Background
The song was first released on Neil's second album, 1966's self-titled Fred Neil. It was composed towards the end of the session, after Neil had become anxious to wrap the album so he could return to his home in Miami, Florida. Manager Herb Cohen promised that if Neil wrote and recorded a final track, he could go. "Everybody's Talkin'", recorded in one take, was the result.
Toby Creswell of 1001 Songs noted that the song had parallels to Neil's later life—like the hero of the Midnight Cowboy, he looked "for fame to match his talents, discover that success in his profession isn't all its cracked up to be" and wanted to retreat. Five years later, Neil permanently fulfilled the promise of the speaker in the song, rejecting fame to live the rest of his life in relative obscurity "where the sun keeps shining / Thru' the pouring rain" in his home in Coconut Grove.
Read more about this topic: Everybody's Talkin'
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