"Twelve Thirty" John Phillips (1967)
The Mamas and Papas last big hit, launched in Australia in October 1967, but it only reached position 20 on the charts. However, the popularity of its chorus "Young girls are coming to the canyon" (Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles) has made it a long time favourite from that era.

Click here for a full chronology on the band.
The four of them had moved to LA in 1965. Signed to Dunhill Records via Barry McGuire in late 1965, singing California Dreaming. At the time John and Michelle were living in Canadian Denny Doherty's house.


I used to live in New York City
Everything there was dark and dirty
Outside my window was a steeple
With a clock that always said twelve thirty

Chorus
Young girls are coming to the canyon
And in the mornings I can see them walking
I can no longer keep my blinds drawn
And I can't keep myself from talking

At first so strange to feel so friendly
To say good morning and really mean it
To feel these changes happening in me
But not to notice till I feel it

Chorus
Young girls are coming to the canyon
And in the mornings I can see them walking
I can no longer keep my blinds drawn
And I can't keep myself from talking

Cloudy waters cast no reflection
Images of beauty lie there stagnant
Vibrations bounce in no direction
And lie there shattered into fragments

Chorus (fadeout)
Young girls are coming to the canyon
(Young girls are in the canyon)
And in the mornings I can see them walking
(In the mornings I can see them walking)
I can no longer keep my blinds drawn
(Can no longer keep my blinds drawn)
And I can't keep myself from talking