Stephen Stills was born in Dallas, Texas on January 3, 1945 to a military family. Moving around as a child, he developed an interest in blues and folk music. He was also influenced by Latin music after spending his teenage years in Costa Rica and the Panama Canal Zone, where he graduated from high school.
Stills dropped out of the University of Florida to pursue a music career in the early 1960s. He played in a series of unsuccessful bands including the Continentals, which featured future The Eagles guitarist Don Felder. Stills eventually ended up in a nine-member vocal harmony group, the house act at the famous Cafe Au Go Go in NYC, called the Au Go Go Singers (Rick Geiger, Roy Michaels, Michael Scott, Jean Gurney, Kathy King, Nels Gustafson, Bob Harmelink, Richie Furay & Stills) where and when he met Richie Furay. This group also did some touring in the Catskills, and in the South, released one album in 1964, then broke up in 1965. Afterwards, Stills, along with four other former members of the Au Go Go Singers: Geiger, Michaels, Gurney & Scott, formed The Company, a folk/rock group. Immediately prior to performing in the Au Go Go Singers, Stills could be seen singing solo in Gerde's Folk City, a well-known coffee house in Greenwich Village. The Company embarked on a 6-week tour of Canada where Stills met a young guitarist named Neil Young. On the VH1 CSNY Legends special, Stills would say that at that time, Young was doing what he always wanted to do, "play folk music in a rock band." The Company broke up in New York within four months, opening up the way for Geiger to join a light opera company in Los Angeles; Michaels to link up with Jimi Hendrix, Gurney to go on to college while doing TV commercials, and Scott to tour with a retro-Highwaymen. Stills did session work and went to various auditions (including an unsuccessful one for The Monkees). In 1966 he convinced a reluctant former Au Go Go Singers, Richie Furay, then living in Massachusetts, to move with him to California.
Solo years
In the wake of CSNY's success, all four members recorded solo albums. In 1970, Stills released his self-titled debut, which featured guests Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, "Mama" Cass Elliot, and Ringo Starr (credited only as "Richie") as well as contributions from various members of the CSNY band. It provided Stills with the hit single "Love The One You're With" as well as the concert favorite "Black Queen." Stills followed this with Stephen Stills 2, which featured "Change Partners." Nash saw this song as a metaphor for the many relationships in CSNY, while Stills viewed the band as something much less bland and repetitive.
The next year, Stills teamed up with ex-Byrd Chris Hillman and several CSNY sidemen to form the band Manassas. During a Manassas tour in France, Stills met and married French singer-songwriter Veronique Sanson. Then he switched to Columbia Records, where he recorded two albums: Stills in 1975 and the punningly titled Illegal Stills in 1976. The former record found Stills in an uncharacteristically joyful mood; his marriage was going great, his son Chris had just been born, and he was happy living in Colorado. "To Mama From Christopher and the Old Man" was an exceptionally optimistic view of his new family.
In 1976, Stills attempted a reunion with Neil Young. At one point, Long May You Run was slated to be a CSNY record, but when Crosby and Nash left to fufill recording and touring obligations, according to both David and Graham the other pair wiped their vocals from the recordings, as Stills and Young decided to go on without their erstwhile partners as The Stills-Young Band. However, Young would leave midway through the resulting tour due to an apparent throat infection. Stills was contractually bound to finish the tour, which he did, but upon returning home, his wife announced she wanted a divorce and wished to move back to France. Stills reunited with Crosby and Nash shortly afterwards, thanks to the efforts of Nash's future wife Susan, who got Nash to forgive Stills for wiping the Crosby and Nash vocals from Long May You Run. This led to the semi-permanent CSN reunion of 1977, which has persisted even though all three have released solo records since then.
In 1997, Stills became the first person to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice in the same night for his work with CSN and the Buffalo Springfield.
2005 saw Stills release 'Man Alive'; his first solo offering in 14 years. Although not troubling the chart compilers, the record was critically well received and is regarded by many fans as his best since the mid seventies.
Stills was the inspiring influence for Ray LaMontagne who, after hearing one of his songs, decided to quit his job and focus on music.
Around Us
Stephen Stills Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There is no separating me and you
We got a whole lot of work in there
And between us there's one heart beating
('cause of your sweet love)
'cause of love and devotion
(We see clearly now)
(Ain't no dream too high)
Ain't no dream out of touch
Anywhere around us
(Anywhere around us, anywhere)
(Anywhere around us, anywhere)
Takes my breath looking at you now
Girl don't you light up a room anyhow
The most fortunate man alive
Has to be me with you by my side
('cause of your sweet love)
'cause of love and devotion
(We see clearly now)
We can see clearly over the horizon
(Ain't no dream too high)
Ain't no dream out of touch
Anywhere around us
(Anywhere around us, anywhere)
(Anywhere around us)
(Just between us)
People keep telling us
Entirely too curious
Too much to say about
What we are doing
Probably jealous, baby
Don't let 'em come between us
(Don't let 'em come between us, baby)
No
(Come between us)
Every time that we are apart
(Time you're away)
More than a couple of days
Been a start
(Give it up)
Pining away for you
(Missing your love)
Girl I ain't lost I'm just missing you
('cause of your sweet love)
'cause of love and devotion
(We see clearly now)
We can see clearly over the horizon
(Ain't no dream too high)
Ain't no dream out of touch
Anywhere around us
(Anywhere around us)
Yes
Anywhere around us, anywhere
Anywhere around us
Anywhere around us
The lyrics of Stephen Stills’s song "Around Us" express the intense feelings of love and the strong bond between two people. The lines "Any more when I think of you / There is no separating me and you" indicate that the love between the two individuals has reached a level of intensity that cannot be broken. The song speaks of the hard work put in by both individuals to keep their love alive, and how their hearts beat as one. The lyrics are very romantic, and the lines "The most fortunate man alive / Has to be me with you by my side" highlights how happy and blessed the singer feels to have their partner by their side.
The chorus of the song is particularly powerful, as it speaks of the strength and clarity of their love. The lines "Ain't no dream too high / Ain't no dream out of touch / Anywhere around us" speak of how the two lovers believe that they can achieve anything as long as they are together. They see the world as a place full of possibilities and opportunities, and they are ready to explore them together.
In the chorus and bridge of the song, Stills employs the phrase "Anywhere around us" multiple times to connote the fact that love is a universal feeling that can be found anywhere. The song is quite optimistic and positive in its outlook, and it speaks of the power of love to overcome the obstacles of life. The music for the song is also quite uplifting and joyful, with bright-sounding chords and a catchy chorus.
Line by Line Meaning
Any more when I think of you
Nowadays, whenever I think about you
There is no separating me and you
There's no way to separate us
We got a whole lot of work in there
We have a lot of work to do for our relationship
And between us there's one heart beating
We share one heart that beats for both of us
('cause of your sweet love)
Because of your sweet, loving nature
'cause of love and devotion
Because of our love and devotion to each other
(We see clearly now)
Now we have a clear understanding
We can see clearly over the horizon
We can clearly see what lies ahead in our future
(Ain't no dream too high)
No dream is too big or impossible
Ain't no dream out of touch
All our dreams are within our reach
Anywhere around us
Wherever we go together
(Just between us)
Just between us, no one else knows
Takes my breath looking at you now
Every time I look at you now, I feel awed
Girl don't you light up a room anyhow
You light up the whole room, effortlessly
The most fortunate man alive
I'm the luckiest man ever
Has to be me with you by my side
It's because you're by my side
People keep telling us
Others keep saying to us
Entirely too curious
They're overly curious about our relationship
Too much to say about
They have too much to comment on
What we are doing
About our relationship and what we do together
Probably jealous, baby
They're probably envious, my dear
Don't let 'em come between us
Don't let them affect our relationship
(Don't let 'em come between us, baby)
Don't let them put a distance between us
No
Absolutely not
Every time that we are apart
Whenever we're not together
(Time you're away)
(When you're away)
More than a couple of days
If it's been more than a few days
Been a start
It's like starting from the beginning
(Give it up)
(I must admit missing you)
Pining away for you
Feeling nostalgic and longing for you
(Missing your love)
(Missing the love we share)
Girl I ain't lost I'm just missing you
I'm not lost, I just miss you a lot
Anywhere around us
Wherever we go together
Yes
Absolutely
Anywhere around us, anywhere
Anywhere we go together, any place or situation
Anywhere around us
Everywhere we're present or exist
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind