Cat Stevens brings us today’s classic song of the day, “Oh Very Young.” It was included on his album, Buddha and the Chocolate Box and released as a single in March of 1974. The single went to #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart.
Like many of Mr. Stevens’ songs, “Oh Very Young” is somewhat philosophical and just a little bit spiritual. This one’s about the passage of time and the legacies we leave behind. He reminds us that “You’re only dancin’ on this Earth a short while” and then asks the question, “What will you leave us this time?” It’s there in the lyrics:
Oh very young what will you leave us this time
There’ll never be a better chance to change your mind
And if you want this world to see a better day
Will you carry the words of love with you
Will you, will you ride the great white bird into heaven
And though you want to last forever
You know you never will
You know you never will
And the goodbye makes the journey harder still
Cat Stevens was a big deal back in the ’70s. He had eight singles hit the top thirty, including “Wild World,” “Moonshadow,” “Peace Train,” “Morning Has Broken,” “Sitting,” “Another Saturday Night,” “Ready,” and “Oh Very Young.” He left the music business for awhile, converted to Islam and changed his name to Yusuf Islam, and got involved in a controversy or two. He’s recently returned to performing (under the name of Yusuf/Cat Stevens) and releasing remastered versions of his classic albums. He’s currently 77 years old.
Which leads us to today’s daily bonus video of the day. It’s a no-longer-very-young Yusuf/Cat Stevens performing “Oh Very Young” at the Festival de Viña in Chile in 2015. I’ve always liked his tunes; he seemed to have an older soul even when he was younger.
