Al Stewart - Love Chronicles Lyrics
I can remember the first girl that I did love
It was Stephanie
In kindergarten arithmetic classes she used to
Sit next to me
I'd pass her sticky sweets under the table
Although she wouldn't remember me now
Sometimes I wonder where she can be
I can remember the first girl I kissed
It was Christine when I was ten
I'd been told we were moving away
I thought I'd never see her again
Oh don't forget me
I'll be back when they let me
Before you learn how to lie when you're leaving
And at school would you believe three hundred boys
And no girls at all
But you're a fool if you should leave
Just think of the joys of rugby football
And prep in the morning and Brylcreem and acne
And cross-country running to kill evil thoughts
I'm surprised that I survived
I ran ten thousand miles with my back to the wall
I can remember the first girl that I made love to
It was in a park
In the lower pleasure gardens in Bournemouth
In summer just after dark
My mind was reeling: Oh what a feeling.
I missed the bus and walked twelve miles home
And it really didn't seem far
And all through my seventeenth summer
Running together from crowds and ties
Taking our clothes off and feeling each other
With fingers and senses and mouths and eyes
Incurring the glances of old disapproval
From elderly local inhabitant's eyes
Oh time, time we hardly even knew you
You didn't touch us with your lies
In the halcyon days of my late adolescence
My goal seemed clearly in sight
Playing electric guitar with a beat group
We set the ballrooms alight
Camping it up for the dyed blonde receptionists
Who told us we were al-ri-yi-yight
On an ego trip for a teenage superstar
On thirty shillings a nigh-yight
And so it fell that I came up to London
To look for fortune and fame
Starry eyed in my seaside successes
And much too sure of the game
First girl I met there I thought I'd get there
But the first girl was nearly the last girl
She left my eyes in the drain
She sat on my floor in the dead of the night
Rolling a joint and looking round for a light
Her clothes were so black and her face was so white
How could I know what was right?
And I sat all huddled upon my bed
Watching her in my innocence
And it was no sense at all, but too much sense
That took me to the bridge of impotence
Oh Artaud's anthology lay spread on the floor
And the thoughts that she gave me,
I'd not met before
And stranded half hypnotised,
I watched her in awe
Of everything that she stood for
And I wanted more than anything to be like her with every sense
But it was no sense at all, but too much sense
That took me to the bridge of impotence
She came over to me and kissed me in play
Taking my hand between her legs as she lay
And she looked in my eyes but I turned them away
Finding no words fit to say
And I hated myself, but could not move
Shattered in my confidence
But it was no sense at all, but too much sense
That took me to the bridge of impotence
Now the stare of the lightbulb tore holes in my brain
As she got up in the silence that hung like a stain
And I wanted to speak, or to call out her name
But how could I begin to explain?
And my prosecuting room still holds
A strand of her hair in evidence
But it was no sense at all, but too much sense
That took me to the bridge of impotence
Oh I still think about her when the night fills with rain
And speaks in its voices uneasy and vain
And I think were I maybe to find her again
Oh I'd probably see her more plain
And I should have known she was just like me
It was after all only common-sense
But it was no sense at all, but too much sense
That took me to the bridge of impotence
But it was no sense at all, but too much sense
That took me to the bridge of impotence
At first I didn't go out much at all
I just stayed at home in my chains
Picking over the threads of my confidence
And searching for the remains
And when I couldn't stand any more of it
Going down to a club
Mixing in with the sounds and the crowds
I let the music cover me up
And only, lonely, the harlequins and painted phonies
Pick their ways, through the haze
Of highs and lows and blues
And all that I could do was to pick my way to you
Though I didn't tell you
You were just a thing to prove
I was hungry when found you, but I'm alright now
They sigh, they lie, the refugees and superheroes
On ice, so nice to see you, what's your name?
And all that I could do was to say the same to you
Take you for the moment, though the moment wasn't true
But I was hungry when I found you and I'm alright now
Though the street lamp cut through the curfew
It shed no light on our mind
It would have been so easy to love you
At any other time
Only, lonely, you came to me the night hung coldly
In your eyes, some other time I might have stayed with you
But all that I could do was to turn around to you
Thanks for what you gave me now it's time to say "Adieu"
I was hungry when I found you but I'm alright now.
Ba ba ba alright now
And so it came that I stood disillusioned
By everything I'd been told
I just didn't believe love existed
They were all just digging for gold
Widows and bankers and typists and businessmen
Loved each other they said
But all it was though was just a manoeuvre
The quickest way into bed
And so I followed the others' example
And jumped into the melee
In the hunting grounds of Earls Court and Swiss Cottage
I did my best to get laid
Beer cans and parties, deb girls and arties
Bouncing around in the social confusion
Missing and making the grade
The very first time I must confess
I thought you'd be like all of the rest
And we'd be strangers once again
By the time we were dressed
But when you'd smoked your cigarette
And talked of some people that we'd met
I found myself asking was it set,
did you have to go yet
And so you laughed and then kissed me
And stayed for the whole weekend
Although the bed was so narrow
We had to sleep end to end
And so the weeks passed through my brain
In their dadaistic chain
I found myself seeing you again, and again and again
And all you gave you gave it free
Asking for nothing back from me
You gave yourself unselfishly as a part of me
And where I thought that just plucking
The fruits of the bed was enough
It grew to be less like fucking
And more like making love
Of all the girls I ever knew
some loved and some denied me
And all the words I ever said
have been no use to hide me
And all the songs I ever sung
each one of them untied me
And all the girls I ever loved
have left themselves inside me
Other Lyrics by Artist
- Al Stewart - Peter On The White Sea
- Al Stewart - Red Toupee
- Al Stewart - King Of Portugal
- Al Stewart - Real And Unreal
- Al Stewart - Last Days Of The Century
- Al Stewart - Lori, Don't Go Right Now
- Al Stewart - The Gypsy And The Rose
- Al Stewart - The Candidate
- Al Stewart - 1-2-3
- Al Stewart - Where Are They Now
- Al Stewart - Bad Reputation
- Al Stewart - Josephine Baker
- Al Stewart - Don't Forget Me
- Al Stewart - Angel Of Mercy
- Al Stewart - Feel Like
- Al Stewart - Helen & Cassandra
- Al Stewart - Ghostly Horses Of The Plain
- Al Stewart - Antarctica
Rand Lyrics
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Al Stewart Love Chronicles Comments
year of the cat and time passages are the best! cheers! (ps: listen to nick drake also please)
18 minute song, wow
A big influence on me back in the day, I wanted to be like the girl who drove him insane. The London chick. Loved this album.
Then he went to commercial type tunes.
I always think Al Stewart and the younger Roy Harper have very similar voices
Truly a remarkable song. This, along with "Roads to Moscow", are just about as good as music ever gets. Thank you, Al Stewart, for these and many other classics.
Saw him at St Andrews Hall in Norwich in 69 Still have my vinyl copy of Love Chronicles but no deck
He played at my college and offered to play again without using his agent...
One of the best Scottish songs
Al Stewart at his best!
Yes this is the greatest song he has ever wrote
I, too, frequented the Troubadour but saw Al Stewart first, solo, at Colston Hall in 1970 - he'd already developed a larger fan base. He was a very accomplished performer. It was at that concert that I first learned of Mervyn Peake's extraordinary Gormenghast series when Al introduced his instrumental "Room of Roots".
This ISs Al Stewart's best song ever listen t the lyrics
**
Sadly, Al Stewart disavows this and most all his early composition.
Hey, this is life and life only - and he puts his out there. Good for him.
**
This is so familiar to me. The way that I came into loving women was as incremental as this song is. Desire always comes first. Imagination leads the lover. It was no sense at all.
Love this song
Brilliant!
Yes, a masterpiece!
takes me back to the troubadour in Clifton, around 1970. Good days even though they only served orange juice and lemonade.
ah, this song is very, very nice. how did I miss out on this guy for 48 years? Jimmy is as good as any. There is no accounting for taste, but Jimmy is truly a guitar hero and a cultural icon.
can you really not say fuck on youtube? or are you guy all just super appropriate? cause i'm not. who gives a fuck?
That was more of a rhetorical device than a question, so don't feel like you have to respond.
oh Al, you've always been such a Romantic
I have been looking for this album/song for 33 years. First heard it when first introduced to All. Was beginning to believe it was a false memory. Although for some reason I always though he donned a feather boa on the cover.33 years can't be perfect!
14:48 The very first time I must confess
I thought you'd be like all of the rest
And we'd be strangers once again
By the time we were dressed
But when you'd smoked your cigarette
And talked of some people that we'd met
I found myself asking was it set,
did you have to go yet
And so you laughed and then kissed me
And stayed for the whole weekend
Although the bed was so narrow
We had to sleep end to end
And so the weeks passed through my brain
In their dadaistic chain
I found myself seeing you again, and again and again
And all you gave you gave it free
Asking for nothing back from me
You gave yourself unselfishly as a part of me
And where I thought that just plucking
The fruits of the bed was enough
It grew to be less like fucking
And more like making love
Sheer perfection..............I fell in love with him in the 70's !
And a little jimmy page on electric giving him some support.
Came here for the "F" word. Wasted 16:45 mins if my life to get it...boo!
Yes that little word on this very record caused a bit of a to-do with my friend's mother about 45 years ago when we were 15. Good tune though - man did I envy him.
Came here for the "F" word. Wasted 16:45 mins if my life to get it...boo!
St James And it wasn't even that good, he muttered it out.
This song, without that "fucking" clearly said, is not the same song. I need to find the real version.
In this pic he looks like George Harrison.
The same Scots-Irish stock
this is he first album in music history here the "F" word was used
Wasn't "we can be together" by Jefferson Airplane written before this?
Interesting that. I've just checked and both the albums Love Chronicles and Volunteers (Jefferson Airplane) were released in 1969, Al's album in September and the Jefferson Airplane album in November. The single Volunteers (which had "we can be together" on the B-side) was released in October 1969. So Al just about wins!
More to the point, it was the first time the word was printed in the lyrics on the album cover.. And of course it was not an expletive but a valid description.
The word fucked is actually used on the 1935 blues song "Shave 'em Dry"
brilliant
...This is great! I hadn't heard it for nearly half a century, school days! I never knew it was Jimmy Page, but yes, you can tell...
Great song
OMG! How could I have never heard this song before?!?!?! LOVE IT!!!
+lagaman11 April 1990 : )
Fantastic,brings back lots of memories
PAGEY !
Jimmy Page of Led Zep on lead guitar. (swear to God)A song like this couldn't work, except it does. Each verse getting better and better.Conclusion: A Masterpiece.
And John Paul Jones on bass
Great song and my Father was a regular at the Troubadour in the 60's, My Father and my Uncle once put a gig on for Al in the 60's. My Uncle still has the handwritten letter from Al that he wrote thanking them. Thank you for posting! =D
Best song he ever wrote, by a million miles.
Small orange a close second.
Thank you Al Stewart.
@Phil Na Is this the rock world's greatest ever track?
My favs are The Ballad Of Mary Foster, Roads to Moscow and Beleeka Doodle Day...Masterclasses in lyric writing
You are correct
The News from Spain also brilliant and I'm falling and and and .. ;-)
Incredible amazing song including Page. Maybe also the first f word on released vinyl? He was Scottish.
@Noodles37UK He still is, oddly enough.
+Neville Grundy Ha bloody ha. From Noodles : )
Un tres bon moment que cette chanson.
So many happy memories
I'll be posting a full length LIVE version of this epic song... with a bevy of well-endowed beauties to accompany the music...
every song on this album is amazing..how many artists can do that these days....
Jim cool
thank you for this. Such a shame the rest of the Album is missing. My vinyl copy became unplayable too many years ago
There's a CD called "To Whom it May Concern" which contains the whole album, plus the other early stuff. http://www.amazon.com/To-Whom-It-May-Concern/dp/B00000744H
Magic. Thanks very much for that link.
+utuber111963 ...mine is VG +
This song has came and went, in, and away from my life many times since I was a teen. First on vinyl, then cassette, CD, now through some space age, fictional, sci-fi, Star Trek, wireless computer technology. I was just some young, teen, punk when I first heard this, and I admit that as a teen male, I giggled at the line about f***ing becoming more like making love. Of course at that age I was ignorant to what he was saying. Along the way through my own "Time Passages".... WOWWW!!!...... this song has watched me grow up and mature, and now that I'm 50, his words have came fool circle and still make me giggle like a teen boy. I'm just kidding. In all honesty, it has came full circle and has such a deeper meaning. I've always loved this song, and Al Stewart for that matter, but it's almost fascinating the way that this song has, in a sense, grown with me as I grew to understand it more and more. Great story tellers, lyricists, with musical talent are far too few. I enjoy a catchy tune, and I am very eclectic when it comes to the music I listen to, but songs like this are like getting into a good book, except it's a book that gives you the opportunity to sit back, relax, close your eyes and tap your foot.... Thanks for sharing this with us, I think I'll hit replay a couple of more times, sit back, relax, and tap my foot..............
Much better than "year of the twat "
all I want to do is get high and fuck teenagersd with big tits
@robb davy Attaboy, robb
wonder why al didn't follow it up with a x rated fuck lp?
Al DID! Most of his songs are about sex, but they are more subtle and artful than this one.
whjen ever I hear this lp I want to screw a girl with big tits
What an epic of a song! Classic folk!
Al Stewart is damn awesome....
no my dad is bigger than yours from me,just to say "fcukin marvellou"s and to jack blair (few comms down) "its up your arse pal"
Amazing song! Apparently All disowned this album - bum move as I think its his best!
This song changed my life too.
Jimmy Page on this one, but It was Richard Thompson on all the others. Al said so when I saw his gig last night in Manchester.
Well, he did sing "You Should Have Listened To Al".
I once told people I'd be singing this song one hour before our usual folk club began. Eight people rolled up, probably to see whether I'd manage to get through the whole thing without a slip (I did).
I saw Al in Manchester last night and someone called for this from the audience. Al just laughed.
TO ALL AL STEWART AND PETER WHITE FANS
PHIL KENZIE The legendary sax soloist on all of Al Stewart's hits
will be appearing at the upcoming "once in a lifetime" concert at The Royal Albert Hall on October 15th. This concert coincides with the release of Phil's CD, " A Night With The Cat" which will be available for purchase.
A tribute to Al Stewart's artistry, it is an instrumental version of the magical lyrics of "The Year of The Cat". which will be enjoyed by all on this very special night.
hi passer59
I was probably in the Troubadour that night. I saw him there once and he did Clifton in the Rain. Outside? Yep it was raining in Clifton ha ha ha
This song changed my LIFE!
it's his birthday today, september 5th. I remember in 1970 at a concert he said that he was : 'a rapidly ageing folk singer'. he was 25. later he said that : 'you wake up one day and you'e 47. time passages.....
Many thanks for this. I used to play it on my guitar. Maybe I should again. I particularly appreciate the way you switched to the picture of Mandy when her section started to play. "And every girl I ever loved has left herself inside me." So true.
Thank you! I was there too, at the Troubador Club in Clifton Bristol, when a student at the uni., I think I saw Al Stewart at least a couple of times there. Thank you, fond memories.
First musician in 'popular' music
It takes balls to sing about not being able to get it up!
The first girl that i loved was a slut named liz custer in a guru cult in miami beach in 1981
As a member of the Bass Players Union, listen to Ashley Hutchings' bass line :)
John Paul Jones plays bass on this track.
It’s John Paul Jones on Bass here.
Thankyou to upload!! I remenber my 12yo's
..
I'm not sure he did, I know he played on this song but I'm uncertain whether he played on the rest, I still need to meet Al and ask him all these questions I have haha
Where's my gun?
Al Stewart actually performed at my college back in 1968, Pink Floyd were in the main hall but I opted to listen to Al.
Mine too!!
Jim ye he’s here smoking with me now
jimmy page played guitar in this song...and all the songs in this album....circa.early
1969...
Yep; great!