One Saturday evening in 1978 whilst studying at Leeds University Al Stewart was due to play in the refectory. It was the Year of the Cat tour. I had never previously heard of Al Stewart. This was to be one of the most memorable concerts I ever attended. During which AL Stewart explained the meaning of the Year of the Cat and indeed many of his other songs. Most importantly the song is about our failure to make decisions. It about a business man/ company executive who is extremely busy and is flying to a destination in the far east ( on business) when his plane has an unscheduled stop. He leaves the plane along with other passengers. He succumbs to this beautiful woman. By the time he wakes up he realizes the plane has gone and will not be back for some considerable time. His life has changed. That time coinciding with the astrological year of the cat. The significant lyric being “you have thrown away your choice and lost your ticket”. It’s not a decision he would have planned but it’s a good turn in his life events. It’s something he would never otherwise have done. Sometimes decisions have to be made for us. It’s therefore also about fate and coincidences .It evokes the fantasy of the perfect person (for that particular moment in your life) just coming up to you (she doesn’t give you time for questions as she locks up your arms in hers and you follow till your sense of which direction completely disappears) and taking control of your life and taking you to a place which your decision making would never take you to.
@lekdee444 What's really fascinating about this song is that it tells the story of meeting the perfect woman and having one perfect night of love, and it happens in "The Year of the Cat"
@lekdee444 What's really fascinating about this song is that it tells the story of meeting the perfect woman and having one perfect night of love, and it happens in "The Year of the Cat"
... the Chinese Zodiac famously does not have a Year of the Cat. Mr. Stewart is singing about a dream of impossible perfection.
... the Chinese Zodiac famously does not have a Year of the Cat. Mr. Stewart is singing about a dream of impossible perfection.
(And there is no way that's accidental)
(And there is no way that's accidental)
I'm not challenging you - rather this is meant to add to what you've related about choices and decisions.
I'm not challenging you - rather this is meant to add to what you've related about choices and decisions.
@lekdee444 thanks for taking the time to write this here, what a chance find: someone who got the actual explanation from the musician who wrote it. That's rare. You're an exceptional writer too, thanks again
@lekdee444 thanks for taking the time to write this here, what a chance find: someone who got the actual explanation from the musician who wrote it. That's rare. You're an exceptional writer too, thanks again
I am really in love with this song. It's just so refreshing and a thought that has always crossed my mind, even in my dreams (nothing sexual). It's like saying "There are many fish in the ocean, but the right one WILL FIND ME. lol, Thank you for confirming the song that I envisioned. WOW, If not a Fantasy
I am really in love with this song. It's just so refreshing and a thought that has always crossed my mind, even in my dreams (nothing sexual). It's like saying "There are many fish in the ocean, but the right one WILL FIND ME. lol, Thank you for confirming the song that I envisioned. WOW, If not a Fantasy
One Saturday evening in 1978 whilst studying at Leeds University Al Stewart was due to play in the refectory. It was the Year of the Cat tour. I had never previously heard of Al Stewart. This was to be one of the most memorable concerts I ever attended. During which AL Stewart explained the meaning of the Year of the Cat and indeed many of his other songs. Most importantly the song is about our failure to make decisions. It about a business man/ company executive who is extremely busy and is flying to a destination in the far east ( on business) when his plane has an unscheduled stop. He leaves the plane along with other passengers. He succumbs to this beautiful woman. By the time he wakes up he realizes the plane has gone and will not be back for some considerable time. His life has changed. That time coinciding with the astrological year of the cat. The significant lyric being “you have thrown away your choice and lost your ticket”. It’s not a decision he would have planned but it’s a good turn in his life events. It’s something he would never otherwise have done. Sometimes decisions have to be made for us. It’s therefore also about fate and coincidences .It evokes the fantasy of the perfect person (for that particular moment in your life) just coming up to you (she doesn’t give you time for questions as she locks up your arms in hers and you follow till your sense of which direction completely disappears) and taking control of your life and taking you to a place which your decision making would never take you to.
@lekdee444 What's really fascinating about this song is that it tells the story of meeting the perfect woman and having one perfect night of love, and it happens in "The Year of the Cat"
@lekdee444 What's really fascinating about this song is that it tells the story of meeting the perfect woman and having one perfect night of love, and it happens in "The Year of the Cat"
... the Chinese Zodiac famously does not have a Year of the Cat. Mr. Stewart is singing about a dream of impossible perfection.
... the Chinese Zodiac famously does not have a Year of the Cat. Mr. Stewart is singing about a dream of impossible perfection.
(And there is no way that's accidental)
(And there is no way that's accidental)
I'm not challenging you - rather this is meant to add to what you've related about choices and decisions.
I'm not challenging you - rather this is meant to add to what you've related about choices and decisions.
@lekdee444 good explanation, thanks!!
@lekdee444 good explanation, thanks!!
@lekdee444 thanks for taking the time to write this here, what a chance find: someone who got the actual explanation from the musician who wrote it. That's rare. You're an exceptional writer too, thanks again
@lekdee444 thanks for taking the time to write this here, what a chance find: someone who got the actual explanation from the musician who wrote it. That's rare. You're an exceptional writer too, thanks again
year of the (pussy) cat. sexual innuendo, again metaphors written in music
year of the (pussy) cat. sexual innuendo, again metaphors written in music
I am really in love with this song. It's just so refreshing and a thought that has always crossed my mind, even in my dreams (nothing sexual). It's like saying "There are many fish in the ocean, but the right one WILL FIND ME. lol, Thank you for confirming the song that I envisioned. WOW, If not a Fantasy
I am really in love with this song. It's just so refreshing and a thought that has always crossed my mind, even in my dreams (nothing sexual). It's like saying "There are many fish in the ocean, but the right one WILL FIND ME. lol, Thank you for confirming the song that I envisioned. WOW, If not a Fantasy