Category: relationships

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The Truth in ‘Lyin’ Eyes’: Money and Relationships


When the Eagles were a struggling group in Los Angeles, they noticed many beautiful women married to older, successful men. It posed the question: Were these women happy or unhappy? One night, while drinking in their favorite bar, they spotted a beautiful young woman. Alongside her, a fat, old, rich guy sat drinking. They were chatting, and apparently a couple. Glen Frey, the group’s leader, commented, “Look at her. She can’t hide those lying eyes.” The Eagles realized they had a great idea for a new song. They began to write the lyrics right then and there.

The song tells an in-depth story about women who have taken the easy way out by marrying for money alone. While the song is entirely fictional, it has an incontrovertible ring of truth. Maybe that’s why Lyin’ Eyes reached number 8 on the Country Chart. It is the only Eagles song to become a top 10 Country hit.

Here’s my cover.

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acoustic guitar artist profiles Arts & Entertainment love music relationships songwriting

How Cat Stevens’ Early Song Became a Timeless Hit


Cat Stevens wrote “The First Cut Is The Deepest” when he was eighteen. At the time, he had no intention of becoming a worldwide star performer. He sold the song for thirty pounds to P.P. Arnold, a soul singer who lived near him in London. She released “The First Cut Is The Deepest” on her first album. It reached #18 on the U.K. charts in 1967. Eventually, Rod Stewart and Sheryl Crow covered the song, making it a major hit in America.

Stevens released his version of the song on his debut album, New Masters. Because he never released “The First Cut Is the Deepest” as a single, the album went largely unnoticed.

Despite his shyness, Stevens’ songwriting and singing burst through to make him an international star in the music industry. I’m using Stevens’ version in my cover.

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Arts & Entertainment folk guitar inspiration parenting relationships songwriting

Cat Stevens’ ‘Father and Son’: A Personal Reflection


“Father and Son” is a song about the age-old story where the father’s vision for his son does not align with his son’s dreams for the future. Cat Stevens refurbishes the story with his unique and beautiful phrasing in the lyrics and melody.

It has taken me some time to warm up to this song due to the violent rift I had with my father regarding my future. My Dad passed away in 2006, and now, in my older years, I can see and appreciate the opportunities he gave me. I am at peace with the relationship, and I am inspired by my father’s accomplishments.

You might think this song pertains to Cat Stevens’ struggles with his father, but that is not the case. His father owned a Greek restaurant, and like all fathers, wanted his son to join the business. Stevens, of course, had vastly different ideas. Wisely, his father never stood in the way of his son’s dreams.

Stevens wrote this song, imagining a Russian father and son differing about the son’s future. “Father and Son” was originally planned as part of a stage play. The project never saw the light of day. Stevens eventually released the song on his “Tea for the Tillerman” album.

Here’s my cover.

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acoustic guitar artists Arts & Entertainment folk guitar love relationships

Why “Always On My Mind” Became a Hit for Willie Nelson


Willie Nelson made “Always On My Mind” one of his signature songs. Upon hearing the song for the first time, Nelson knew that he wanted to add “Always On My Mind” to his repertoire. Several recording artists, including Elvis Presley, released the song unsuccessfully. When Nelson recorded it in 1982, the song became a smash hit. Nelson’s sensitive rendition made the song a top 5 hit and a Grammy nomination.

Wayne Carson wrote “Always” as an apology to his wife when he was working in a recording studio in Memphis and stayed ten days longer than he expected to. When Carson called his wife to tell her that he had to stay in Memphis longer, she let him have it. To make his wife feel better, Carson told her she was “always on his mind.”

“It just struck me like someone had hit me with a hammer,” Carson told the LA Times. “I told [my wife] real fast I had to hang up because I had to put that into a song.  ‘Always’ is about one long apology. I guess there are a lot of people in the world who are looking for a way to say [what the lyrics express] in a song.”

“Always On My Mind” popped into my head from out of nowhere. Coincidentally, I’ve been hearing it at the gym where I work out, but after the fact. I’ve decided that it’s a reminder from the cosmos to appreciate my loyal wife of thirty-six years. Here’s my cover played in Nelson’s style.

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acoustic guitar artists Arts & Entertainment relationships

John Fogerty’s Emotional Journey in ‘Have You Ever Seen The Rain’


John Fogerty wrote “Have You Ever Seen The Rain” about his brother, Tom Fogerty, who left Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1971 at the apex of the band’s popularity. The departure of his brother was a sad time for John.

Eventually, the hurt healed, and the meaning of the song changed. In Fogerty’s own words, “This song was originally written about a very sad thing that was going on in my life. But I refuse to be sad now. These days, this song reminds me of my little girl, Kelsy, and every time I sing it, I think about Kelsy and rainbows.

“Have You Ever Seen the Rain” is another song that emerged unexpectedly from my subconscious. The song bounced around in my head until I played it. Here’s my cover. 

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Arts & Entertainment folk guitar folk music love relationships

Exploring Bob Dylan’s Tomorrow Is A Long Time: A Love Song

A long way from love

Bob Dylan recorded the first version of “Tomorrow Is A Long Time” in 1962. He didn’t release it until 1971 on his “Greatest Hits Album.” Oddly, Ian and Sylvia were the first recording artists to release the song in 1963 on their album “Four Strong Winds.”

The song is about longing for a loved one, specifically Suze Rotolo, who Dylan dated from 1961 to 1964. It is widely believed that another Dylan song, “Girl From The North Country,” is also about Rotolo.

Here’s my cover.

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acoustic guitar Arts & Entertainment love relationships

Remembering Kate Wolf and Her Timeless Songs


In her brief lifetime, which was cut short by Leukemia, Kate Wolf became a major influence on the folk scene with songs like “Give Yourself to Love,” “Across the Great Divide,” “Green Eyes,” “September Song,” and many more. Kate’s audience has continued to grow since her unfortunate passing. As an example, I found her late in my life. Here’s my cover of “Green Eyes.”

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Arts & Entertainment folk guitar music relationships

The Story Behind Bob Dylan’s “Girl From The North Country”


“Girl From The North Country” is another one of those songs that popped into my head from out of nowhere. I can’t decide if it’s a message from the Beyond or just a little piece of my subconscious rising like a sunspot from the deep layers of my skin with aging. Whatever the case, “Girl From The North Country” is one of Dylan’s earliest recorded songs, written in England in 1961 and released in 1963. Listening to it now, I find the ballad enchanting.

As a young adult, I followed Dylan’s work tangentially only because it was prominent in the mainstream. Lately, I’ve developed a deep appreciation for Dylan’s music and the man himself. I’ve covered several Dylan songs in this blog, including “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “My Back Pages,” and now this one.

“Girl From The North Country” is a beautiful ballad recounting a lost love. Many believe the woman in the song is Suze Rotolo. At the time, Dylan had just dropped out of college to pursue his musical career in New York City. Rotolo had just graduated from high school and entered the Greenwich Village folk scene. Their first meeting took place at the First Riverside Church concert in New York City. Dylan described the meeting in his memoir: “Cupid’s arrow had whistled past my ears before, but this time it hit me in the heart, and the weight of it dragged me overboard.”

Eventually, the couple lived together in Greenwich Village and then grew apart when Dylan went to England, and Rotolo went to Italy to continue her education.

After some time passed, Dylan went to Italy to find Retolo. At the same time, Rotolo returned to New York City. The couple finally reunited and lived in Dylan’s apartment until their final breakup.

The album cover of Dylan’s second album, Freewheeling, features Dylan and Rotolo walking arm in arm down a Greenwich Village street.

Here’s my cover.

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acoustic guitar Arts & Entertainment music relationships

Reprise: And I love You So


Even if you aren’t a fan of seventies music, you’ve probably heard Don McLean’s hit song, “And I Love You So.” What you may not know is that the song was widely covered by other recording artists, most notably Elvis Presley and Perry Como. Yes, I said Perry Como.

In a career that spanned decades, Don McLean wrote and recorded twenty-two studio albums, four live albums, and 16 singles. He is best known for his song and album of the same name, “American Pie.”

I’m constantly amazed at the way major recording artists create unique compositions to express their music. “And I Love You So” features an original picking method combined with interesting chord shapes. Learning to play a song the way the artist does is a great way to expand your musical scope and technique.

Here is my cover of McLean’s hit. I’ve re-recorded it one fret lower.

Take the next step that’s in your wheelhouse. This is the path to your success.

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Arts & Entertainment music relationships

“Fields of Gold”

Fields of Gold, Sting, Song, Love, Ballade, Relationships, Commitment.

Guitar,Solo,Sting,Song,Love,Ballade,Relationship,Commitment, Eva,Cassidy, Fields of Gold,

“Fields of Gold” is one of Sting’s most famous songs. It is a stunning and thoughtful track about the journey of commitment. The song first appeared on Sting’s 1993 solo album “Ten Summoner’s Tales.”

Sting wrote the track after he bought a house near a barley field. The sunsets and the colors of the field helped inspire the lyrics, along with Sting’s love for Trudie Styler, who he married in 1992.

“Fields of Gold” can be seen as a fulfilling romance from beginning to end. It is about courtship, marriage, and finally, death.

The romance of the couple in the song is so strong that even the sky and “its jealous sun” are envious of the relationship.

Before the male narrator dies, he tells his lover that she will never forget him and the time they shared. They will always walk and lie together in golden fields of sun drenched barley.

Here is my version of the song played with Eva Cassidy‘s guitar technique.

Loving Couple Laying Down After A Picnic In An Open Field

“The heart is always the place to go. Go home into your heart, where there is warmth, appreciation, gratitude and contentment.”

AYYA KHEMA