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)
For the First Time
Rod Stewart Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is that your smile?
I been looking at you for ever,
Yet I never saw you before.
Are these your hands? Holding mine?
Now I wonder how I could have been so blind.
And for the first time, I am looking in your eyes.
For the first time, I'm seeing who you are.
When you're looking back at me.
Now I understand what love is,
Love is
For the first time
Can this be real?
Can this be true?
Am I the person I was this morning?
And are you the same you?
Its all so strange.
How can it be?
All along this love was right in front of me!
And for the first time, I am looking in your eyes.
For the first time, I am seeing who you are.
I can't believe how much I see,
When you're looking back at me.
Now I understand what love is
Love is
For the first time.
Such a long time ago,
I had given up on finding this emotion,
Ever again.
But you're here with me now,
Yes I found you somehow,
And I've never been so sure.
For the first time, I am looking in your eyes,
For the first time, I'm seeing who you are,
Can't believe how much I see,
When you're looking back at me.
Now I understand what love is
Love is
For the first time.
For the first time.
The lyrics to Rod Stewart's song, "For The First Time" depict the realization of love and the astonishment that follows such a momentous event. The singer in the song appears to have been familiar with the person they are singing to for a long time, yet they never truly saw them until this moment. The singer questions themselves and wonders how they could have been so blind to what was right in front of them. They are in disbelief about how much they can see now that they are looking into the eyes of their love interest, and they finally understand what love truly is, for the first time.
The song captures the feeling of love at first sight and the sudden realization that love has been present all along. It puts into words the emotions that many people feel when they find the love they have been looking for. The lyrics also highlight the transformative power of love and how it can change a person's perception of the world in an instant.
Overall, "For The First Time" is a heartfelt love song that speaks to the power of connection and the magic of love at first sight.
Line by Line Meaning
Are those your eyes?
Rod Stewart expresses his amazement and surprise about the person he's fallen in love with by asking if her captivating eyes belong to her.
Is that your smile?
Rod wonders if the person's attractive smile also belongs to her.
I've been looking at you forever, yet I never saw you before
Rod has been aware of the person's existence for some time, but only recently discovered her true beauty and charm, which he had not noticed before.
Are these your hands? Holding mine?
Rod realizes that he's never been touched by anyone in the same gentle manner before, and asks if these lovely hands belong to the one he's in love with.
Now I wonder how I could have been so blind
Rod wonders how he could have missed seeing the beauty in the person before him, which he now has come to adore so much.
And for the first time, I am looking in your eyes.
Rod realizes that he has never really looked deep into the person's eyes until now, and is now seeing an entirely new and meaningful perspective he had been blind to before.
For the first time, I'm seeing who you are.
Rod feels like he's seeing the real person for the first time, instead of the superficial appearance he had seen before.
I can't believe how much I see when you're looking back at me.
Rod can't believe how much he feels connected to the person just by the way they look back at him, and how much they've grown to mean to him in just a short time.
Now I understand what love is...
Rod realizes the true meaning of love for the first time, after finding the right person for him.
Can this be real? Can this be true? Am I the person I was this morning? And are you the same you?
Rod is expressing scepticism and surprise at how fast his life changed, and how much he's transformed and grown since meeting the person he's fallen in love with.
It's all so strange. How can this be?
Rod is still astounded by everything he's feeling, and wonders how he got so lucky to find the perfect person at this moment in his life.
All along, this love was right in front of me!
Rod realizes that the one he's in love with has always been there all along, he just needed to see them in a new light.
Such a long time ago, I had given up on finding this emotion ever again.
Rod had fallen out of love long ago and had given up hope of ever finding it again until he met the person he's now in love with.
But you're here with me now. Yes, I found you somehow.
Rod is grateful that the person he's in love with is now in his life, and he's not sure how it happened or how he got so lucky.
And I've never been so sure.
Rod is more confident than ever before in his feelings for the person he's in love with.
Love is for the first time
Rod feels like he's experiencing love for the first time.
For the first time
The phrase emphasizes the sudden change and new beginning Rod is experiencing in his life upon finding this new love.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Spirit Music Group, Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jud J. Friedman, James Newton Howard, Allan Rich
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind