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.
Stranger
Stephen Stills Lyrics
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And my eyes finally meet a lady
Who has something unique
I must know her
Don't stumble on my feet
Get together
At least just enough to speak
To this stranger
Fascinated, with this beautiful face
Watching her eyes
There focusin' on me
Pay attention, she is talking to me
I'm the stranger
Tryin' to remember that getting it wrong
Is what everyone does
Mutual attraction can be so
Distracting, forget where you were
Strangers can fall in love
When you think about love at all
And you wind up cryin' the blues
And the lonelies person that you know
Is starin' out of the mirror at you you you
Are the stranger
And you know the danger
It'll be right
And you know that she's
With you
She ain't thinkin'
About what she's supposed to do
Worry'in
Might as well just be pretendin'
Hurryin'
When you know every new
Friend is a stranger
The lyrics of Stephen Stills's song "Stranger" depict the thoughts and emotions of a person who is attracted to someone they have just met. The singer describes the feeling of being drawn to a stranger because of something unique about them. The singer wants to get to know this person and is trying not to stumble over their words when they finally get the opportunity to speak to them.
As the singer watches the stranger, they become mesmerized by their beauty and are almost unable to focus on anything else besides their face. The stranger's eyes then focus on the singer and they begin to talk, commanding the singer's full attention. The singer is trying to stay present in the moment and not get too caught up in fantasies, but the attraction is distracting.
The lyrics then take a turn as the singer reflects on the danger of falling in love with a stranger. They acknowledge that everyone makes mistakes, but they are still hopeful that they will have a chance with this person. The singer then addresses the loneliness and heartbreak that can come with thinking about love, indicating that they themselves may be feeling this way.
Overall, the lyrics of "Stranger" convey the intense feelings of infatuation and possibility that come with meeting someone new, but also the fear and uncertainty that can accompany those emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
When I look
Upon sighting someone captivating
And my eyes finally meet a lady
And our glances converge on an intriguing woman
Who has something unique
Who has an exceptional attribute about her
I must know her
I am compelled to make her acquaintance
Don't stumble on my feet
Don't let awkwardness ruin the moment
Get together
Engage in conversation
At least just enough to speak
At minimum, only exchange words
To this stranger
To this unknown person
If I dream, I'm bound to lose my place
If I get too carried away, I might miss out
Fascinated, with this beautiful face
Enchanted by the loveliness before me
Watching her eyes
Observing her gaze
There focusin' on me
Fixed on me
Pay attention, she is talking to me
Concentrate, she is conversing with me
I'm the stranger
I am the unknown one
Tryin' to remember that getting it wrong
Attempting not to forget that making mistakes happens
Is what everyone does
Mistakes happen to everyone
Mutual attraction can be so
Shared interest can be so intense
Distracting, forget where you were
Disturbingly beguiling, forgetting everything around you
Strangers can fall in love
People who don't know each other can develop romantic feelings
When you think about love at all
When you contemplate love in any capacity
And you wind up cryin' the blues
And end up feeling depressed and melancholic
And the lonelies person that you know
And the most isolated person you know
Is starin' out of the mirror at you you you
Is reflected as you look in the mirror
Are the stranger
You are the unknown one
And you know the danger
And you are aware of the risk
It'll be right
It will be okay
And you know that she's
And you know that she is
With you
Into you
She ain't thinkin'
She is not preoccupied
About what she's supposed to do
About what is expected of her
Worry'in
Feeling anxious
Might as well just be pretendin'
It would be the same as pretending
Hurryin'
Being hasty
When you know every new
When you are aware that every fresh face
Friend is a stranger
Acquaintance is still an unknown person
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Songtrust Ave
Written by: Christopher Stills, Stephen Stills
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind