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)
Camouflage
Rod Stewart Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In a leather number wrapped in chains
Investigation found
She was very fond of dropping names
So I signed her book
And drove her to her home
And she looked so hot
Started to come on strong
As I was gettin' down on my knees
"I don't really mean to tease
But I'm shy, shy, shy, shy, shy"
Camouflage
That's nothin' but camouflage
He was totally handsome
With a winning personality
Natural born leader
With connections in society
But late at night
Alone with just his wealth
He would stare in the mirror
And never see himself
He had a Cadillac thirty foot long
He had a hit with every song
Sounded like something's wrong
Why, why, why, why, why
Camouflage
It ain't nothin' but camouflage
Camouflage
Ain't nothing but, nothin' but
Nothin' but camouflage
They were so well suited
With an ambiance you can't ignore
But nobody realized
What went on behind closed doors
He had many affairs
But never felt fulfilled
She would hide her sadness
In alcohol and pills
She bottled everything up inside
He was too busy with his best friend's wife
They couldn't look each other in the eyes
Lies, lies, lies, lies, lies
Camouflage
Just camouflage
Everywhere you go it's called camouflage
Some people hide behind camouflage
see A-M-O you F-L-A-G-E
I signed her book, drove her to her home
But I didn't know what was goin' on
He had a Cadillac thirty foot long
Had hits with every song
He had many affairs but never felt fulfilled
She was hidin' herself in some little purple pills
Why, why, why, why
Shy, shy, shy, shy
Lies, lies, lies, lies
Lies, lies, lies, lies
Camouflage, camouflage
Talkin' 'bout camouflage
camouflage, bring it down
Sometimes I worry about you darlin'
You wear too much mascara
Too much eyeliner
Too much rouge, and it worries me
Camouflage, camouflage
Camouflage, talkin' 'bout camouflage
The song "Camouflage" by Rod Stewart is a commentary on the various facades people put up to hide their true selves. The first verse describes a woman who dresses up in leather and chains, and drops names to make herself seem important. The singer takes her home, and she hesitates before revealing her shyness. The second verse is about a man who appears successful and confident, but privately struggles with self-doubt. He has a long car and a hit song, but something seems off. These two examples of people masking their true selves are connected by the chorus, which proclaims that everything is just camouflage. The final verse describes a couple who seem to have a perfect facade, but are actually unhappy and hiding secrets from each other.
At its core, "Camouflage" is a song about the difficulty of truly knowing other people. The facade people put up can make it hard to see the real person underneath. The song's message is not necessarily a pessimistic one, however. By calling out the disguise people put up, the song encourages listeners to look beyond what they see on the surface.
Line by Line Meaning
She came to the party
In a leather number wrapped in chains
She arrived at the party wearing a daring leather outfit with chained accessories.
Investigation found
She was very fond of dropping names
After investigation, it was discovered that she had a habit of name-dropping.
So I signed her book
And drove her to her home
And she looked so hot
Started to come on strong
Then she said so candidly
As I was gettin' down on my knees
"I don't really mean to tease
But I'm shy, shy, shy, shy, shy"
I accompanied her back home and things started to get heated. However, she confessed she was shy despite coming on strong.
Camouflage
That's nothin' but camouflage
The behavior of disguising oneself to hide a true identity or feelings is not justifiable and only considered as a facade.
He was totally handsome
With a winning personality
Natural born leader
With connections in society
But late at night
Alone with just his wealth
He would stare in the mirror
And never see himself
He had impressive qualities like his looks, charismatic persona, and influential connections, but when there was no one around, he would find it difficult to come to terms with himself.
He had a Cadillac thirty foot long
He had a hit with every song
Sounded like something's wrong
Why, why, why, why, why
Despite owning a luxury car and having hit songs, he still suffered from an unknown dissatisfaction.
Camouflage
It ain't nothin' but camouflage
Acting as a disguise to hide one's true intentions or emotions is unjustifiable and only serves as a cover-up.
They were so well suited
With an ambiance you can't ignore
But nobody realized
What went on behind closed doors
He had many affairs
But never felt fulfilled
She would hide her sadness
In alcohol and pills
She bottled everything up inside
He was too busy with his best friend's wife
They couldn't look each other in the eyes
Lies, lies, lies, lies, lies
They appeared to be a perfect match and had excellent chemistry. Unfortunately, they kept their real problems hidden from everyone. He had extramarital affairs but still couldn't find satisfaction. Meanwhile, she suffered from depression and resorted to alcohol and pills to cope. They hid their true feelings from each other and lived a life full of lies.
Camouflage
Just camouflage
Disguising true intentions or feelings is unjustifiable and merely serves as a guise.
Everywhere you go it's called camouflage
Some people hide behind camouflage
Deception has become widespread in various aspects of life, which is unjustifiable. People hide behind disguise to mask their true identities and intentions.
I signed her book, drove her to her home
But I didn't know what was goin' on
He had a Cadillac thirty foot long
Had hits with every song
I accompanied her back home, but I wasn't aware of what was happening. He had a luxurious car and had successful songs.
He had many affairs but never felt fulfilled
She was hidin' herself in some little purple pills
Why, why, why, why
Shy, shy, shy, shy
Lies, lies, lies, lies
Lies, lies, lies, lies
He pursued affairs but still couldn't find happiness, while she hid her feelings with medication. He questioned his situation, and she confessed to feeling shy. Both lived in secrecy and deception.
Camouflage, camouflage
Talkin' 'bout camouflage
camouflage, bring it down
Disguising true intentions or feelings to hide one's genuine character is not acceptable and should be revealed.
Sometimes I worry about you darlin'
You wear too much mascara
Too much eyeliner
Too much rouge, and it worries me
Camouflage, camouflage
Camouflage, talkin' 'bout camouflage
I worry about you, my dear because you wear too much makeup, and it concerns me. You are hiding your true beauty, and it feels like you're disguising something genuine with the makeup. Disguising true intentions or feelings is not acceptable.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: KEVIN SAVIGAR, MICHAEL OMARTIAN, ROD STEWART
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind