His albums Tea for the Tillerman and Teaser and the Firecat were both certified as Triple Platinum by the RIAA in the United States; his album Catch Bull at Four sold half a million copies in the first two weeks of release alone, and was Billboard's number-one LP for three consecutive weeks. He has also earned two ASCAP songwriting awards in consecutive years, for "The First Cut Is the Deepest", which has been a hit single for four different artists.
Stevens converted to Islam at the height of his fame in December, 1977,[2] and adopted his Muslim name, Yusuf Islam, the following year. In 1979 he auctioned all his guitars away for charity[3] and left his music career to devote himself to educational and philanthropic causes in the Muslim community. He has been given several awards for his work in promoting peace in the world, including 2003's World Award, the 2004 Man for Peace Award and the 2007 Mediterranean Prize for Peace. In 2006, he returned to pop music, with his first album of new pop songs in 28 years, entitled An Other Cup. He now goes by the single name Yusuf.[4]
He currently lives with his wife and children in London, and spends part of each year in Dubai.[4]
His newest album, Roadsinger, was released on May 5, 2009.
You Are My Sunshine
Yusuf / Cat Stevens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You make me happy when skies are grey
You never know, oh, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
The other night, as I lay sleeping
I dreamt a light entered my heart
When I awoke, I was mistaken
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You never know, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
My mama once told me
What a soul should know
It's about the devil, and I hate him so
He'll be crying, if we don't frown
And keep on smiling
He'll stop hanging round
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You never know, how much I love you
Oh, please don't take my sunshine away
The lyrics of Yusuf / Cat Stevens's song "You Are My Sunshine" expresses feelings of deep love and appreciation towards a romantic partner. The singer tells his love that they are his only source of happiness in life and that he loves them more than they could ever realize. The lyrics also contain a dream sequence in which the singer finds himself feeling happy and fulfilled because of his partner's presence in his life. The final section of the song is a reflection on the power of positivity and the importance of keeping a positive outlook on life, in order to keep the negative forces at bay.
Line by Line Meaning
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You are the source of light, joy and positivity in my life, and without you, everything will be dark and gloomy
You make me happy when skies are grey
Your presence lights up my life even during the darkest of moments
You never know, oh, how much I love you
I don't think words can express how much I love you, and I fear that I may not have made that clear enough
Please don't take my sunshine away
I am afraid of losing you and the light you bring into my life. Please don't leave me in the dark alone
The other night, as I lay sleeping
During a recent dream I had
I dreamt a light entered my heart
I had a dream in which I experienced a warm, loving feeling fill me up inside
When I awoke, I was mistaken
Upon waking up, I realized that it was just a dream and the feeling was not real
Ah, but the curtains were still blown apart
But I noticed that the curtains were moved aside by the wind, as if the dream had left behind some sort of positive energy
My mama once told me
My dear mother shared with me some valuable wisdom
What a soul should know
She taught me what is truly important in life, what we should hold onto and cherish
It's about the devil, and I hate him so
She taught me to despise evil and negative forces in the world
He'll be crying, if we don't frown
The forces of darkness will retreat and lose power if we don't let ourselves be affected by them
And keep on smiling
We should keep a positive outlook on life, no matter what challenges we face
He'll stop hanging round
With our unwavering positive attitude and determination, we can rid ourselves of negative forces once and for all
Oh, please don't take my sunshine away
Please don't let the negative forces in this world dim the light that you bring into my life
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Jimmie Davis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
M.HARUN IQBAL QURASHI
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You never know, oh, how much I love you
Please don’t take my sunshine away
The other night, as I lay sleeping
I dreamt a light entered my heart
When I awoke, I was mistaken
Ah, but the curtains were still blown apart
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You never know, how much I love you
Please don’t take my sunshine away
My mama once told me
What a soul should know
It’s about the devil, and I hate him so
He’ll be crying, if we don’t frown
And keep on smiling
He’ll stop hanging round
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You never know, how much I love you
Oh, please don’t take my sunshine away
Elise Jones
Yes YUSUF/CAT YOU are OUR SUNSHINE !! A BLESSING ! A GIFT !! PEACE & LOVE. LISA 🙏❤😇🌟
sofieonecrow
My Mom used to sing this often when I was growing up (I'm 73 now), but her version didn't have the funkiness of this one. Loving it!
Elise Jones
YUSUF/CAT DO REALIZE HOW MANY PEOPLES LIVES YOU HAVE SWEETLY AFFECTED WITH YOUR BEAUTIFUL MUSIC ??? MILLIONS AND MILLIONS ! WOW ! WHAT A LEGACY !! PEACE & LOVE ! LISA ❤🎶
theJONeG cle
Great fun. Yusuf has music in his DNA & soul. So good to hear him again.
Asproula Poula
So true
Sandra Kral
Oh I remember that whistle.. and you walking on stage !! .. It was surreal, and then to hear the songs I loved , if it was a dream I never want to wake up.. you and my Mom will always be My Sunshine, she played this beautiful song on her guitar as I sang along with her so long ago, I know she would have loved this bluesy jazzy style as I do.
Nick j
Cool stage sets. Never stopped loving this Cat.
Big Boss
Great song, special voice and amazing performance. Loved it. Greetings from Istanbulç
Sherry Ruth
This is the best! We used to sing this around the house! I love the way you sing this song!!
Elise Jones
YUSUF I USED TO SING THIS SONG TO MY CHILDREN & GRANDCHILDREN ROCKING THEM TO SLEEP ! PEACE & LOVE , LISA