Podcasts TV Light On Light Through A Conversation with Linda Kaplan Thaler

A Conversation with Linda Kaplan Thaler

Published: Sept. 16, 2015, 3:15 a.m.

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Welcome to\\xa0Light\\xa0On\\xa0Light\\xa0Through, Episode 103,\\xa0in which I interview Linda Kaplan Thaler. \\xa0Linda and I wrote a bunch of songs in the late 1960s, including "Not Yet Ready to Say Goodbye," which appears on my 1972 Twice Upon a Rhyme\\xa0album, mentioned from time to time on this podcast. Linda went on to write the world-famous, iconic "Toys R Us" jingle in 1983 ("I Don\'t Wanna Grow Up, I\'m a Toys R US Kid"), mastermind the Aflac Duck campaign nearly two decades later, and work on the political campaigns of both Bill and Hillary Clinton. \\xa0She has also co-written four books, including The Power of Nice, and the recently published Grit to Great. \\xa0We discuss all of this and more on the podcast.

You can get Grit to Great here.

photo GritToGreat_zpsc0c9cxwa.jpg

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\\xa0Other helpful links -

Lyrics to songs in the podcast -

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SKYSCRAPER

words by Paul Levinson

music by Linda Kaplan

1968

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Skyscraper

nestled in the quiet vapor

of the clouds

above the crowds

that teem and dream

below you

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Skyscraper

set against the pastel paper

of the sky

I wish that I

could see those colors

glow too

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(bridge)

Wonder what you see

Looking down at me

Wonder who I am

Wonder what I\'ll be?

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Skyscraper

dressed up in the sparkling drapery

of night, it\'s always bright

outside for you

always new

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(bridge)

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NOT YET READY TO SAY GOODBYE

Words by Paul Levinson

Music by Linda Kaplan

1968

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Things been getting\\u2019 worse, lately

Been lovin\\u2019 in reverse, lately

Almost time to say we\\u2019ve had our fill

Seems from here the road is all downhill

Don\\u2019t you believe it girl, we\\u2019ve something still

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(chorus)

Hey, we\\u2019re not yet ready to say goodbye

\\u201cSure gonna miss you\\u201d just won\\u2019t get by

Goodbye don\\u2019t make it

We can\\u2019t forsake it

We\\u2019re not yet ready to say goodbye

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Life\\u2019s been down on us, lately

Been causin\\u2019 quite a fuss, lately

Breakin\\u2019 up would be the simple cure

But the treatment would be mighty poor

Long empty evenings never feelin\\u2019 quite sure

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(chorus)

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(bridge)

Can\\u2019t say so long \\u2013 it\\u2019s been so long

Can\\u2019t say that\\u2019s all \\u2013 \\u2018cause that\\u2019s all wrong

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(chorus)

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A PIECE OF THE RAINBOW

Words by Paul Levinson

Music by Linda Kaplan

1968

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A piece of the rainbow

fell to the ground and burst into colors

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And I picked up a piece of the rainbow

A pretty little star

I put you in a jar

so I could watch you grow

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And I brought home the piece of the rainbow

Enchanted little elf

I put you on my shelf

And hoped that you would glow

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And I watched you every day

And you slowly turned to gray

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And I picked up my piece of the rainbow

And tossed you back to the sky

And waved a last goodbye

I had to let you go

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CLOUDY SUNDAY

Words by Paul Levinson

Music by Peter Rosenthal

1968

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Cloudy Sunday

I wake to find you gone

Cloudy Sunday

The bed I sleep upon

is strangely smooth and white

Touched only by me and the empty night

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Cloudy Sunday

A fog upon my brain

Cloudy Sunday

condenses into rain

and tears begin to swell

but you couldn\'t tell that I loved you well

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So we loved each other in passing

But I\'ll keep searching for something more lasting

Like the poet looking

for the once in a lifetime rhyme

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Cloudy Sunday

I glimpse a distant form

Cloudy Sunday

I sense that she is warm

but question what I feel \\u2013

reflection of me or something more real?

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Cloudy Sunday

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