Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop… Read Full Bio ↴Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold over 250 million records worldwide. He has had 10 number-one albums and 31 top ten singles in the UK, six of which reached number one. Stewart has had 16 top ten singles in the US, with four reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. He was knighted in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to music and charity.

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)

Sonny
Rod Stewart Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Sonny, I've been missing you tonight,
Sonny, something deep inside me has died.
I gave up the purest love
A woman could give to a man.
Ev'rything I ever had
Has slipped right through my hands

'cause she walks like you,

She talks like you,
She feels like you,
But she ain't you,
She smiles like you,
Cries like you,
Denies like you,
But she'll never be you.

Sonny, she don't move me anymore,
Sonny, I've never hurt this way before.
She's trying hard to replace you
But there's something she'll never know.
She can borrow all your style
But she'll never possess your soul

'cause she acts like you,
Attacks like you,
She cracks like you,
But she ain't you,
She needs like you,
Pleads like you,
Feels like you,
But she'll never be you.

Sonny
Sonny
I'm down on my knees
Sonny won't you come back, come back,
Come back to me please.

Someday, we'll hide the pain away, and
Sonny, I know that ... that we can laugh again.
I should have known and had more sense
Sinking to a childish pride.
All I got was your looking glass
Without your heart in side

'cause she craves like you,
Behaves like you,
And lays like you,
But she ain't you,
She plays like you,
Prays like you,
Does ev'rything like you,
But she ain't you.

She hides like you,
Denies like you,
Sighs like you,
But she ain't you.

Sonny,
Sonny,
Sonny won't you come back,
Come back to me.

Sonny,
Sonny,

Sonny, oh
Oh

Overall Meaning

The song "Sonny" by Rod Stewart is a heart-wrenching ballad about a lost love. The song itself is addressed to Sonny, who is presumably the former lover of the singer. The lyrics reveal that the singer is missing Sonny terribly, and has been deeply affected by his absence. The singer gave up the purest love he had ever experienced with Sonny, and it seems that this loss has left him feeling empty and alone.

The lyrics then go on to describe how the singer has tried to move on from Sonny, but has been unable to do so. He has met someone who reminds him of Sonny in many ways, but no matter how much this new person may resemble his former lover, she could never truly replace Sonny. The singer then pleads with Sonny to come back to him, as he is down on his knees begging for him to return.

The song is a beautiful testament to the power of true love, and how it can completely consume a person. It also speaks to the idea that no matter how much someone may resemble another, they can never truly replace the person who holds a special place in your heart.

Line by Line Meaning

Sonny, I've been missing you tonight,
I've been feeling your loss tonight, Sonny

Sonny, something deep inside me has died.
I feel like I've lost a part of myself since you left, Sonny

I gave up the purest love A woman could give to a man.
I lost the truest, most honest love I could have ever given to anyone, Sonny

Ev'rything I ever had Has slipped right through my hands
I've lost everything that mattered to me, Sonny; it's all slipped away from me

'cause she walks like you, She talks like you, She feels like you, But she ain't you, She smiles like you, Cries like you, Denies like you, But she'll never be you.
The woman I've found walks, talks, and feels like you, Sonny. She even seems to have the same emotional expressions and coping mechanisms as you, but she will never be you

Sonny, she don't move me anymore,
The woman I'm with now doesn't stir my heart like you did, Sonny

Sonny, I've never hurt this way before.
I've never felt this level of pain before, Sonny

She's trying hard to replace you But there's something she'll never know.
The woman I'm with now is trying to replace you, Sonny, but there's something she'll never understand or know about you

She can borrow all your style But she'll never possess your soul
The woman I'm with can copy your mannerisms, but she'll never be able to capture your spirit, Sonny

'cause she acts like you, Attacks like you, She cracks like you, But she ain't you, She needs like you, Pleads like you, Feels like you, But she'll never be you.
The woman I'm with acts, attacks, and cracks like you, Sonny, and even seems to need, plead, and emote like you, but she will never be you

Sonny Sonny I'm down on my knees Sonny won't you come back, come back, Come back to me please.
I'm desperate for your return, Sonny, and I'm literally on my knees begging for it

Someday, we'll hide the pain away, and Sonny, I know that ... that we can laugh again.
I believe that someday we'll find our way back to happiness, Sonny, and we'll be able to laugh together again

I should have known and had more sense Sinking to a childish pride. All I got was your looking glass Without your heart in side
I regret my actions and wish I had acted more maturely instead of letting my childish pride get in the way. All I have left of you, Sonny, is a reflection without the warmth of your heart behind it

'cause she craves like you, Behaves like you, And lays like you, But she ain't you, She plays like you, Prays like you, Does ev'rything like you, But she ain't you.
The woman I'm with now craves, behaves, lays, plays, prays, and does everything else like you, Sonny, but she will never measure up to you

She hides like you, Denies like you, Sighs like you, But she ain't you.
The woman I'm with now also has your tendencies to hide, deny, and sigh, Sonny, but she will never be you

Sonny, Sonny, Sonny won't you come back, Come back to me.
I'm calling out to you, Sonny, desperately asking for you to return to me

Sonny, Sonny, Sonny, oh Oh
As you hear my call, Sonny, my heart is full of longing and rapture

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JIM CREGAN, BERNIE TAUPIN, ROD STEWART, KEVIN SAVIGAR

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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