Little Boxes

Little Boxes is the title of a 1962 written by the singer-songwriter and political activist Malvina Reynolds song. It initially became known especially by Pete Seeger, who used it in many concerts and recordings. The song describes and caricatured the conformity of the American middle class.

Origin

Buildings or houses of Daly City Malvina Reynolds served as an inspiration, which is no longer clear which part of Daly City provided the inspiration. Nancy Reynolds, daughter of Malvina Reynolds, commented in this regard as follows:

"My mother and my father drove from San Francisco coming through Daly City when my mother got the idea for a song. She asked my father to take over the control and wrote the song on the way to La Honda where she had a performance for the "Friends Committee on Legislation ." As time ( or maybe it was Newsweek ) wanted a photo of the exact location, she could this because of many new buildings no longer make. "

A book about the architecture in Westlake, a suburb of Daly City, refers in its title to the song: Little Boxes: The Architecture of a Classic Midcentury Suburb

The coined in the song phrase " ticky tacky ", alluding to the monotonous, uncreative and always the same construction of the suburban homes, was in the 60s in the U.S. a popular phrase.

Recordings

Malvina Reynolds published the song in 1962. The folk musicians Pete Seeger took the song to his repertoire. In a performance at Carnegie Hall on June 8, 1963 recording was created. This live recording was released in early 1964 as a single and entered the U.S. charts. It was his only hit single. Through him, the song was also known internationally. Another version adopted in the same year The Women Folk, a female folk band, on junior with producer Perry Botkin. They also reached the charts and is 1 minute and 2 seconds in length, the shortest recording that was ever on the Billboard Hot 100. For them it was the only chart hit.

The U.S. television series Weeds Little Boxes used in seasons 1-3 and 8 in both their bias and in their credits. From the second season, the song was interpreted by various artists.

2012, the song in England by Sniffy Dog with singer Adrienne boot was re-recorded for a commercial. In this version of the song also reached the UK charts for the first time.

Swell

• Lyrics and information about various artists and recordings
• Death Note by Malvina Reynolds in Time Magazine