Year Of The Cat
On a morning from a Bogart movie
In a country where they turn back time
You go strolling through the crowd like Peter Lorre
Contemplating a crime
She comes out of the sun in a silk dress running
Like a watercolour in the rain
Don't bother asking for explanations
She'll just tell you that she came
In the year of the cat.
She doesn't give you time for questions
As she locks up your arm in hers
And you follow 'till your sense of which direction
Completely disappears
By the blue tiled walls near the market stalls
There's a hidden door she leads you to
These days, she says, I feel my life
Just like a river running through
The year of the cat.
Well, she looks at you so cooly
And her eyes shine like the moon in the sea
She comes in incense and patchouli
So you take her, to find what's waiting inside
The year of the cat.
Well, morning comes and you're still with her
And the bus and the tourists are gone
And you've thrown away the choice and lost your ticket
So you have to stay on
But the drum-beat strains of the night remain
In the rhythm of the new-born day
You know sometime you're bound to leave her
But for now you're going to stay
In the year of the cat.
- "Year of the Cat" is the seventh studio album by Al Stewart, released in 1976 and engineered by Alan Parsons; it is considered his masterpiece, and the title track charted at #8 on the 1977 Billboard Hot 100.
- Stewart had all of the music and orchestration written and completely recorded before he even had a title of any of the songs. In a Canadian radio interview he stated that he has done this for 6 of his albums, and he often writes four different sets of lyrics for each song.
- The title track "Year of the Cat" derives from a song Stewart wrote in 1966 called "Foot of the Stage" with prescient lyrics about Tony Hancock, one of Britain's favorite comedians who tragically committed suicide two years later.
- Stewart's song was originally titled "Foot Of The Stage," with the chorus, "Your tears fall down like rain at the foot of the stage." Many of Stewart's songs have alternate lyrics, and he wasn't happy with the Hancock-inspired words, as he didn't want to take advantage of the man's tragedy and besides, no one in America knew who Hancock was. Al re-wrote the lyrics as "Year Of The Cat," which he delivered to Parsons.
- "Year Of The Cat" was originally rejected by Stewart's record label, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, but was later included at the request of Stewart's United States Distributor, RCA Records.
- Many of the lyrics were inspired by the 1942 Humphrey Bogart movie "Casablanca."
- Alan Parsons produced the album and also played the sax solo on this track. Parsons was a prominent recording engineer long before going on to his own solo success.
- The cat is the fourth animal symbol in the 12-year cycle of the Vietnamese zodiac, taking place of the rabbit in the Chinese zodiac. As such, the traits associated with the rabbit are attributed to the cat. Cats are in conflict with the rat.
- In Vietnamese Astrology 1975 was the Year Of The Cat but because the song was written years earlier there is a misconception that the title deliberately references the year 1975. Based on the lyrical content and theme, if it were to represent a single year based on Vietnamese Astrology it may be based on the year 1939. That is plausible due to the fact that the movie "Casablanca" was set in unoccupied South Africa in the early days of World War II.
- Under Chinese astrology, there was NO "Year of the Cat." The Cat did not cooperate with the other animals of the Chinese zodiac and thus was deprived of his "Year." Thus, "The Year of the Cat" is a possible reference to "The Twelfth of Never"-- an undefined and impossible time that does not truly exist.
- "Year Of The Cat" is an excellent example of metaphor, simile and hyperbole.
Available at Amazon.com
Previous In This Series:
- Misheard Lyrics: Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis
- Misheard Lyrics: Yellow Ledbetter by Pearl Jam
- Misheard Lyrics: One Week by The Barenaked Ladies
- Misheard Lyrics: Someone Saved My Life Tonight by Elton John
- Misheard Lyrics: The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite by R.E.M.
- Misheard Lyrics: I Am The Walrus by The Beatles
- Misheard Lyrics: #9 Dream by John Lennon
- Misheard Lyrics: Show Me The Way by Peter Frampton
- Misheard Lyrics: All Those Years Ago by George Harrison
- Misheard Lyrics: One Night In Bangkok by Murray Head
- Misheard Lyrics: Ball Of Confusion (That's What The World Is Today) by The Temptations
- Misheard Lyrics: Killer Queen by Queen
- Misheard Lyrics: Hide In Your Shell by Supertramp
- Misheard Lyrics: Stayin' Alive by The Bee Gees
- Misheard Lyrics: Miracles by Jefferson Starship
- Misheard Lyrics: It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) by R.E.M.
- Misheard Lyrics: Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress by The Hollies
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