Janis Ian wrote “Some People’s Lives” as a tribute to her friend
Clip: 5/22/2025 | 3m 2sVideo has Closed Captions
Janis Ian wrote “Some People’s Lives” with songwriter Kye Fleming.
Janis Ian wrote “Some People’s Lives” with songwriter Kye Fleming, inspired by a restaurant owner they were friends with named Mary, who felt that she had not contributed anything to the world. They presented this song to Mary to show her how she had made an impact.
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Support for American Masters is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, AARP, Rosalind P. Walter Foundation, Judith and Burton Resnick, Blanche and Hayward Cirker Charitable Lead Annuity Trust, Koo...
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Janis Ian wrote “Some People’s Lives” as a tribute to her friend
Clip: 5/22/2025 | 3m 2sVideo has Closed Captions
Janis Ian wrote “Some People’s Lives” with songwriter Kye Fleming, inspired by a restaurant owner they were friends with named Mary, who felt that she had not contributed anything to the world. They presented this song to Mary to show her how she had made an impact.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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How do today’s masters create their art? Each episode an artist reveals how they brought their creative work to life. Hear from artists across disciplines, like actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, singer-songwriter Jewel, author Min Jin Lee, and more on our podcast "American Masters: Creative Spark."Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship- I was writing with Don Schlitz.
MCA was his company.
And he said, "They're sending Janis Ian here to write with a few people."
And he said, "Would you like to meet her?"
And I said, yeah, of course.
- If you're a songwriter, you know Janis Ian.
If you're a songwriter, you know the integrity of her writing.
And so the opportunity to sit in a room with this woman and co-write with her was an honor.
- Janis's friend, her name was Mary, she had a restaurant called Options.
And we would go there for lunch every day.
And wasn't doing well.
Tough business.
- [Janis] We walked in one day and Mary was really down and I said, what's wrong?
And she said, "I'm gonna lose the restaurant.
"Why should I stay alive, man, "I'm not doing anything in the world."
- She started talking about committing suicide and I knew that Janis and I were both feeling the same thing.
It was like, what do we do here?
- [Janis] We said, the usual platitudes.
And she said, "No, no.
It's different for you."
Whether you have children or not.
Your work's gonna live.
But I haven't left a mark.
- What do you say after that?
What did we need to say to Mary?
(guitar music) - I was sitting there with a guitar and I said, man, some people's lives just, I don't know, some people's lives just run down.
And Kai said, "Some people's lives run down like clocks."
♪ Some people's lives ♪ ♪ Run down like clocks ♪ ♪ One day they stop ♪ ♪ That's all they've got ♪ ♪ Some lives wear out ♪ ♪ Like old tennis shoes ♪ ♪ No one can use ♪ ♪ It's sad but it's true ♪ ♪ Didn't anybody tell them ♪ ♪ Didn't anybody see ♪ ♪ Didn't anybody love them ♪ ♪ Like you love me ♪ - We were looking for this clincher that we just hadn't found.
And one day we were driving down the interstate and it just popped in.
♪ Some people's lives ♪ ♪ Are as cold as their lips ♪ ♪ They just need to be kissed ♪
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Preview: 6/20/2025 | 2m 30s | Trace the life and music of “Society’s Child” folk icon and LGBTQ+ advocate Janis Ian. (2m 30s)
How Janis Ian wrote “Society’s Child”
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Clip: 5/22/2025 | 1m 10s | Janis Ian was inspired to write “Society’s Child” after observing an interracial couple on her bus. (1m 10s)
Why Janis Ian’s song “At Seventeen” was so universally beloved
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Clip: 5/22/2025 | 2m 5s | Janis Ian’s song “At Seventeen” spoke to audiences of all kinds and had a universal relevance. (2m 5s)
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Support for American Masters is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, AARP, Rosalind P. Walter Foundation, Judith and Burton Resnick, Blanche and Hayward Cirker Charitable Lead Annuity Trust, Koo...