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)
Embraceable You
Rod Stewart Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I had to lock my door,
Somehow I couldn't warm up
To one before.
What was it that controlled me?
What kept my love life lean?
My intuition told me
You'd come on the scene.
Lady, listen to the rhythm of my heartbeat,
And you'll get just what I mean.
Embrace me, my sweet embraceable you!
Embrace me, you irreplaceable you!
Just one look at you, my heart grew tipsy in me,
You and you alone bring out the gypsy in me!
I love all the many charms about you!
Above all I want these arms about you.
Don't be a naughty baby,
Come to daddy, come to daddy, do!
My sweet embraceable you!
Just one look at you, my heart grew tipsy in me;
You and you alone bring out the gypsy in me!
I love all the many charms about you!
Above all I want these arms about you.
Now don't be a naughty baby,
Come to daddy, come to daddy, do!
My sweet embraceable you!
The lyrics of Rod Stewart's Embraceable You express the singer's deep longing for love and his struggle to find the right person who can ignite the passion in him. He begins by recounting how so many women have pursued him before, but he always kept them at bay. He couldn't just warm up to anyone, and his love life was "lean." However, his intuition told him that a special someone would eventually come into his life, someone who would bring out the best in him, thereby dispelling his fears of opening up to love.
The chorus of the song repeats the line, "Embrace me, my sweet embraceable you," in which the singer is urging his lover to embrace him fully because he feels so deeply for them. He recognizes her as the one who has brought out the gypsy in him, implying that she has inspired him to live a life full of passion, change, and the unknown. He's enamored with her many charms and desires nothing more than to wrap his arms around her.
In the final lines, he implores his beloved not to be a naughty baby and to come to him, the one who accepts her completely, appreciating both her strengths and weaknesses. The whole song emphasizes the need for emotional openness, vulnerability, and passion in a relationship to make it work.
Line by Line Meaning
Dozens of girls would storm up;
Many girls would pursue me eagerly.
I had to lock my door,
I had to protect myself from the constant attention from women.
Somehow I couldn't warm up
Despite the attention, I couldn't connect with any of them.
To one before.
I couldn't find a genuine connection with any woman I had met previously.
What was it that controlled me?
I wondered what was preventing me from finding love.
What kept my love life lean?
I was struggling to find meaningful relationships.
My intuition told me
I had a feeling that someone special was coming into my life.
You'd come on the scene.
I knew you were the person I had been waiting for.
Lady, listen to the rhythm of my heartbeat,
Listen to my heart and feel the love I have for you.
And you'll get just what I mean.
You will understand the depths of my love if you listen closely.
Embrace me, my sweet embraceable you!
Hold me close, my darling, you are irreplaceable.
Embrace me, you irreplaceable you!
Hold me tightly, as no one else can fill the void you do.
Just one look at you, my heart grew tipsy in me,
Your beauty and presence overwhelm my senses and my love for you grows stronger.
You and you alone bring out the gypsy in me!
You ignite a sense of adventure and unpredictability in me, and I love it.
I love all the many charms about you!
I adore every quality and characteristic you possess.
Above all I want these arms about you.
More than anything, I want to hold you in my arms and never let go.
Don't be a naughty baby,
Don't resist me, my dear.
Come to daddy, come to daddy, do!
Come to me, my love, and let me show you how much I care.
My sweet embraceable you!
You are my sweet, irreplaceable love, and I never want to let you go.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Unison Rights S.L., Songtrust Ave, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind