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)
It Was A Very Good Year
Rod Stewart Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It was a very good year for small town girls and soft summer nights
We'd hide from the lights on the village green
When I was seventeen
When I was twenty-one it was a very good year
It was a very good year for city girls who lived up the stairs
With all that perfumed hair and it came undone
Then I was thirty-five it was a very good year
It was a very good year for blue-blooded girls of independent means
Who'd ride in limousines and their chauffeurs would drive
When I was thirty-five
When I was fifty-three it was a wonderful year
It was a wonderful year to find the girl I'd call my own
A place where I belong and she'd love only me
When I was fifty-three
But now the days grow short, I'm in the autumn of my years
And now I think of my life as vintage wine from fine old kegs
From the brim to the dregs, and it poured sweet and clear
It was a very good year
Rod Stewart's "It Was A Very Good Year" is a reflective and nostalgic song about the different stages of life and the women that he loved throughout those stages. Each verse is introduced with the statement "When I was..." followed by the age and the corresponding women and experiences that he had during that time.
The first verse mentions being seventeen and how it was a very good year for "small town girls and soft summer nights," which invokes a sense of innocence and youthfulness. He also talks about hiding from the lights on the village green, which could be seen as a metaphor for avoiding the pressures and expectations of society.
In the second verse when Stewart is twenty-one, he talks about the attraction to the city girls and how they lived up the stairs. This could signify the urbanization and sophistication that comes with age and new experiences. He also mentions their perfumed hair, which may suggest the allure and seduction of these city women.
The third verse he is thirty-five, and he mentions the blue-blooded girls of independent means who would ride in limousines, and their chauffeurs would drive. This may suggest a desire for luxury and status that comes with age and success.
In the final verse, Stewart mentions finding the girl he would call his own when he turned fifty-three. This signifies a need for companionship, love and stability as he reaches a later stage in life.
Overall, "It Was A Very Good Year" is a song that evokes a sense of nostalgia and reminiscence about life's different stages, love, and the memories that are associated with them.
Line by Line Meaning
When I was seventeen it was a very good year
At the age of seventeen, life was good for me.
It was a very good year for small town girls and soft summer nights
Memories of small town girls and summer nights made it a very good year.
We'd hide from the lights on the village green
We would seek a quiet place away from the lights on the village green.
When I was seventeen
The good times were specifically when I was seventeen years old.
When I was twenty-one it was a very good year
At the age of twenty-one, life was still good for me.
It was a very good year for city girls who lived up the stairs
City girls who lived upstairs made it a very good year for me.
With all that perfumed hair and it came undone
I was enchanted by the beauty of their perfumed hair that would sometimes come undone.
When I was twenty-one
The good times were specifically when I was twenty-one years old.
Then I was thirty-five it was a very good year
At the age of thirty-five, I experienced another very good year.
It was a very good year for blue-blooded girls of independent means
A good year because I met blue-blooded girls who were independent and financially stable.
Who'd ride in limousines and their chauffeurs would drive
I was lucky to meet girls who could afford to ride in a limousine with their own chauffeur.
When I was thirty-five
The good times were specifically when I was thirty-five years old.
When I was fifty-three it was a wonderful year
At fifty-three, I had another wonderful year.
It was a wonderful year to find the girl I'd call my own
I found a girl whom I knew I could claim as my soulmate, and thus it was a wonderful year.
A place where I belong and she'd love only me
I found my place in the world, and this girl loved me and only me.
When I was fifty-three
The good times were specifically when I was fifty-three years old.
But now the days grow short, I'm in the autumn of my years
I am now in the late stages of my life, and my days are limited.
And now I think of my life as vintage wine from fine old kegs
I now view my life as a carefully aged and refined wine extracted from quality aged barrels.
From the brim to the dregs, and it poured sweet and clear
It had a good start and a good end, so the entire experience was sweet and transparent to me.
It was a very good year
Overall, my life has been satisfactory as I cherish the good memories in these years.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Ervin Drake
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind