Garden Party (1972)

Garden Party (1972) Lyrics

Garden Party Artist: Ricky NelsonI went to a garden party to reminisce with my old friendsA chance to share old memories and play our songs againWhen I got to the garden party, they all knew my nameNo one recognized me, I didn't look the sameCHORUSBut it's all right now, I learned my lesson well.You see, ya can't please everyone, so ya got to please yourself People came from miles around, everyone was thereYoko brought her walrus, there was magic in the air'n' over in the corner, much to my surpriseMr. Hughes hid in Dylan's shoes wearing his disguiseCHORUSlott-in-dah-dah-dah, lot-in-dah-dah-dahPlayed them all the old songs, thought that's why they cameNo one heard the music, we didn't look the sameI said hello to "Mary Lou", she belongs to meWhen I sang a song about a honky-tonk, it was time to leaveCHORUSlot-dah-dah-dah (lot-dah-dah-dah)lot-in-dah-dah-dahSomeone opened up a closet door and out stepped Johnny B. GoodePlaying guitar like a-ringin' a bell and lookin' like he shouldIf you gotta play at garden parties, I wish you a lotta luckBut if memories were all I sang, I rather drive a truckCHORUSlot-dah-dah-dah (lot-dah-dah-dah)lot-in-dah-dah-dah'n' it's all right now, learned my lesson wellYou see, ya can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself.In October 1971 Rick was invited to play in a reunion show at Madison Square Garden, alongside such early rock luminaries as Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Richard and others. By this time his hair had grown shoulder length and he was heavily into the country rock genre. When he mixed in new material with his old music, the audience began to boo. Whether it was really their reaction to their idol's new look and sound, or, as one report states, ". . . there were reports that police were in the back moving people out, and in the political spirit of the early 70's the crowd was actually booing the police activity," Rick felt the crowd was booing him. He wrote about the experience: "I went to a garden party to reminisce with my old friends / A chance to share old memories and play our songs again. / When I got to the garden party, they all knew my name / No one recognized me, I didn't look the same."Rick realized at that point that he had to be true to himself. Hence the chorus of the song: "I learned my lesson well. You see, you can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself.""Garden Party" was pounced on by the pundits and dissected unmercifully. Some clues were obvious. For instance, "Yoko brought her walrus"--John Lennon and Yoko Ono were at the concert. Lennon, of course, was responsible for the Beatles song "I Am The Walrus."The lyric you ask about, "Mr. Hughes hid in Dylan's shoes wearing his disguise," is more difficult to interpret, but I finally found it for you. ""Mr Hughes" isn't Howard Hughes, as most people think, but refers to George Harrison, the ex-Beatle. Rick Nelson was good friends and next-door neighbor to Harrison, and was also a good friend of Bob Dylan. "Mr. Hughes" was the alias Harrison used while traveling, and "hid in Dylan's shoes" apparently refers to an album of Bob Dylan covers Harrison was planning that never came to fruition. "Wearing his disguise" is more obscure, but presumably had something to do with Harrison's habit of traveling incognito.