It may sound a little uninspired, but I’m posting this because it’s the night of the 4th May. Not the strongest of themes, but this is a really great song. Read on.
Al Stewart isn’t all that well known in 2020, but he is intricately woven into the fabric of British folk-rock music, starting in the mid-Sixties, when he rented a flat in London with Paul Simon. He played the first ever Glastonbury and he’s recorded with Jimmy Page and Rick Wakeman, amongst others. Year Of The Cat is his most famous song, but Al has 16 albums of material to his name. Starting out as a folksinger, he developed a unique style that weaves complex tales of characters and events from history.
This song, however, is presumably autobiographical. The album it comes from, Orange, was written after a breakup with his girlfriend and muse, Mandi. The night in question was the 4th May, 1969, when Al and Mandi attended at party at the home of John Martyn. What transpired is self-evident in the lyrics, but it’s an unsual story for a pop song and the choppy, open E of the main riff and the tumultuous, tumbling chord changes make this a bit of an emotional rollercoaster ride. No one is quite sure how they feel and it’s all so beautifully complicated.