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)
Shapes of Things
Rod Stewart Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Has helped me to despise
Will time make men more wise?
Here within my lonely frame.
My eyes just hurt my brain
Will time make men more sane?
Come tomorrow maybe a soldier (now listen)
Come tomorrow, maybe I'm older than today.
(Listen to this)
Here within my lonely frame.
My eyes just hurt my god-darn' brain
Will time make men more sane?
In "Shapes of Things," Rod Stewart sings about the struggle to understand the world around him. The "shapes of things" he sees before his eyes have helped him to despise the world and its imperfections. Yet he is hopeful that with time, men may become wiser, lessening the pain and frustration he feels. He speaks of his lonely frame and how his eyes hurt his brain, suggesting that the world can be overwhelming and confusing.
The chorus brings a sense of uncertainty to the lyrics. He wonders if he will be older and wiser tomorrow, or whether he will be a soldier. He sees tomorrow as a new beginning, a chance to become someone different and possibly better. The repetition of the question, "Will time make men more sane?" shows a longing for order and stability in the world, which is lacking in the present.
Overall, "Shapes of Things" is a song of hope and uncertainty. It acknowledges the difficulties of life while looking for solutions and improvement in the future. The lyrics are a reflection of the social and political turmoil of the 1960s, a time of upheaval and protest, when many young people were searching for meaning and purpose.
Line by Line Meaning
Shapes of things before my eyes
The visual stimuli around me has caused me to develop a negative attitude
Has helped me to despise
I have grown to dislike certain things based on what I see
Will time make men more wise?
Does gaining more experience and passing time help individuals become wiser?
Here within my lonely frame.
Being isolated from others and having time to reflect on my thoughts
My eyes just hurt my brain
The constant exposure to visual stimuli has taken a toll on my mental state
Will time make men more sane?
As time passes, do individuals become mentally healthier?
Come tomorrow will I be older?
As time continues to pass, will I have aged?
Come tomorrow maybe a soldier (now listen)
Perhaps in the future, I will have to fight for my country
Come tomorrow, maybe I'm older than today.
In the future, I may have aged more than I have now
Here within my lonely frame.
Being isolated from others and having time to reflect on my thoughts
My eyes just hurt my god-darn' brain
The constant exposure to visual stimuli has negatively impacted my mental state
Will time make men more sane?
As time passes, do individuals become mentally healthier?
Lyrics © DistroKid, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: WILLIE DIXON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@howardbianchi9371
That don't even begin to tell the tale! I'd tellya but my phone can't hold THE ILIAD. THE ODYSSEY AND THE AENEID!!!!!! I'll
Skip middle Ages ot gonna go Medieval on ya tonite. QQTTTino might object ...just sayin'
Now they a Copppla (few) good books in eliza. the first (named state in 13 orig. Colonies) .......
Hate to digress but Spellcheck will not let proceed unless I use sit SIT standard internet Typing or might come down w/ Spanish flu or pox.
OF COURSE YOURE 10000% RIGHT.
READ IN some erudite jAZZ mag. Jb and the nonpareil Larry Coryell say " never compare them to Jihn McLaughlin.
...he's.too good. JM better composer THAN PLAYER........
However....
Saw Beck open for mahavisnu (raggedy by then; do we really need 5 solos on every number?) Of we do we do. We must hear Ralph Armstrong 6 min long wawa bass solo fool.
. JB sans Cozy d and Clive b on US of A outside NYC. The center of the Universe then as now. Really !!! How did I miss that!!!..p
BERNARD 'Pretty' Purdie D + wwwillie Wwweeks B blew maha... away in nj across Hudson River. Before
.*John Scher's Capital theater, jersey city~
~ isle of jersey must be quite bucoclic (cow latin).however..
All English students know house of York lost reoeat LOST the WAR of the ROSES TO house of Burt Lancaster. Don't correct any mistakes
I got ta defen' my PhD theseayroral wed. Moaning And If I Flunk.
YOU GUESSED IT .........
........
......... I'LLL HAFTA SPEND MY DAYS PLATIN' IN a rock and roll band and typing
W/ arthritic pinkies til breaka dawn .
Zzzzz,z,
Zzzz,z.
Zzzzzzz....... (tbc)
p.s.
Pinkies is on Fiiiyyuahh ( Fire)
....
@TheFoolintherainn
Isn't it great being the younger sibling of the baby boomers? We got the best of their music but not their narcissism!
Nor funky diseases!
And we've got better hair cuts these days!
What did we expect from a generation that was rolling around in its own feces at Woodstock?
The reason the music lived on was because of us- they were so numb they turned into Grateful Dead heads!
My older sibling baby boomers are now seriously fried people. They're not even in there...
They can't remember this music!
They can't even remember what they had for breakfast!
One of them's a lawyer and the others is social worker lol!
Both still smoke pot & drink a bottle of wine each night!
Why this country is going to hell- baby boomers are in charge!
And it's not as fun as rolling around in their own feces at Woodstock!
I wonder what Janis would say to these micromanaging narcissistic old farts that claimed to have been her fans?
Rock on!
@g.defraga4795
RIP Jeff. Inesquecível!!!
@juliancee2317
One for the ages now. What an incredible legacy!
RIP Jeff Beck 1944 - 2023
@MsStevewinston
Truth & Beckola are two of the greatest rock albums of all time . Stunning, amazing & still influential today! Ground breaking rock & roll genius.
@olcheekybastards
Agree!
@PhukIT1865
except for Stewart. His voice still annoys me. I am only here to hear Jeff Beck
@kenm3102
I agree and have THEM...
@kenm3102
Stewart is also good !!!
@howardbianchi9371
That don't even begin to tell the tale! I'd tellya but my phone can't hold THE ILIAD. THE ODYSSEY AND THE AENEID!!!!!! I'll
Skip middle Ages ot gonna go Medieval on ya tonite. QQTTTino might object ...just sayin'
Now they a Copppla (few) good books in eliza. the first (named state in 13 orig. Colonies) .......
Hate to digress but Spellcheck will not let proceed unless I use sit SIT standard internet Typing or might come down w/ Spanish flu or pox.
OF COURSE YOURE 10000% RIGHT.
READ IN some erudite jAZZ mag. Jb and the nonpareil Larry Coryell say " never compare them to Jihn McLaughlin.
...he's.too good. JM better composer THAN PLAYER........
However....
Saw Beck open for mahavisnu (raggedy by then; do we really need 5 solos on every number?) Of we do we do. We must hear Ralph Armstrong 6 min long wawa bass solo fool.
. JB sans Cozy d and Clive b on US of A outside NYC. The center of the Universe then as now. Really !!! How did I miss that!!!..p
BERNARD 'Pretty' Purdie D + wwwillie Wwweeks B blew maha... away in nj across Hudson River. Before
.*John Scher's Capital theater, jersey city~
~ isle of jersey must be quite bucoclic (cow latin).however..
All English students know house of York lost reoeat LOST the WAR of the ROSES TO house of Burt Lancaster. Don't correct any mistakes
I got ta defen' my PhD theseayroral wed. Moaning And If I Flunk.
YOU GUESSED IT .........
........
......... I'LLL HAFTA SPEND MY DAYS PLATIN' IN a rock and roll band and typing
W/ arthritic pinkies til breaka dawn .
Zzzzz,z,
Zzzz,z.
Zzzzzzz....... (tbc)
p.s.
Pinkies is on Fiiiyyuahh ( Fire)
....
@kevinmuzerMetalMind64
My fave Rod Stewart vocals...This record, period. Such rock n roll perfection..🖤😎🖤
@thetruthchannel349
Embarrassed to admit I didnt know Stewart was even in this band.