Stewart's music career began in 1962 when he took up busking with a harmonica. In 1963, he joined The Dimensions as a harmonica player and vocalist. In 1964, Stewart joined Long John Baldry and the All Stars before moving to the Jeff Beck Group in 1967. Joining Faces in 1969, he also maintained a solo career releasing his debut album that year. Stewart's early albums were a fusion of rock, folk music, soul music, and R&B. His third album, 1971's Every Picture Tells a Story, was his breakthrough, topping the charts in the UK, US, Canada and Australia, as did its ballad "Maggie May". His 1972 follow-up album, Never a Dull Moment, also reached number one in the UK and Australia, while going top three in the US and Canada. Its single, "You Wear It Well", topped the chart in the UK and was a moderate hit elsewhere.
After Stewart had a handful more UK top ten hits, the Faces broke up in 1975. Stewart's next few hit singles were ballads with "Sailing", off the 1975 UK and Australian number-one album, Atlantic Crossing, becoming a hit in the UK and the Netherlands (number one), Germany (number four) and other countries, but barely charting in North America. A Night on the Town (1976), his fifth straight chart-topper in the UK, began a three-album run of going number one or top three in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia with each release. That album's "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)" spent almost two months at number one in the US and Canada, and made the top five in other countries. Foot Loose & Fancy Free (1977) contained the hit "You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)" as well as the rocker "Hot Legs". Blondes Have More Fun (1978) and its disco-tinged "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" both went to number one in Canada, Australia and the US, with "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" also hitting number one in the UK and the top ten in other countries. Stewart's albums regularly hit the upper rungs of the charts in the Netherlands throughout the 70s and in Sweden from 1975 onward.
After a disco and new wave period in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Stewart's music turned to a soft rock/middle-of-the-road style, with most of his albums reaching the top ten in the UK, Germany and Sweden, but faring less well in the US. The single "Rhythm of My Heart" was a top five hit in the UK, US and other countries, with its source album, 1991's Vagabond Heart, becoming, at number ten in the US and number two in the UK, his highest-charting album in a decade. In 1993, he collaborated with Bryan Adams and Sting on the power ballad "All for Love", which went to number one in many countries. In the early 2000s, he released a series of successful albums interpreting the Great American Songbook.
In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked him the 17th most successful artist on the "Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists". A Grammy and Brit Award recipient, he was voted at No. 33 in Q Magazine's list of the Top 100 Greatest Singers of all time. As a solo artist, Stewart was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and he was inducted a second time into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of Faces.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Stewart
Studio albums
An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down (1969)
Gasoline Alley (1970)
Every Picture Tells a Story (1971)
Never a Dull Moment (1972)
Smiler (1974)
Atlantic Crossing (1975)
A Night on the Town (1976)
Foot Loose & Fancy Free (1977)
Blondes Have More Fun (1978)
Foolish Behaviour (1980)
Tonight I'm Yours (1981)
Body Wishes (1983)
Camouflage (1984)
Every Beat of My Heart (1986)
Out of Order (1988)
Vagabond Heart (1991)
A Spanner in the Works (1995)
When We Were the New Boys (1998)
Human (2001)
It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook (2002)
As Time Goes By: The Great American Songbook, Volume II (2003)
Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Volume III (2004)
Thanks for the Memory: The Great American Songbook, Volume IV (2005)
Still the Same... Great Rock Classics of Our Time (2006)
Soulbook (2009)
Once in a Blue Moon: The Lost Album (2010)
Fly Me to the Moon... The Great American Songbook Volume V (2010)
Merry Christmas, Baby (2012)
Time (2013)
Another Country (2015)
Blood Red Roses (2018)
The Tears of Hercules (2021)
Blind Prayer
Rod Stewart Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Til I was approximately the age of four or perhaps five
I lost both my mother and my father
Killed in a fire way up on the fourteenth floor
Struck down by the time I was ten by an illness
Which robbed me of the sight of the morning sun
And that ain't all
With my dog clown by my side and my only friend
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I fought my way through school
Sound and touch the thing on which I could depend
And you know what the, the, the kids
Down my street weren't too playful
And right then it seemed like the whole world picked on me
And ah yeah
I worked my fingers to the bone
Stretchin' hide for a boot man in Jersey Town
But then, but then I lost the last thing I had
When fate reared its ugly head and took my dog clown
I wandered way up north found a girl that loved like a woman
Sixteen years old and felt like a woman
But, but, but, but, but what I'm trying to say is
God please don't take her away from me
I lost everything that I ever had
You kicked my name into the dirt
Tread my name into the dirt yeah
I lost everything that I ever had
You kicked my name into the dirt
What could I do
I never knew how much love could hurt me
But it never ever come my way before
No, no, no, no, no
I never knew how much love could hurt me
Good God it ain't never come my way before
Oh but, but you know what I'm trying to say
Really what I'm trying to say is
God please don't take her away from me
Ah turn it down
I lost everything that I ever had
You kicked my name into the dirt
You got a lotta lotta lost everything
That I ever had ever had ever had
The lyrics of Rod Stewart's song Blind Prayer depict the hardships and losses that the singer faced throughout his life. The song opens with him describing his childhood, having lost both his parents at a young age. He then talks about losing his sight due to an illness at the age of ten, which makes life even more difficult for him. As a homeless child with only his dog, Clown, as his companion, he struggled through school and endured bullying from the other kids in his street. Despite these setbacks, he found work in a tannery but lost his only friend when fate took his dog, Clown. The singer eventually found love and expresses his fear of losing his partner in the chorus that implores God not to take her away from him.
The song is written in a narrative style, telling the story of the singer's life in a chronological sequence. There is a sense of longing and sadness permeating the lyrics as the singer has lost everything he ever had, including his dignity, and even experienced bullying from others. However, the chorus stands out as a plea to God to spare him from losing his love, asking for mercy despite the tumultuous life he has already lived.
Line by Line Meaning
I was born and raised the only son of a lawyer
I was brought up as the only son of a legal practitioner
'Til I was approximately the age of four or perhaps five
It was until I was almost five years old
I lost both my mother and my father
I unfortunately lost both my parents
Killed in a fire way up on the fourteenth floor
They passed away in a fire incident that occurred on the 14th floor of a building
Struck down by the time I was ten by an illness
I was affected by a sickness that left me blind before I turned ten years old
Which robbed me of the sight of the morning sun
This illness took away my ability to see the sun in the morning
And that ain't all
That is not the end of my unfortunate story
A homeless child for the next five years
I had no home for the following five years
With my dog clown by my side and my only friend
My only companion and friend was my dog named Clown
I fought my way through school
I struggled and worked hard to get through my education
Sound and touch the thing on which I could depend
Since I was blind, I relied on my senses of hearing and touch
And you know what the, the, the kids
The children in my area
Down my street weren't too playful
They were not nice or pleasant to play with
And right then it seemed like the whole world picked on me
It felt like everyone was against me at that time
And ah yeah
Just like that
I worked my fingers to the bone
I worked very hard
Stretchin' hide for a boot man in Jersey Town
I was involved in the process of making boots in Jersey Town
But then, but then I lost the last thing I had
But unfortunately I lost the only thing I had left
When fate reared its ugly head and took my dog clown
It was then that fate took away my dog, Clown
I wandered way up north found a girl that loved like a woman
I went up north and found a girl whose love was mature
Sixteen years old and felt like a woman
Although she was only sixteen, she had a mature level of emotional capacity
But, but, but, but, but what I'm trying to say is
What I am trying to express is
God please don't take her away from me
I am praying to God to spare her from death or misfortune
I lost everything that I ever had
I have lost all that I owned
You kicked my name into the dirt
You have thrown my reputation into the mud
Tread my name into the dirt yeah
You have stepped on my name and dragged it through the dirt
I never knew how much love could hurt me
I never realized the pain that love could cause me
But it never ever come my way before
I had never experienced such pain before
Good God it ain't never come my way before
Wow, I've never hurt this much before
Oh but, but you know what I'm trying to say
What I'm trying to say is clear, isn't it?
Really what I'm trying to say is
In essence, what I am trying to say is
God please don't take her away from me
My prayer is: God, don't take her away from me
Ah turn it down
Lower the volume, please
You got a lotta lotta lost everything
You have caused me to lose everything
That I ever had ever had ever had
Everything that belonged to me, you took it all
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ROD STEWART
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Aries Waters
For those of us lucky enough to feel and understand and appreciate incredible songs like this from Rod and Ronnie since way back in the 70s
Pedro Quiros
Lejos lo mejor que produjo Rod en toda su vida !!!
Samuel Feynman Tribute page
Estoy de acuerdo contigo. Un discazo que seguro escucharon los Zeppelin antes de grabar su segundo álbum.
Steve Jones
this is an extraordinary song..
Emilio José Guimaraēs
It has a sort of Jimmy Page’s riff. Rod Stewart is one of the best rock singers ever!
Samuel Feynman Tribute page
Ron Wood was also a very good bass player.
Don Woodard
Absolutely , his bass playing on the Truth album is unparalleled, played it like a guitar, Jeff Beck once said he was killer on Bass !!!
Thomas Dugdale
Haven't played this for ages brilliant
Tony Anderton
Excellent!
Gary Rutland
Superb