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)
The Wild Horse
Rod Stewart Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In a motel in New Orleans
I ran away
with a hobo and his gypsy friends
We rode a freight train up to Cleveland
Across the Utah plains
Proud men, troubadours torn and frayed
Sleeping under the stars
Played the songs of Woddy Guthrie
And the open road
I knew right then I could never go home
Cause the wild horse runs free forever
Oh yeah, a wild horse runs free forever
And ever and ever
I met a girl
From a family of position and wealth
What a hand
this rambler had been finally dealt
A beauty six years and ten
I felt the walls closing in
Like a swollen river
Bout to overflow
Like a losing gambler I kept on rolling
And a wild horse runs free forever
Yeah yeah yeah
A wild horse runs free forever
The wild horse runs free forever
Yeah yeah yeah
A wild horse runs free forever
Play the guitar
So understand I must go
But I'll drink you one last toast
Oh here's to the heart
and the hands of a man
That come with the dust
and are gone with the wind
May the wild horse run free forever
yeah the wild horse runs free forever
The wild horse runs free forever
Yeah the wild horse run free forever
Wild guitar, baby, come on, wild
I know, I know, I know, I know
Play it for me, come on.
Yeah, hit it. Yeah yeah. Let me hear it, yeah.
The wild horse run free ...
The lyrics of the song "The Wild Horse" by Rod Stewart describe the journey of a young man who runs away from his motel in New Orleans with a group of Hobos and Gypsies. They rode a freight train up to Cleveland, strumming guitars while sleeping under the stars. The singer feels a sense of freedom on this journey and realizes that he can never go back home. He finds himself in a position where he meets a girl from a wealthy family and feels trapped. The walls seem to be closing in on him, and he compares his situation to that of a losing gambler who keeps on rolling.
Towards the end of the song, the singer declares that he must go but will drink a final toast to the "heart and the hands of a man that come with the dust and are gone with the wind." The wild horse in the song represents freedom, and the singer understands that he cannot be contained. The lyrics are both poetic and passionate, describing the journey of a young man who is searching for something more in life than what he's been given.
Line by Line Meaning
Born and raised
I was brought up in a motel in New Orleans.
In a motel in New Orleans
My childhood life was spent in a motel in New Orleans.
I ran away
I left home.
with a hobo and his gypsy friends
I ran off with a homeless person and his friends who are known to travel frequently.
We rode a freight train up to Cleveland
We traveled by train up to Cleveland.
Across the Utah plains
We went across the Utah plains.
Proud men, troubadours torn and frayed
We were men who were proud, worn out, and torn like wandering minstrels.
Sleeping under the stars
We slept outside under the stars.
While gently strumming guitars
We played guitars softly.
Played the songs of Woddy Guthrie
We sang the songs of the famous folk singer Woody Guthrie.
And the open road
We loved being on the open road and the freedom that it brings.
I knew right then I could never go home
At that moment, I realized I could never go back home because I now loved my new life of freedom.
Cause the wild horse runs free forever
The wild horse symbolizes freedom, which I have found and will never give up.
Oh yeah, a wild horse runs free forever
I strongly believe that freedom is something that belongs to you for the rest of your life.
And ever and ever
It is something that never goes away.
I met a girl
I fell in love with a young lady.
From a family of position and wealth
She came from a wealthy family with a high social status.
What a hand
What a turn of events.
this rambler had been finally dealt
This wanderer finally met someone different in his life.
A beauty six years and ten
She was sixteen years old and beautiful.
I felt the walls closing in
I began to feel trapped by my old ways.
Like a swollen river
My emotions were starting to overflow like a swollen river.
Bout to overflow
I was about to reach my breaking point.
Like a losing gambler I kept on rolling
Like an unlucky gambler, I kept on trying to find a way out.
May the wild horse run free forever
May our lives be free, like the wild horse, forever.
yeah the wild horse runs free forever
Again I restate my desire for the wild horse to symbolize my freedom.
Play the guitar
Let's play some music.
So understand I must go
You must understand that I have to leave.
But I'll drink you one last toast
But before I go, I will drink one more toast with you.
Oh here's to the heart
Here's to the passion.
and the hands of a man
and the strength of a man.
That come with the dust
That come from life's experiences and hardships.
and are gone with the wind
That disappear as quickly as they come.
Wild guitar, baby, come on, wild
Play the guitar as wildly as possible, baby.
I know, I know, I know, I know
I am aware.
Let me hear it, yeah.
Let me listen to it.
The wild horse run free ...
Once again, let the wild horse run free, as a symbol of freedom.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Fintage House Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANDY TAYLOR, ROD STEWART
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind