Richard Clapton - Capricorn Dancer Reaction

In this video we're listening to another one from Richard Clapton. We've only just started getting to know this artist's music, but we're intrigued. He really knows how to play with the lyrics, and tell a story. We can't wait to hear more. Enjoy!

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[RedRedGuitars-nqgs]

Always takes me back to the first time I came to Australia (originally from Southern Cal.) when I was on my 1977 surfing pilgrimage. I was beguiled by the country enough to return in 1979 for the purpose of reliving the experience. I also met a fine lady from Melbourne that I would later marry. Been living in Australia ever since. Thank you for reacting to this gem.

[JontyBlue]

Love, love, love this. Grew up listening to Richard Clapton and was lucky enough to catch a live show in Sydney in the 90's.
Thank you for the video and reaction 🤩.

[alanstrom]

I grew up on The Northern Beaches of Sydney in the 60's/ 70's & 80's and Richard Clapton's music is a major part of the soundtrack to my life.
Richard is one of Australia' greatest song writers.
His lyrics paint a picture of Australian life and shared experiences.

I had the pleasure of meeting him down at Bondi Junction one day, a few years ago.
He was going to the Apple store to buy something.
I saw him standing at the traffic lights, waiting to cross.
Nobody else recognised him but me.
I called out 'Richard", he spun around and greeted me.
He was very approachable and great to talk with.

His nick name is "Ralph" given to him by Molly Meldrum, who was a Music TV show host of COUNT DOWN, music journalist and talent spotter and music producer.
So when I was leaving our chance meeting I said "See ya Ralph" and his face lit up with a huge grin.

He has a multitude of great songs.
"I am an Island"
"Deepwater"
"Dark Spaces"
"Goodbye Tiger"
"Girls on the Avenue"
"Down in the Lucky Country"
"High Society"
"Suit Yourself"
"Get Back to the Shelter"

[notanotherenigma]

The Tropic of Capricorn passes through Australia, it is the point where the Earth's tilt is at its lowest, giving us here in Australia longer days and shorter nights. It is our Summer Solstice and your Winter solstice, meaning your shortest days and longest nights.

As for the song, i grew up listening to Clapton, so to me he is very familiar, and comforting.

[ButtonPhonics]

As an Aussie, 25 years an expat, we love Richard Clapton.. and take pleasure in relating to this silky dreamy tune - despite the negative comments below - Australian music through the 70s and 80s was tremendous (as was British music) and even better when you were there!

[stevefoulston]

Clapton's mother was a nurse who died when he was ten; his father was a doctor who died in 2004.Clapton has pterygiums and his eye surgeon recommended he wear dark glasses. Clapton met Susie, a fashion model, in the mid-1980s. They married and had a set of twins. In March 2008 he appeared on ABC-TV's Talking Heads where he told Peter Thompson about his early life. He described the impact of his mother's erratic lifestyle prior to her suicide when he was ten; he then met his father for the first time and was enrolled in a private boarding school: "My mother was sort of the antithesis of my father, because she had always aspired to... more the Bohemian artistic side of life" and "it was a bit of a shock when my father came to collect me... we just never got on. It was a fiery clash from the very start. My father obviously wanted me to become a doctor or some similar sort of career". Peace out.

[elizabeth_catches_waves]

''Horse riding on Australian beaches?''.. Sure can! But mainly done in New South Wales. The horse riding scenes you see there I believe is from a 1976 movie called Highway One, which was shot on Belongil Beach in Byron Bay. Like LiveItUp, I also rode a horse along a beach after a surf. It's bloody awesome.. So's this song! 🏄‍♀

[iankearns]

I am a Capricorn, just turned 60 on December 30. The missus organised a party for me on January 11 as the last party I had was when I was 21. A very long time ago as no one is ever about around my birthday. A bad time to be born smack between Xmas and New Years.
I always liked this song, Richard Clapton is very underrated even here in Australia.
If you haven't already have a listen to Girls on the Avenue or I am an Island. Both great tunes.

[MrParksies]

Love this song. Cool Summer memories from listening to this.

[australianbananapie]

Oh wow, now that's a blast from the past! Richard Clapton's like me. He's of Irish and Chinese make-up. Teehee! Very nice song. Been a while since I heard. 😎

[I_was_a_Countdown_Kid--]

Clapton was referring to the Tropic of Capricorn, which is quite significant at this time of the year in Australia; though it mostly passes through Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland.
''Capricorn Dancer'' is a song for all of yesterday's summers. Very much of the 70's time period.
I did do a bit of horse riding with Gillian and some friends back in the 80's and early 90's when we were spending time in some beach town in New South Wales. We were young and free and happy to live a bit of a rustic existence.
Cheers,
Hayley

[alanstrom]

"I've been through the desert on a Horse with no name, it felt good to be out of the rain."

[sean---the-other-one]

There’s a murder mystery linked to this.
The song was written as part of a soundtrack for Australia’s first feature length surf documentary called Highway One. It featured a few surfers and their girlfriends. The blonde girl riding the horse you see is only a teenager and a few years after this disappeared after attending a party or dance in coastal New South Wales. It sparked a huge search but she was never found, assumed murdered.

The name Capricorn Dancer is the horse he’s writing about riding along a beach.

Richard was a hugely popular singer songwriter back in this era. Whilst Don Walker from Cold Chisel is fantastic at writing from the viewpoint of the ordinary guy or blue-collar worker, and Paul Kelly is a storyteller, Richard used to be able to capture snapshots of life from the viewpoint of the kids of the time. Nightlife, holiday destinations, young love, those were Richard’s strengths as a poet.
I love some of the imagery of riding a horse alongside the glittering ocean.
“Diamonds scattered out to sea
The sun keeps laughing down on me
This crazy horse is trying to chase the wind”

Side note. Richard Clapton is a stage name he took from his heroes Keith Richard’s and Eric Clapton. His real name and age are things he’s tried hard to hide.

[monaromark]

Yes, I rode horses on the beach when I was young. It's good fun.
Rode them at Mile High Ranch, at Cape Shank on the Mornington Peninsula. It's near Melbourne Australia.
The songs an old classic feelgood summer song for us.

[liveitup]

Hayley and I rode horses along a beach when we were teens/twenties.
I don't know if it's a thing in Australia, but we knew people that also did it...
Richard Clapton is half-Irish/half-Chinese. He found out his father was a Chinese business man after his mother passed away when he was in his teens.

Love this song! So calming! 🐕

[barbararees]

I'm a Cappy, 6th of January and always thought this was my song, cos I've been dancing all my life, even before I could walk, according to my parents. But only became a professional belly dancer for 10 years, although I tried almost everything else. 😅
But the song is more about being near the tropic of Capricorn and the dance of the surfers on the waves. 💞

[wayne_twentyfive]

I must admit I've never seen Richard live, which he had a reputation for being very good . But for his recorded songs, I really only love "Girls On The Avenue" ( a true classic ! ) .. I very much like "I Am An Island" .. And "Deep Water" and this one are both quite pleasant numbers .. But there wasn't much else of his that I can honestly say stuck in my head.

[babyboomer]

Pleasant! I noticed that New Year's Day falls on the 'Who Did It Better?' Wednesday. I thought to celebrate the new year, you might like to compare Kool & The Gang's 'Celebration' to Dragon's OTP cover in 1988.

[Paul-pldl]

If you didn't realize Capricorn Dancer was the name of the horse within the song and just saw one of the comments mile high ranch that's going back some time wow

[kaitlynbatt_]

I used to ride horses at Shoalhaven in 78/79.. Around the time this song was popular. ''Capricorn Dancer'' came out in the summer of 76/77, and Gerry Rafferty got fame as a solo artist in 78. I don't think Richard Clapton took anything from Rafferty, but he might have taken inspiration from Van Morrison.. maybe. This song is still so chill...