@@corycostanzo8710 Ellis Island was only one immigration processing center out of many. There was no requirement to enter the US there. You're trying to justify pulling the ladder up behind your own ancestors and it's wrong. I will engage with you no further.
Knowing that my Irish relatives once passed through the New York harbor makes this song touch me so deeply. How much they unknowingly gave me could never be measured...
Outstanding! Thanks so much for uploading this. If this doesn't give you goosebumps, maybe you are not of an age to remember how great and welcoming this Country once was : (
This is so moving...great song by a great singer and musician but its the pictures which make me feel so humble..the look of hope and anticipation on the faces of the newly arrived immigrants ...those photos are so poignant...wonder if any of the youngest children are still alive...face in a picture never ages though does it...well done for posting thanks
On this day in 1975 {February 13th} Neil Sedaka recorded "The Immigrant" at the Clover Recording Studios in Hollywood, California; the song was dedicated to John Lennon and his difficulties with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service... One month later on March 23rd the song would enter Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #83; seven weeks later on May 11th it would peak at #22 {for 2 weeks} and it stayed on the chart for 10 weeks... And on May 4th, 1975 it reached #1 {for 1 week} on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Tracks chart... On the day he recorded "The Immigrant" his preceding release, "Laughter in the Rain", was at #16 on the Top 100, just under three weeks earlier it had peaked at #1 {for 1 week}... "Laughter in the Rain" was the second of his three #1 records; the other two were "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" for 2 weeks in 1962 and "Bad Blood" for 3 weeks in 1975...
This song is powerful beyond words. All my grandparents came through Ellis Island from Northern Italy, desperate for a better life. My maternal nonna more than commented that "there is no place like here", and even when she would return from her many trips back to the old country, she said she wanted to "kiss the ground" when she returned to the USA.
Thank you so much for this. A poignant day to watch this video done to a song that was dedicated to and written about John Lennon and his struggles to immigrate to this country. I could only imagine that my grandparents could be on one of those photos.
Neil Sedaka's least 'popular' song is his opus. A masterpiece. Among my favourite songs EVER! It gets truer by the year in more and more countries. "To find they've closed the door. They don't want him any more. There isn't any more to go around" ...
I luv this song... some of my ancestors came from Europe Canada .. some of my ancestors were already here--native Americans.. all of their DNA is in me
Loved it then and even more now. First heard the song not by Neil Sedaka but by a group playing the piece in a nightclub, and never forgot how it moved me.
I remember this song well when I was 16 back in 1976 when this song was on the radio. There was a huge influx of Cambodian refugees who were fleeing from a ruthless dictator. I loved this song and I well remember the impact it had on me. I remember a restaurant I worked at in Texas had the rich benefit of hiring the former chef of the former Cambodian emperor. I also remember the political debate too. In Texas at least I know that many of the refugees were given by our government: housing & vehicles. I think that most Americans felt that as long as those who came to country did it legally, were willing to work and were willing to assimilate themselves were WELCOMED and assimilated into our country. Things are a bit different now because of the difficulty of vetting terrorists, those who are coming into the country illegally and those who refuse to assimilate. If we could solve these 3 basic issues the world would see that we are still compassionate and desire to uphold the creed of which the Statue of Liberty stands for.
This give me goose bumps. Cannot imagine what it must have been like for all those immigrants coming to a new land, not knowing what waited for them. Glad they came!
@speedviper47. True. 👍 what is even more risky and "dangerous" for them is that they came here taking the chance that maybe they would never see the old country again ... the land of their fathers and past generations for centuries. They came to stay.
A beautiful song dedicated to John Lennon by Neil Sedaka. I always loved it because of that, and also it makes me think of my grandparents and dad who also were immigrants so very long ago......I miss them all : (((((
With all that's happened this last week, this is incredibly relevant. Although it's been years since I've heard it, its been going over and over in my mind.
we are all immigrants to AMERICA! even the Native Americans who migrated from both europe & asia during the ice ages, some black folk got a free ride to America on slave ships but they 2 are immigrants & our relatives, as we all migrated out of AFRICA & India... peace to all the immigrants of AMERICA!... PEACE to AMERICA!
This is what America was about. I myself am a immigrant who went to Australia. No hand outs but the rewards were there. So I can feel these lyrics. My bucket list is to sail from Southampton to New York on the Queen Mary 🏴🇦🇺🇺🇸
i had this record on a 45 when it first came out, played it over and over and over. i loved this beautiful song and it's beautiful message. but those were immigrants, not refugees, nor terrorists. praise JESUS CHRIST. JESUS IS GOD!! Make America Great Again.
I loved this song in 1975. I listen to it today with slightly more mixed feelings, understanding the issues surrounding immigration to the New World (then and now) far better than I did when I was 13. But I still love this song. :-]
That's true. My great grandfather was a stow away on a ship from Germany. His last name was Weis, and he changed it to White so he could get a job. So that is a German name in our family. He was found in the ship's cargo area.
The last research I did revealed that DNA testing of FN people show no connection to Europe or any other location. Results did show interbred trace DNA however, an aspect was revealed that is only found here, on this land. Though it became mixed over time with other DNA, their base DNA is local only.
There's a marked difference between immigration and exploration/benevolence-grounded colonization. If our forefathers had been immigrants, they would have been far more dependency-minded. However, they brought their work ethic and dreams of the progress that freedom could make possible and set out to get along when they could and nevertheless manufacture that progress because they had no choice, whatever the cost of survival. There was literally nowhere else for them to go once they arrived here. And as it happened, their efforts did cause this nation to survive, thrive and conquer the imaginative fears of the world. This nation's founders were not immigrants and neither are you and I.
Neil wrote this song for John Lennon. At the time, paranoid Hoover and Tricky Dicky Nixon @ others were harrasing John for being a Peace Nick and wanting to help make this a better world. They didn't like people who dared to shake up the Status Quo. In the end, The Blue Meanies lost and Peace won!
And on that note, it was the children of these immigrants who went on to redeem Europe in WWII. Thank you, Europe for our culture, much of our brain power and our ultimate victory over the Axis. You were given the freedom of choice in this country and you excelled - as Amercians. I spend a lot of time in Europe and in so doing have discovered that we are they and they are we. The differences are so infinitesimal so as to be meaningless in a crisis. We MUST always support each other.
Now he arrives with his hopes and his heart set on miracles. Come to marry his fortune with a hand full of promises. To find they’ve closed the door, They don’t want him anymore. “There isn’t anymore to go around.” There was a time when strangers were welcome here ...
Back then they wanted to be Americans. They didn't want to make America like their old country. They learned English, they assimilated . They became Americans not ,- American .
Can you imagine how crowded Europe would be today if millions of their poor did not move to North America. All Europe and all modern day Americans should thank Britain for being the most successful colonisers the world has ever seen. There is a reason Americans speak English and not German, Polish, Italian,Yiddish or Russian.
The video was amazing. Oh how i long for people to love and care about people again. What have we become? I love this county and what it stands for.I love OUR president. I hate racisim in any form, Look at the faces. We all did not come from here. WAIT! i have some american indain in me, so ty to the indians for forgiving us. Now is a time to forgive and move on.Let peace begin with you! Our country's founder did not have this in mind. We will lose our great nation if we dont stop hate!
American citizenship is the single greatest gift in all of time that a common man could ever receive. It truly is a pearl of great price. I'm Canadian, and as good as it is here, I still envy you. I still wish I was one of your number. The question now is, as you approach 350 millions, how many more can you take; 30 million, 100 million, 300 million? What is the breaking point? And what rules will govern the process. Take care good people.
Well, given that the song is dedicated to John Lennon (something that you would know if you just googled the title of the song), I guess I would say that it is true.
If you are old enough to remember the first wave--or to have parents who could--, then you will be aware that those immigrants were mainly empathetically-minded Europeans who harbored the same deep love of freedom that imbued our founding Europe-derived fathers. That is, the Western mindset inspired and drove that first nation-refining influx of immigrants-the ones this song celebrates. The current unstanched flow from the wounds that pock-mark the Middle East and its African environs--notice the continent of Asia is for the most part not urging its poor nor other citizens into mass emigration mode--; the current devil-may-care law-ignoring push of those immigrants has far less to do with being Here and conforming to a 'better life' than simply getting out of There at whatever the cost. So, I applaud the recognition in this song of the decline of the awareness of the stronger Sitz-im-Leben that described the initial quest to be in the same boat as are we Americans who actually desire to work to make a better life, and warn against the current millions who simply want to float along in a life preserver. I dare say that a theoretical second wave of non-Muslim European immigration would be, as it was, in dire contrast to the current situation, and would to me actually be a welcome relief.
Nice to have it back. I see no connection to today's illegal immigration problem except for those who "conveniently" try to force such a connection. Notice in the photo essay ALL of these people are screened by the authorities BEFORE they are allowed entry. Ellis Island is NOT the Rio Grande, a boatload of Cubans or Haitians sneaking in or anything else clandestine or ILLEGAL. The United States should apply the same rules that governed the past European migrations to this country.
I must point out that the images in the slide show are clearly of LEGAL immigrants. The Arizona law addresses illegal immigrants. That is an essential distinction which many people can't or choose not to recognize. Immigration is one of the great strengths of America. Strangers should always be "welcome here". But only those who respect our nation and people, and who do not flout our laws and violate our sovereignty.
This song was the song of my 6th grade graduation. love it. now I am 51yrs now
Wow that's good. When was that? heheh
1976
This song holds more significance now more than ever before!!
True... Let's tweet this one to our moronic president.
BACK THEN WE ALL CAME LEGALLY
@@corycostanzo8710 Back then, if you arrived & were healthy, you were allowed to stay.
@@SoozBeez however back then we all did it the right way by way of Ellis island 🏝
@@corycostanzo8710 Ellis Island was only one immigration processing center out of many. There was no requirement to enter the US there. You're trying to justify pulling the ladder up behind your own ancestors and it's wrong. I will engage with you no further.
I love this song.... one of the few that make me cry
Knowing that my Irish relatives once passed through the New York harbor makes this song touch me so deeply. How much they unknowingly gave me could never be measured...
Outstanding! Thanks so much for uploading this. If this doesn't give you goosebumps, maybe you are not of an age to remember how great and welcoming this Country once was : (
Heard an interview where Sedaka said he wrote The Immigrant about John Lennon.
Great song
It’s true
It was dedicated by Neil Sedaka to John Lennon but the lyrics were actually written by Phil Cody and were about his Italian father entering America.
This is so moving...great song by a great singer and musician but its the pictures which make me feel so humble..the look of hope and anticipation on the faces of the newly arrived immigrants ...those photos are so poignant...wonder if any of the youngest children are still alive...face in a picture never ages though does it...well done for posting
thanks
This song is absolutely unique. Mesmerizing. I've just got to stop and listen, every time I hear it. So proud of you, Neil, my yidisha musical friend!
thanks for posting this. this has always been my favourite sedaka song but your photos are amazing.
thanks again, susie
On this day in 1975 {February 13th} Neil Sedaka recorded "The Immigrant" at the Clover Recording Studios in Hollywood, California; the song was dedicated to John Lennon and his difficulties with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service...
One month later on March 23rd the song would enter Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #83; seven weeks later on May 11th it would peak at #22 {for 2 weeks} and it stayed on the chart for 10 weeks...
And on May 4th, 1975 it reached #1 {for 1 week} on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Tracks chart...
On the day he recorded "The Immigrant" his preceding release, "Laughter in the Rain", was at #16 on the Top 100, just under three weeks earlier it had peaked at #1 {for 1 week}...
"Laughter in the Rain" was the second of his three #1 records; the other two were "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" for 2 weeks in 1962 and "Bad Blood" for 3 weeks in 1975...
You are probably proud of your stupid comments. Go find somewhere else to flaunt your ideas. Try Donald Trump!!
The above comments were made for the special message to Star Star. Wonder where that idiot came from??
Obviously, you are proud of being a hateful ignoramus. Enjoy.
Fantastic imagery for this song - makes it even better!
This song is powerful beyond words. All my grandparents came through Ellis Island from Northern Italy, desperate for a better life. My maternal nonna more than commented that "there is no place like here", and even when she would return from her many trips back to the old country, she said she wanted to "kiss the ground" when she returned to the USA.
This song still brings tears to my eyes.
My dad arrived in New York from England on the Gypsum Queen Cargo Ship then caught a train to Toronto ,Canada (thanks Dad)
I keep coming back to get my "fix" of this slide show and song. Again, Brilliantly done !
I can never get enough of this song. Great one.
Thank you so much for this. A poignant day to watch this video done to a song that was dedicated to and written about John Lennon and his struggles to immigrate to this country. I could only imagine that my grandparents could be on one of those photos.
This awesome classic gem was dedicated to the Late John Lennon this classic gem scored itself a million seller! God bless!
Neil Sedaka's least 'popular' song is his opus. A masterpiece. Among my favourite songs EVER! It gets truer by the year in more and more countries. "To find they've closed the door. They don't want him any more. There isn't any more to go around" ...
Please feel free to use this film for your class project. Cheers DCW
I luv this song... some of my ancestors came from Europe Canada .. some of my ancestors were already here--native Americans.. all of their DNA is in me
This man is a legend. This song is significant all over the world. Happy 80 th Birthday Mr Sedaka .Live long
Loved it then and even more now. First heard the song not by Neil Sedaka but by a group playing the piece in a nightclub, and never forgot how it moved me.
Love this song, brings back memories of summer '75 for me. Thanks for posting.
Never, in the forty-five years since he wrote and recorded this, has this song been as important and topical as it is today.
SO poignant. Makes me ferklempt. Thank you Neil Sedaka (music) and Phil Cody (lyrics).
Great song. And in light of the current political scene and certain ideas being spouted, a timely message.
Thank you
I so totally agree.
I agree. I have always loved this song. I was around 17 when it came out, not realizing then, how strangely prophetic it was.
I remember this song well when I was 16 back in 1976 when this song was on the radio. There was a huge influx of Cambodian refugees who were fleeing from a ruthless dictator. I loved this song and I well remember the impact it had on me. I remember a restaurant I worked at in Texas had the rich benefit of hiring the former chef of the former Cambodian emperor. I also remember the political debate too. In Texas at least I know that many of the refugees were given by our government: housing & vehicles. I think that most Americans felt that as long as those who came to country did it legally, were willing to work and were willing to assimilate themselves were WELCOMED and assimilated into our country. Things are a bit different now because of the difficulty of vetting terrorists, those who are coming into the country illegally and those who refuse to assimilate. If we could solve these 3 basic issues the world would see that we are still compassionate and desire to uphold the creed of which the Statue of Liberty stands for.
This give me goose bumps. Cannot imagine what it must have been like for all those immigrants coming to a new land, not knowing what waited for them. Glad they came!
@speedviper47. True. 👍 what is even more risky and "dangerous" for them is that they came here taking the chance that maybe they would never see the old country again ... the land of their fathers and past generations for centuries. They came to stay.
Simply outstanding! Music is awesome, video is exceptional.
A beautiful song dedicated to John Lennon by Neil Sedaka. I always loved it because of that, and also it makes me think of my grandparents and dad who also were immigrants so very long ago......I miss them all : (((((
With all that's happened this last week, this is incredibly relevant. Although it's been years since I've heard it, its been going over and over in my mind.
Thanks for your positive feedback. Glad you enjoyed the film.
we are all immigrants to AMERICA! even the Native Americans who migrated from both europe & asia during the ice ages, some black folk got a free ride to America on slave ships but they 2 are immigrants & our relatives, as we all migrated out of AFRICA & India...
peace to all the immigrants of AMERICA!... PEACE to AMERICA!
There was a time strangers came here to become Americans.
This song still gives me a lump in my throat and still loving and listening to it in June 2020.
This is a great song. THanks for putting this up. I have missed it.
Wow....Excellent show !!
This song is about John Lennon.
What a beautiful tribute Mr. Sedaka!
i have been wanting to know what song this was for years thank you soo much @dcwfilm you are awesome xx
Thanks @craigs1001 its good to know that people are enjoying this film and music.
Always my favorite of his many great songs
Thank you for your comment. Positive feedback is always appreciated.
I think of my maternal Grandparents and paternal Grandmother who came here at the turn of the century.They came and made something out of their lives
Ditto to D Berube's comment from 2 years ago, "This song holds more significance now more than ever before!!"
Yes. For reasons known only to me, I cry every time.
I LOVE this song.... thankyou for uploading it ~
Captivating and intriguing images to capture the mood of the song...thanks for sharing!
This is what America was about. I myself am a immigrant who went to Australia. No hand outs but the rewards were there. So I can feel these lyrics. My bucket list is to sail from Southampton to New York on the Queen Mary 🏴🇦🇺🇺🇸
Nice job on this vid!
Thanks craigs1001 glad you enjoyed the film and music.
If you are listening to this, you must email, or whatever app, send it your friends and relatives. We can only survive as the nation of nations.
Awesome job! Love the song, and it fit perfectly.
He dedicated it to John Lennon, so I heard.
Neil wrote this for John Lennon during his green card problems .......miss ol Johnny Ace
The whole Sedaka's Back lp was great. All the songs told interesting stories.
i had this record on a 45 when it first came out, played it over and over and over. i loved this beautiful song and it's beautiful message. but those were immigrants, not refugees, nor terrorists. praise JESUS CHRIST. JESUS IS GOD!! Make America Great Again.
Also... GREAT images. A citation as to source would be nice...
Heartbreakingly beautiful.
There was a time when strangers were welcome here.........
I loved this song in 1975. I listen to it today with slightly more mixed feelings, understanding the issues surrounding immigration to the New World (then and now) far better than I did when I was 13. But I still love this song. :-]
We are all Immigrants unless you are a full blooded American Indian....
That's true. My great grandfather was a stow away on a ship from Germany. His last name was Weis, and he changed it to White so he could get a job. So that is a German name in our family. He was found in the ship's cargo area.
They are immigrants as well with their DNA traceable to Asia.
Native Americans are immigrants too! The entire human race is...
The last research I did revealed that DNA testing of FN people show no connection to Europe or any other location. Results did show interbred trace DNA however, an aspect was revealed that is only found here, on this land. Though it became mixed over time with other DNA, their base DNA is local only.
There's a marked difference between immigration and exploration/benevolence-grounded colonization. If our forefathers had been immigrants, they would have been far more dependency-minded. However, they brought their work ethic and dreams of the progress that freedom could make possible and set out to get along when they could and nevertheless manufacture that progress because they had no choice, whatever the cost of survival. There was literally nowhere else for them to go once they arrived here. And as it happened, their efforts did cause this nation to survive, thrive and conquer the imaginative fears of the world. This nation's founders were not immigrants and neither are you and I.
Someone RE RELEASE this please.
awesome
Neil wrote this song for John Lennon. At the time, paranoid Hoover and Tricky Dicky Nixon @ others were harrasing John for being a Peace Nick and wanting to help make this a better world. They didn't like people who dared to shake up the Status Quo. In the end, The Blue Meanies lost and Peace won!
And on that note, it was the children of these immigrants who went on to redeem Europe in WWII. Thank you, Europe for our culture, much of our brain power and our ultimate victory over the Axis. You were given the freedom of choice in this country and you excelled - as Amercians. I spend a lot of time in Europe and in so doing have discovered that we are they and they are we. The differences are so infinitesimal so as to be meaningless in a crisis. We MUST always support each other.
Now he arrives with his hopes and his heart set on miracles.
Come to marry his fortune with a hand full of promises.
To find they’ve closed the door,
They don’t want him anymore.
“There isn’t anymore to go around.”
There was a time when strangers were welcome here ...
Back then they wanted to be Americans. They didn't want to make America like their old country. They learned English, they assimilated . They became Americans not ,- American .
A Masterpiece without equal
Hi @trishpcooper yes please use it as well if it is of use to your class.
This song Neil Sedaka, wrote it to John Lennon, in suport to his strugle to get the greend card
@dcwfilm can I use it too? I have a documentary on the statue of liberty and it's perfect
so symbolic of what is happening in europe..
Superb !
A beautiful song written for a beautiful person-John Lennon
i tried to do this but it wasnt this good nice job
there was a time when strangers were welcome here
Can you imagine how crowded Europe would be today if millions of their poor did not move to North America. All Europe and all modern day Americans should thank Britain for being the most successful colonisers the world has ever seen. There is a reason Americans speak English and not German, Polish, Italian,Yiddish or Russian.
I think that this was dedicated to George Harrison, as he was banned from the US due to a drug charge in some European country
It was written for john lennon
Wrong Beetle, right charge.
When will this man get into the R+R Hall of Fame?
pertinent in 2014
The video was amazing. Oh how i long for people to love and care about people again. What have we become? I love this county and what it stands for.I love OUR president. I hate racisim in any form, Look at the faces. We all did not come from here. WAIT! i have some american indain in me, so ty to the indians for forgiving us. Now is a time to forgive and move on.Let peace begin with you! Our country's founder did not have this in mind. We will lose our great nation if we dont stop hate!
"To find they closed the door; they don't want you anymore. There isn't anymore to go around." The motto of Trump and his deplorables.
This should be played in front of Congress. And every morning before our current president had his breakfast
Same here, Bro.
Dedicated to pete ellis and vanessa ellis kooleros
Empty Garden-Johnny
Trump would be nothing if these immigrants did, t make the USA so great
Illegal immigrants? try reality for once snowflake .
Part of him would be in Germany, and part in Scotland. As he would say, "Very unfair!" :)
American citizenship is the single greatest gift in all of time that a common man could ever receive. It truly is a pearl of great price. I'm Canadian, and as good as it is here, I still envy you. I still wish I was one of your number. The question now is, as you approach 350 millions, how many more can you take; 30 million, 100 million, 300 million? What is the breaking point? And what rules will govern the process. Take care good people.
Trump is still nothing!
I understand that Mr. Sedaka wrote this song as empathy to John Lennon. Please let me know if anyone knows if this true.
Well, given that the song is dedicated to John Lennon (something that you would know if you just googled the title of the song), I guess I would say that it is true.
Just wanting to know if anyone else had heard this. Don't be so condescending, Mr. Parker. It wasn't a contest.
Love it! Always have - always will!
DCWFILM, How can I reach you about showing this clip for a class project?
جداً رووووعة
If you are old enough to remember the first wave--or to have parents who could--, then you will be aware that those immigrants were mainly empathetically-minded Europeans who harbored the same deep love of freedom that imbued our founding Europe-derived fathers. That is, the Western mindset inspired and drove that first nation-refining influx of immigrants-the ones this song celebrates. The current unstanched flow from the wounds that pock-mark the Middle East and its African environs--notice the continent of Asia is for the most part not urging its poor nor other citizens into mass emigration mode--; the current devil-may-care law-ignoring push of those immigrants has far less to do with being Here and conforming to a 'better life' than simply getting out of There at whatever the cost. So, I applaud the recognition in this song of the decline of the awareness of the stronger Sitz-im-Leben that described the initial quest to be in the same boat as are we Americans who actually desire to work to make a better life, and warn against the current millions who simply want to float along in a life preserver. I dare say that a theoretical second wave of non-Muslim European immigration would be, as it was, in dire contrast to the current situation, and would to me actually be a welcome relief.
those immigrant ts were different poor folk who served as Cannon fodder in these useless wars !!!!
Take that Donald Trump!!!!!
HELL YES!!!
Viva America together
Beautiful song and concept. But now it's terrorists being allowed in illegally and not just good families looking for a better life.
Nice to have it back. I see no connection to today's illegal immigration problem except for those who "conveniently" try to force such a connection. Notice in the photo essay ALL of these people are screened by the authorities BEFORE they are allowed entry. Ellis Island is NOT the Rio Grande, a boatload of Cubans or Haitians sneaking in or anything else clandestine or ILLEGAL. The United States should apply the same rules that governed the past European migrations to this country.
Brill....
I must point out that the images in the slide show are clearly of LEGAL immigrants. The Arizona law addresses illegal immigrants. That is an essential distinction which many people can't or choose not to recognize. Immigration is one of the great strengths of America. Strangers should always be "welcome here". But only those who respect our nation and people, and who do not flout our laws and violate our sovereignty.
But they where legal immigrants.