SWEET CAROLINE
NEIL DIAMOND
SONGWRITER: NEIL DIAMOND
COUNTRY: U.S.A.
ALBUM: SWEET CAROLINE
LABEL: AMERICA SOUND STUDIO
GENRE: SOFT ROCK
YEAR: 1969
"Sweet Caroline" is a song written and performed by
American recording artist Neil Diamond and officially released on September 16, 1969, as a single with the title "Sweet Caroline (Good Times
Never Seemed So Good)". It was arranged by Charles
Calello, and recorded at American Sound Studio in Memphis,
Tennessee.
The song reached #4 on the Billboard chart and eventually went platinum for sales of
one million singles.
In the autumn of 1969, Diamond performed "Sweet Caroline" on
several television shows. It later reached #8 on the UK singles chart in 1971.
In a 2007 interview, Diamond stated the inspiration for his song was John F.
Kennedy's daughter, Caroline, who was
eleven years old at the time it was released. Diamond sang the song to her at
her 50th birthday celebration in 2007. On December 21, 2011, in an interview on
CBS's The Early Show, Diamond said
that a magazine cover photo of Caroline Kennedy as a young child on a horse
with her parents in the background created an image in his mind, and the rest
of the song came together about five years after seeing the picture. However,
in 2014 Diamond said the song was about his then-wife Marsha, but he needed a
three-syllable name to fit the melody.
The song has proven to be enduringly popular, and as of November 2014
has sold over two million digital downloads in the United States.
Where
it began
I
can't begin to knowing
But
then I know
It's
growing strong
Was
in the spring
And
spring became the summer
Who'd
have believed
You'd
come along
Hands,
touching hands
Reaching
out
Touching
me
Touching
you
Sweet
Caroline
Good
times never seemed so good
I've
been inclined
To
believe they never would
But
now I
Look
at the night
And
it don't seem so lonely
We
fill it up with only two
And
when I hurt
Hurting
runs off my shoulders
How
can I hurt when I'm with you
Warm,
touching warm
Reaching
out
Touching
me
Touching
you
Sweet
Caroline
Good
times never seemed so good
I've
been inclined
To
believe they never would
Sweet
Caroline
Good
times never seemed so good
Sweet
Caroline
I
believe they never could
Sweet
Caroline