Anticipation – Carly Simon | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#13) & Adult Contemporary (#3); 1972
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
It’s hard to believe that the stunningly attractive, long-legged Carly Simon suffered from stuttering, agoraphobia, and deep doubts about her beauty. Yet, suffer she did, for most of her growing-up years.
At older sister Lucy’s insistence, the two stepped into the limelight at Greenwich Village’s Bitter End, a move which led to two albums – as the Simon Sisters – and a single, Winkin’, Blinkin’ And Nod, that reached #73 in 1964.
Carly spent the end of the 1960’s in a depressed state: singing demos, recording commercial jingles, and generally getting nowhere. She even recorded a Dylan-revised version of Baby Let Me Follow You Down with members of The Band that went unreleased.
Signed to Elektra in 1970, Carly hit the charts with That’s The Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be and Anticipation, and won the 1971 Best New Artist Grammy.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Carly Simon
Lyrics Written by:
- Paul Samwell-Smith
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).