- Mister Can't You See
-
"Mister Can't You See" Song by Buffy Sainte-Marie Released 1972 Genre Folk Length 3:19 Label Vanguard Records Writer Mickey Newbury
Townes Van ZandtProducer Norbert Putnam
Buffy Sainte-Marie"Mister Can't You See" is a song written by Mickey Newbury and Townes Van Zandt that first appeared on Newbury's 1968 debut album Harlequin Melodies. Newbury's original version was slow and dominated by strings and a very simple drumbeat, with his voice telling a tale of nature's power and beauty. The actual title of the song comes from the line "can't you see the river flowing".
"Mister Can't You see" is best known, however, as recorded by Buffy Sainte-Marie on her 1972 album Moonshot, where it was the final track and second single.
Owing to a major promotional campaign by Vanguard Records, eager to make up for losses incurred with past Sainte-Marie albums, the label promoted the single vigorously and as a result it became Sainte-Marie's only single or album to reach the Top 75 on Billboard. It peaked at #38 on the Pop Singles chart and #29 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Sainte-Marie's version is much shorter than Newbury's original and is more straight-ahead rock with the Memphis Horns especially prominent.
Studio albums It's My Way! (1964) • Many a Mile (1965) • Little Wheel Spin and Spin (1966) • Fire & Fleet & Candlelight (1967) • I'm Gonna Be a Country Girl Again (1968) • Illuminations (1969) • She Used to Wanna Be a Ballerina (1971) • Moonshot (1972) • Quiet Places (1973) • Buffy (1974) • Changing Woman (1975) • Sweet America (1976) • Coincidence and Likely Stories (1992) • Running for the Drum (2009)Compilations The Best of Buffy Sainte-Marie (1970) • The Best of Buffy Sainte-Marie Vol. 2 (1971) • Native North American Child: An Odyssey (1974) • The Best of the Vanguard Years (2003)Songs "Universal Soldier" • "Now That the Buffalo's Gone" • "Until It's Time for You to Go" • "Cod'ine" • "My Country 'Tis of Thy People You're Dying" • "Mister Can't You See" • "Up Where We Belong"Related Categories:- Buffy Sainte-Marie songs
- Songs written by Mickey Newbury
- 1972 songs
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.