Safe in My Garden
| "Safe in My Garden" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Mamas and the Papas | ||||
| from the album The Papas & The Mamas | ||||
| B-side | "Too Late" | |||
| Released | 1968 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Recorded | 1968 | |||
| Genre | Folk rock | |||
| Length | 3:10 | |||
| Label | Dunhill | |||
| Writer(s) | John Phillips | |||
| Producer(s) | Lou Adler | |||
| The Mamas and the Papas chronology | ||||
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"Safe in My Garden" is a song written by John Phillips, and recorded by The Mamas and the Papas. The single was briefly in the Top 100 pop chart in the United States. AllMusic.com calls the song "One of the group's finest latter-day records."[1]
The Mamas and the Papas
The Mamas and the Papas recorded "Safe in My Garden" as an A-side single, and it is on their final LP, The Papas & The Mamas (1968). The lyrics refer to protests, police brutality, and a world-weariness about the 1960s, in particular the Sunset Strip Riots.[1] Despite the actual lyrics, the music is classic "Laurel Canyon" folk music, and has been described as "this bucolic, happy song."[2]
Well-known for their singers' harmonies, this is an especially beautiful example of how the Mamas and Papas blended their voices by "layering vocal lines over and under each other that almost breaks your heart."[3] Despite reaching the Top Pop 100, as a "lead single" at the time, it was considered a failure for the band, leading to widespread rumors they were breaking up.[citation needed] However, since then, it has been included in virtually every one of their later compilation LPs and CDs, including Greatest Hits (1998), The Singles+, and All the Leaves Are Brown (both 2001).[1] In 2014, the Knoxville News called the song number three out of the "Ten essential songs that everyone should hear."[3]
Other recordings
The song was also recorded in Swedish, as "En dag i juni", with lyrics by Britt Lindeborg. The Family Four recorded the song as a B-side for the single Kör långsamt (Cab Driver), released in November 1968.[4] and on the 1969 album Kör långsamt.[5] With these lyrics, the song was recorded by Thorleifs, releasing it as a single in 1973[6] and on the 1974 album with the same name[7] The Swedish-language lyrics have an environmental-political message, tackling mankind 's ways of dealing with planet Earth.[8]
Charts
| Chart (1968) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| The Billboard Hot 100 | 53[9] |
References
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