatre in Syracuse My older brother turned me on to him when I was 13 Great shows Great songs
This cats playing basketball screw the cradle
I was reunited with "Sue" after 35 years. No fine trimmed lawns, no nice house. Just the same girl that I knew all those years before.
This is not a song, but rather a short story about how things sometimes don't work out.
This is my go-to lullaby for my son, who is almost two years old. It's soft, gentle, long, memorable — and in a register that I can still sing at my age. If the definition of poetry includes verbal economy, this is one of the greats of American poetry.
I remember this song in my high school days. Now in my 60's I look back at all the fond and bitter-sweet moments over the years......fortunately for me my high school sweetheart Sue (Cheryl) and I were able to re-connect many years later and I have lived the dream for over 30 years now. The song is still touching to this day...…...Yes we all visit the question "what if" I say keep dreaming and dreams do come true.....