Stewart, Al - Modern Times Lyrics

Serious brilliance.

"See the blonde one over there, I bet she'd be alright" -- captures perfectly that time of life.

This is amazing. Truly epic! Al and Tim are geniuses

I love singing this song acoustically, and it always seems to go down well, even with people who aren't Al Stewart fans. I suppose many of us have had a similar experience at some time - although in my case without the red light girls coming after me!

I think I wore out two copies of this album and Past Present and Future before there were CDs. I've seen Al in concert three times, and they've all been excellent.

Rand Huso .. I bet you know ..
Old admirals who feel the wind, and never put to sea

In my opinion the best guitar solo of all time.

♪♪ Silence grows on you like ivy, ivy ♪♪

the singer he is having a conversation with a ghost of himself he sees in a bar room mirror but the ghost holds no answer for him and his troubles and sends him out to ponder the meaning of life as another new and meaningless day is dawning!

Al Stewart is a very good bard.  I think that he might with of the Greenwich group of the sixties.  It seems that every song by Al Stewart has a very orchestra background.  I  love the guitar at the end of the song.

Ok Al fans, time to mobilize to get him into the Hall of Fame. How do we do it?
Does it get any better than Dark and Rolling Sea and Modern Times in succession compared to some of the lightweights in the Hall? A stunning, polished, professional set of songs.
I saw him in the 90s at Ambler, Pa., and in Wilmington, Del., in 2017. The voice and musicianship were still magnificent, poignant.
Let's get the ball rolling!!

I have sung this song many times at my local folk club, the Bothy in Southport, and it does get a good response. Unfortunately, I can't replicate the brilliant guitar solo ant the end of this superb song. Oh well ...

just a great emotional song//That what good songs should evoke..emotions and feelings....i relate to this right away ..all who reflect and think can too. Great song Al!

The most underrated song of all time? (Yes, the 'U' word.)

Hauntingly sweet and beautiful

I always thought this song and album are much better than Year of the cat... I love cats though

🥀🥀🥀

Brilliant

Silence grows on you like ivy--- love that line!!

The best full orchestration ever used in Rock music, 1.5 minutes of pure soaring bliss...The Beatles never even approached it.

The outro IS spectacular.

Great one¡

this was co-written by Al with Dave Mudge a hugely talented songwriter , who sadly never made it.
Dave was invited to attend the albums debut gig & bought a white suit for the occasion, unforunately he broke down on the way & did a bit on engine tinkering, meanwhile Al Stwart is singing his song giving Dave credit, the follow spot frantically searching the auditorium. Dave's still fixing the engine , he got going , missed the gig & showed up for the press party after the gig.
His white suit now covered in oil n grease. Dave Mudge , classic entrance. unforgettable . RIP

Thanks for sharing this story about the mysterious Dave Mudge!

Featuring Tim Renwick the worlds best "unknown" guitarist.

Stands the test of time Bro

Very happy to see Al get a lifetime award - better late than never.

Far deeper than 'Scenes from an Italian Restaurant'.

Una canción con un significado muy esotérico para mí .

I miss the 70s

Incredible song!

Sometimes, I'm apparently just a wee bit slow on the uptake.
(See, most of the time, I'm WAY slow on the uptake.)
I never realized this was about a suicide til a commenter in another thread pointed it out.
So sad.

He is the great secret very few people are privy to it.

HEAR HEAR

Oh yes. Al is our little secret.

if people are fool to not know Al then let us revel in the sublime secrecy

Yer mission..................build us a song about our Queen.75 years is a lot of time and space But she seen a lot of things........only you can do it........I wanna new song for my boat

she said I pack my back in ruchsac, 'eaversac. she was british stockholm white trash. study psycologi. she got me number. I never feel so naked befroe or since.

Really like this and Old Admirals !

make this 100,000fux sak really!

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it will be opened unto you.
As I write this, about one month later, it's at 102,104 vues...
But only 294 likes. That's a pity.

I had a moment in a Budapest bar that made me think of this song. I had just gotten out of the Army and was very angry and bitter from the things I had to deal with (as well as bad life choices). I was trying to think of the good times of my childhood and where I was from, but the bitter side of me filled me with angst and tried to reject everything that I was and came from.

I shut out the good and rejected it because that fit my world view at the time. I was fighting with myself, trying to tell it to remember the good times.

I like to think that moment was very similar to what this song is about. Its about an internal struggle with oneself and perceptions of self and past, as well as growing up and making your way into an indifferent and seemingly meaningless world.
fortunately it ends optimistically for Al

Maybe i'm just projecting?

Interesting connection... I was having trouble understanding the point of view of the man Al talks to in the song, but this clears it up a bit

Not projecting.

I think you nailed it completely. I sincerely hope things are better for you now.

Accepting, not projecting. Thank you for sharing your story.

Imagine a chronicle of your life....I fear I would be the other guy.

Who love's Al more than me?......Hell i'd invite him to breakfast.n I'd buy

He's just a right kind of guy.,,nobodys dumass

He was a good lookin kid back in the day.......smart as a whip.............A Knightship..should be bestowed...........By Crown.................he defends the faith

He's well deserving....who defends the realm? Of our Queen...whom we love

Mom............do me a favor.........but look at all the books

I truly believe....................Bro Al.........should receive all accolades of Knighthood... If I had the powerr .................I would give him the honor.........But were a Stewart.Maybe that stands in our way? My thought is this.....He is a defender of the faith and a true defender of the Realm

Chicken skin music

You opinion is noted.for the negative

That was a compliment


Ry Cooder has always believed in the "mutuality in music," and this may be no more evident in his career than with his fifth album, Chicken Skin Music (a Hawaiian colloquialism, synonymous with goosebumps).

So chicken skin is the feeling you get with powerfully emotive songs - interesting! Agreed.

Al Stewart showed me how having a musical hero can let you down. I saw him at King Georges Hall in Blackburn ,Lancashire in 1984 and managed to get a back stage pass..........After that I enjoy the songs through associations, but sadly do no like the man. If anyone i interested I will post what happened.

Why should I give a shit about the UK? It's my homeland

And all that goes with it

Democracy...human rights.and mostly civility...............

If you don't believe in those principals..then move to the US.........I feel more tied to the Crown.. and if they were to defer..I would probably lean to the crown..Tory maybe I am

Defend the realm

Hello old friend, what a strange coincidence to find you
It's been fifteen years since we last met, but I still recognised you
So call the barman over here, and let us fill our glasses
And drink a toast to olden times where all our memories lie
Where all our memories lie

Do you remember the time we were young?
Lowly, lowly, low
Outside the window the frosty moonlight hung
On the midnight snow
So we pulled our scarves around our faces in the night
Huddled on the doorsteps where the fairylights shone bright
Singing Christmas carols while our breath hung in the light
It all comes back like yesterday
It almost seems like yesterday

Do you remember the changes as we grew?
Slowly, slowly, slow
Sneaking in the back way into movies after school
For the evening show
Chasing skinny blue jean girls across the building-site
Checking out the dance floor while the band played "Hold Me Tight"
See the blonde one over there: I bet she'd be alright
It all comes back like yesterday
It almost seems like yesterday

While I talked he sat and he never made a sound
Staring at the glass beside me
Hey old friend, tell me what's on your mind?
Silence grows on you like ivy
Ivy

Do you remember the church across the sands?
Holy, holy, ho
You stood outside and planned to travel the lands
Where the pilgrims go
So you packed your world up inside a canvas sack
Set off down the highway with your rings and Kerouac
Someone said they saw you in Nepal a long time back
Tell me why you look away
Don't you have a word to say?

He said, "I don't remember ... I Don't want to remember
In fact I've heard too much already
I don't want to think, just leave me here to drink
Wrapped up in the warmth of New York City
Oh, oh, it seems you just don't know
And you just don't understand me
I've got no use for the tricks of modern times
They tangle all my thoughts like ivy
Ivy"

So I left him, and I went out to the street
Lowly, lowly, low
Where the red light girls were coming after me
Forty dollar show
All across the city's heart the lights were coming on
The hotel lift softly hummed a Cole Porter song
If I went to look for him I knew he would be gone
A picture-card of yesterday
A photograph of yesterdayAnd far off in a deserted part of town
The shadows like a silent army
Flooded out the rooms in pools of blue and brown
And stuck to all the walls like ivy
Ivy
Ivy

Me recuerda a los Beatles!!👍🏻🌅🤗

Modern Times!!

Jackson Brown #3

lowlylowlylowly

Apple Cider Reconstitution takes me back to a place and time long ago, brings a tear to my eye. All Al Stewart music does if I'm honest about it.

Few musicians or poets do the bittersweetness of nostalgia as well as our Al does.

J'aime ce chanteur et sa musique sublime

Oui, Oui. Se tres bein.

WHEATLAND

GREAT PAL ~ :)

al Stewart tem umas canções muito linda e suave

Such a great song. Such a great album

Cannot help but agree.

I liked it SO much better than "Year of the Cat." I really think it was his best.

Still gets to me after all these years.

He's our boy.............

troubadour par excelance

dxTrue story brother/

It skips. Seriously?

You mean at 5:09? That was quite a screech.

One of my favorites Stewart's songs :)

thank you for this post

Al shows his guitar greatness at 6:00 to the finish!

Frozen Lover Tim Renwick played that masterful lead solo.

Is he related to Eric Idle of Monty Python's Flying Circus?  There is a resemblance.

Al Stewart is a bard.

Nope. Al Stewart is THE Bard.

I would place this song next to Dylan classics like Tangled Up in Blue, or Shelter From The Storm.
Or especially Gordon Lightfoot's Seven Island Suite. It is That Good !

Seven island Suite. That IS a good comparison. This one is not quite as stonerish, and the orchestra is the best!

PS I love Gordon Lightfoot like a brother.

Thoughtful music from Al Stewart, but unknown to most people.

It's a fuckin shame

They're all missing out. He is a hidden gem.

Exactly what i say about all the music i like that you dont know.......

Imo the greatest lyricists of the 20th century are him, Leonard Cohen and Jacques Brel.

"History is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake."  James Joyce. Al  Stewart provides some good alarm clocks. DOC

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.

and the answers is.....probably, a lot , and maybe ?

I love non sequeters and eclectisisum. I wonder if you know if Al was ever on any big usa talk shows that i missed like johnny carson letterman or leno?and how many songs has Al written? does he outwrite the stones and dylan?

Thank's for your reply, though it seems to be a slight non sequitur. I was replying to your question on al stewart and the beatles, not about bob dylan and miami, though you never know, there may be some obscure connection. doesn't matter, it's all good stuff.

i never met any though they were nearby in mimai beach and i didnt know it!funny how bob dylan is so contraversal yet no crazy has ever tried to whack him!

from what I know he had several encounters, one when he was a teenager with his friend in bournemouth where they boysed their way backstage pretending to be representing a guitar company. later , he once mentioned accidently meeting John lennon on the stairs of a hotel where john lennon was being a bit unpleasant to a girl he was with. lastly, he worked with yoko ono in the mid to late 1960s. there may have been more meetings, who knows?

I notice al never does songs about the space programe?

You like most people, put everything in opposition.
Why couldn't you just say, 'many are not familar with Stewart's great
music and lyrics.
What does Bob Dylan have to do with it?
But then again, you are a 'dudley'~

I love the turn of phrase in this one, "Where all our memories lie, where all our memories lie." Which you might take as where all our memories rest and where all our memories are false, (as often is the case with memories the further away they get from events).

There is a certain irony that Stewart isn't considered in Dylan's league when, in fact, Dylan couldn't carry his hat in terms of the marriage of melody and lyric. No negative reflection on Dylan, but he's no Al Stewart.

did al stewart ever meet any beatles?all of my old friends will never be seen again

het komt terug als gisteren, heimwee, hang naar het toen . Of onvrede net het nu!

The long transition from seagulls after Dark and Rolling Sea to the bar crowd before Modern Times is perhaps the most beautiful, riveting pieces of artistry of all time. You MUST hear both songs together in full to appreciate it.

It almost seems like yesterday!

I've got no you use for the tricks of modern times, they tangle all my thoughts like ivy.

Silence grows on you like ivy....

it is the european cover of the album. in the usa it had a different cover

vanaf 1976 al onder de indruk , start met oh Carol nr 1 kant 1 naar Modern Times
mega Bert

I bet that Al was really pleased that Bob Dylan also made an album called 'Modern Times'. He was a real fan in the days I knew him in London and at the Cousins in Greek Street.

Side two of this album has been flogged to death by me since I bought it in 1978, both the LP and now the CD. The title track is a classic in the prog/rock/folk genres and Tim Renwick's lead guitar with ochestra conducted by Andrew Powell from around 6:00 onwards is just awesome. An absolute killer track!!!

An absolute genius!

The guitar work always reminded me of Clapton. It's very Laylaesque

@zengalileo It's not the cover.

Charlie Chaplin,Harpo Marx,Metropolis and this song is the spirit for my modern times ! What counts is timeless. Thank' for posting this fitting song,uploader !!

Listened to this hundreds of times in the seventies lying on the floor with my headphones on over and over. Tim Renwick kicks ass!!!

that's not the cover I remember from this album.

This song has not only led me to being an even greater Al Stewart fan but also a big Andrew Powell fan. His powerful orchestratral arrangement is perfect!! Powell's work on this song, "Year of the Cat", and "Time Passages" led me to his work with Cockney Rebel, The Alan Parsons Project, Kate Bush, and John Miles.

The one dislike is from the string Tim broke @ 6:31

Fabulous song - I've always thought that the hopeful traveller from the "Dark And The Rolling Sea" is the bitter, disillusioned man in New York who has no need for the tricks of "Modern Times". I echo all the opinions of Tim Renwick's guitar playing - how it lifts this song at the end is really majestic.

I have lissent to his songs in more than 20years and i still love Them

@goginetTV
Thank you !

Im reading that this track sounds alittle quick..from the album.. Im not sure.. either way it is still magic..

Great song. Is that a record player needle sound at 5:09? That brings back memories - I wore out my friends "Year of the Cat" album. I have probably bought most of Al's albumns once or twice - records, tapes, and CDs.

Cool song! I just learned this to do as a solo cover:) Thanks Al! btw this stream is a wee bit fast, slightly higher in pitch.

Al's songs transcend space and time. When he sings this, he is already in his own future. Al Stewart fans are feeling, intelligent people :-)

Love this song. Forever.

My favorite Al Stewart song, but this track is WAY too fast--about 10-15 beats per minute faster than the original album.