So what you're telling me is Clapton took a story from an ancient Persian myth, then took a guitarist from another band, who in turn took a riff from another song; he then took a piano piece from his own drummer, all so he could take the wife of a Beatle? That's a paddlin'
Actually it's not a meth the poet qais lived and we learned his poems in high school(i'm an arab) and yes eric clapton took this story because a friend told him about it and he saw how he is similar with qais(the poet) so he wrote it to george harrison wife
Actually, Harrison loved the music, and he knew his one song, “Something”, was forgotten, after an entire album dedicated to Patty. She did end up going back to Harrison, and Clapton nearly killed himself with cocaine and heroin. Then Harrison realized she wasn’t worth all that drama anymore, and ended up with his true partner, Olivia.
George Harrison: "hey Eric, i made this song called "Savoy Truffle" to poke around your love of sweet food" Eric: "your wife is pretty sweet too" *Proceeds to make Layla*
Actually when in quotes, and you need to use another set of quotes, use this icon " ' " Example: "Paul was always nice to his subordinates. He once said and I quote 'I like my friends.' What a nice guy...."
George Harrison accepted it. And you can't "steal someone's wife" since a wife is not a possession. She had a will of her own. You should never attempt to keep those with you who are not willing.
Pattie Boyd's got to be the luckiest girl in the world. She has two amazing classic rock/love songs written for her; George Harrison's "Something" and Eric Clapton's "Layla"
Clapton admitted after his divorce from Patti that "the quest fulfilled sated the desire." Once obtained, the reality of their love and life didn't match up with his incensed longing for her. EC said that he thought himself to be "edgy" and "cheeky" to desire the wife of a Beatle, especially his very best friend. EC put Freddie King's song "Have you ever loved a woman" into his show for years. At first it was an anthem of unrequited love, of passion unrealized that introduced and set up Layla as the concert finale. For those of you who are not familar with Freddie King's song, the lyrics go like this: Have you ever loved a woman? So much you tremble in pain? Yee-es! Have you ever loved a woman? So much you tremble in pain? Yee-es! All the time you know She bears another man's name You just love that woman So much it's a shame and a sin Yee-es! You just love that woman So much it's a shame and a sin Yes, you know, yes you know She belongs to your very best friend And yee-es! Have you ever loved a woman? One that you know you can't leave her alone? And yee-es! Have you ever loved a woman (sing!) Only you know you can't leave her alone? A- yee-es! But there's something deep inside a-you Won't let you wreck yo very best friend's home. Fans knew of Eric's pursuit of Pattie after she and George called it quits. She didn't immediately relent to his overtures but she eventually went on the road with him. Pattie and Eric married March 27, 1979 in Tucson Arizona. Three of the Beatles attended, George, Paul and Ringo. John would have come but the staff had not sent him an invitation. After the ceremony the 3 Beatles jammed with EC marking the last time a possible reunion of the Beatles could have taken place. Lennon was disappointed that he missed it and it’s safe to say all the Beatles would have jammed at the reception of Eric and Pattie's wedding had he been there. Eric was married but it didn't change his rockstar ways. It was drugs and alcohol and groupies all around. It soon became apparent that Pattie could not conceive children. Over the years they sought medical advice and help but she remained childless. Meanwhile, Eric took up with Yvonne Kelly, a studio assistant that he had an affair with in Montserrat. From that union produced Eric's first daughter, Ruth. He hid Ruth's existence all through his divorce from Pattie five years later. Still married to Pattie, Eric was also dealing with his strange and strained relationship with his birth mother Pat, who was in and out of his life leaving him confused. They had alcohol in common and Eric had drugs to go along with it. Whatever passion exuded through the vibrations of "Layla" withered away as reality set in to Pattie as she watched the grotesque dance between a mother and an unwanted son. Fans are all too familar with the story of the tragically short life and death of Conor Clapton and of Eric's relationship with Conor's mother Lory Del Santo. Originally Eric approached Pattie with the hairball idea that they could stay married and they both could parent Conor during Eric's annual custody period. That was the last straw for Pattie, frustrated by her own inability to conceive and asked to be a part time mom to another woman's son. She moved to end the marriage. Knowing the backstory of events that occurred after the song's recording, "Layla" can be seen as a plea for love in the first section, and a mix of romance and ennui in the piano coda, of love's great potential and the inability for two flawed people to realize it fully. It is a very human song, stripped away from spiritual overtones and barren of the happiness that both good souls desperately desired. After the success of "Unplugged" Eric played Layla only in his acoustic arrangement, going back to the simpler time of when he first wrote it, when it had the clearer message of love in it. An observer could guess that the singer was pouring salve into some old wounds to smooth out and soothe areas formerly tormented by his demons that had since been vanquished and vanished by years of sobriety. The acoustic arrangement jettisoned the piano coda; its promise of romance and its reminder of a love's potential not realized. The song became what it started out to be; a plain song of love painted in the imagery of an ancient story of unrequited love.
@@kianyt5804 Thank you for the comment. It is the highest compliment I can receive. Eric's struggles unfolded publicly after Conor's death. He opened his soul to us during the taping of the "Unplugged" video in 1992. From that, we learned of his fractured childhood, his dysfunctional relationship with his mother, and his abuse and excess of many vices. Had he not opened up to show us his identity, his story would have ended there and we could have packed it away as "just another wasted rockstar." But for Eric, the story continued and had a happy turn. He had cleaned up, acknowledged a Higher Power, and began on his Road to Redemption. He had a child with Melia McEnery but thought he could fit them into his life as he had Ruth and Conor. Fortunately for him Melia's parents had a functional and loving family. Baby Boomers like Eric, they weren't impressed with his fame or his fortune. They were concerned about their daughter and the young baby girl that Eric had helped conceive into this world. They questioned Eric like prosecutors in court about his responsibilities to the child and to the emotional hurt to Melia caused by Eric's hands off behavior. Challenged by the questions of what it took to be a father, Eric examined his life and decided that, with the help of the clarity of sobriety, maybe the untold promise of a loving family might be within his grasp. He cleared his calendar and spent a month in Melia's parents home in Columbus, Ohio with the task of convincing them that he would meet his responsibilities as a father. Eric "stepped up" and embraced domesticity. He dropped his lifestyle for his girlfriend and infant daughter. They married Jan 1, 2002 at the St. Mary Magdalen Church in Eric's hometown of Ripley, England, where he has lived all his life. It was a surprise ceremony, as the small group of good friends thought they were there for the christening of both the new daughter Julie Rose and Eric's older daughter Ruth. After the christening rituals, Eric and Melia stepped up for the priest to perform the marriage ceremony. After the ceremony, Eric and Melia went outside the churchyard and paid an emotional visit to the gravesite where Conor is buried. Eric Clapton had come to the Crossroads, personally and professionally. Instead of meeting Robert Johnson's Devil who bought Johnson's soul, Eric met a God of Mercy and Compassion for a wandering troubadour who had no lasting family roots. As we know, Eric and Melia were blessed with two more daughters and the family unit lives intact today as the Claptons approach their 18th Anniversary. Eric Clapton's long pilgrimage, a hell raising and guitar screeching blaze through the universe, from the tormented loneliness and loss of unrequited love and passion of 'Layla', found his way to a place of love, acceptance, care and respect that never entered his mind as a young man. The change of heart, the change of mind, and the reason why are found in the lyrics of a song he wrote that many fans may never have heard: BACK HOME I've been on the road too long Moving in the wrong direction I don't know where I belong I don't know what I will do If I can't get back home Troubles I got on my own They don't fit no other person The memories keep rollin' on And I don't know what I will do If I can't get back home I don't fit but I don't give a damn I won't quit 'cause I know who I am And I'll admit and I've been on the lam Bit by bit, I'll review my plan This is it, do the best I can Trust and understand 'Cause I know that I am loved 'Cause I'll be on my way Got no need to stay 'round here 'Cause I been on this road too long Going in the wrong direction And I don't know where I come from All I know is I will die If I don't get back home The story of Eric Clapton is not of his origins but of his destination, a journey of Hope and a thirst for Love that found a place of Refuge. It is his singular story yet it touches many aspects of human life that don't often appear in such a pronounced way. We can wonder if Majnun's life would have taken a similar turn if Layla's parents had challenged him. We're left with the knowledge that unlike Eric, Majnun was still a madman and hadn't begun on a Road to Redemption. Perhaps the real story of the poems about Layla and the song about Layla is about their authors' fate and not the unrequited love that drove them to despair. Majnun perished in the lifeless desert. Eric found his way Back Home.
I'm Persian and I performed this song in Iran in 2002. We probably did the first public performance of it after the 79 revolution. It was my first time on stage and things were beginning to open up then. But, still they stopped our performance after this song, because the crowd was going wild. Years later, politics became bad again and I realized they wouldn't let me do PhD there because of the rock bands I had been in. So, I ended up moving to the US and it was here that I read that this song was inspired by the famous story. I had noticed the name, but always thought it was a coincidence. This song decided my destiny and is part of me forever.
Do you have a recording of your version? I have listened to so many versions over the years. It never get old. My youngest was named after this awesome song. It's cool to know there is something even deeper than what I already knew about the song's history.
This. I want a film adaption of this. Eric’s heartache, his departure from blind faith and forming the dominoes, meet Duane Allman, Allmans death, etc. this is hands down one of the, if not the best rock n roll story!
As an aspiring filmmaker, i doubt there'll ever be a half decent movie about it. I myself could probably make a decent one, but i will just never have the interest to do it. This is what almost nobody gets, and why there are no actually good videogame movies for example. You gotta take in count why would a good artist want to make something based on what you're talking about.
@Bonifacio Salinas I've actually done a fair share of research on this, and hate to say it but the coda's origin belongs to Jim Gordon; not Rita Coolidge. She added a few parts to it, but Jim wrote the piece. Also, if you consider Jim to be a thief for not crediting Rita, then Rita is also a thief. She gave the song to Booker T. in 1973, and the song doesn't credit Gordon. Here's an in-depth look at the situation: The two people who back Rita's story are Bobby Whitlock (whose well known for twisting the truth and he certainly twists the truth in this situation) and Graham Nash (a man whose band-CSN-is extremely famous for having petty quarrels) don’t have credible stories to back up her claim. Just a side note, the second track on David Crosby’s 1971 album, If Only I Could Remember My Name, is a song that is a warning to the others in the group about Rita Coolidge, as there had been a lot of drama concerning her, Nash and Stills. Crosby even blames Coolidge for being one of the reasons why CSN broke up (although there were plenty of rifts in the group before, but Coolidge certainly didn’t help). Nash also is never mentioned in pieces on The Dominos and isn’t known for being around when the group first was originating back in the days with Delaney and Bonnie. So he really isn’t a reliable source. He most likely is someone who is just backing up Coolidge only because Coolidge told him. I highly doubt he was present when the song was being composed. CSN&Y were busy touring and playing festivals in the summer to late ’69, while the song was first being composed. Also take note that Graham Nash was heavily involved with Joni Mitchell in 1969 and 1970, not with Rita Coolidge. Coolidge and Nash weren’t together until late 1970 and early 1971. So Nash isn’t a reliable source. So onto Bobby Whitlock claims that Gordon stole the whole melody from Coolidge, which obviously isn’t true. Coolidge even doesn’t go this far in her claim. She recognizes that the tune has its origin with Gordon and without him the song/coda wouldn’t have existed. However, Whitlock twisted the truth about it (most likely out of jealousy). If one does enough research on Whitlock, they will find that he enjoys to diminish the roles of Gordon and Radle in the Dominos in order to make himself appear more important than he was. Furthermore, in discussing the famous piano coda to “Layla,” Whitlock is quoted as saying, “I hated it. I hated it. I couldn’t stand it.” Whitlock’s hatred of the coda only further evidences his jealousy. So it’s safe to say he isn’t a credible source, and I haven’t even gone into other lies he spewed. Coolidge also has gone back and forth with details, specifically concerning Jim Gordon’s ability on piano and organ. In an interview with Dean Budnick for Relix (published on October 26, 2016), she is quoted as saying, “He [Gordon] was not a great piano player, barely even competent.” However, then in her 2016 memoir, she writes, “he was… a capable pianist, and because he was exposed to so many styles of music, he had a well-developed sense of melody and structure” (Coolidge). So Coolidge, within the same year (2016), goes from saying Gordon was “barely even competent” on the piano to being “a capable pianist.” Clearly she isn’t staying consistent with the details. Also, one should factor in that Jim Gordon actually did session work as an organ/piano player for artists, such as Jackson Browne (on his ’72 debut), Delaney and Bonnie, and Renee Armand (The Rain Book). So if he’s clearly competent enough to be called in by a producer or an artist to play keys, he certainly is a capable piano and organ player. Another detail that Coolidge screwed up is when she said her and Gordon showed Clapton the piece “Time.” Coolidge claims that they first showed Clapton at a session for Delaney and Bonnie in 1970 at Olympic Studios in London. The two left a cassette of the piece “hoping… that he [Clapton] might cover it.” The idea that Coolidge was hoping that Clapton would cover the piece is in reference to Clapton mustering up material for his first solo LP. The first sessions for Clapton’s debut were at Olympic, but took place in November of 1969, not in 1970. These first session were in the midst of touring with Delaney and Bonnie, which produced the album, On Tour with Eric Clapton (recorded December 7, 1969). Coolidge wasn’t a participant for Delaney and Bonnie in 1970, mainly due to the fact that the majority of D&B’s backing band left to participate for Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour. They were recruited by Leon Russel on March 13, 1970. Some of the Mad Dog backing band consisted of D&B veterans: Jim Gordon, Carl Radle, Rita Coolidge, Bobby Keys, and Jim Price. Before venturing onto the Mad Dogs tour, these D&B musicians were busy recording for Clapton’s debut and Dave Mason’s debut LP (Alone Together). Coolidge not being a participant for Delaney and Bonnie is evidenced by her absence on their 1970 LP, To Bonnie from Delaney, which only features Bobby Whitlock from the ’69 touring act. This displays that their 1970 LP was recorded during the Mad Dogs album, since it was released in September 1970. However, the biggest fact from the last paragraph is that Clapton wasn’t interested in the piece when Coolidge played it for Clapton. But Clapton was interested when he heard Gordon play the piece during the recording sessions for Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs in August/September 1970. Clapton’s disinterest in “Time” helps to display that Coolidge’s contribution (her largest contribution to the piece were the lyrics) weren’t satisfactory. So the piece is better without a prominent presence by Coolidge and there obviously is a big difference between Coolidge’s vision for the piece and the piece that ended up on “Layla.” Also, let’s not act like she’s an innocent girl who’s done nothing wrong. Because in 1973, with the release of this album, Chronicles, Coolidge took the Law of Retaliation approach (also known as “an eye for an eye”), since she took the tune that she helped to write with Gordon (“Time”) and didn’t give Gordon credit. The Law of Retaliation is about getting even and that’s exactly what Coolidge did. So if it's true Coolidge did write that part, then she got even by letting "Time" be published without giving credit to Gordon. However, she clearly is mad because “Time” didn’t make nearly as much as “Layla.” I wonder if she mentioned she also ripped off Gordon in her memoir. Probably not. One shouldn’t pick and choose which facts to incorporate when telling a story, because “Time” also has a father, which is Jim Gordon. Link to the album Chronicles, which Coolidge didn't credit Gordon: www.discogs.com/Booker-T-Priscilla-Jones-Chronicles/release/4959914 Coolidge not crediting Gordon for the song on Booker T.'s record is just the cherry on top of a bunch of hazy and questionable details. All the information in my comment can be backed by articles written by journalists, linear notes of albums, autobiographies, and interviews of the musicians. You just need to take the time to investigate them.
Mark Turner Read the pdf, he did not kill his mother, he is/was not incarcerated, all a rich kid ruse. mileswmathis.com/gordon.pdf mileswmathis.com/clap.pdf
As a persian I must tell you that the name of the poet at 0:18 is written horribly wrong! This is the right form👇 "نظامی گنجوی" BTW Keep up the good work!
Armin Mobarak Abadi thats one of the slight struggles that we have as persians and arabs (pakistan too) when using those letters. cus non lingual speakers end up just copy pasting the letters onto a software that doesnt support it
Being a Middle Eastern, I've always loved the fact that Clapton chose the name "Layla" because the name resembles true love even more than Juliet in the Middle East's culture.. I just never knew that Clapton knew the poem or even this fact! This gives me tons of satisfaction. Thanks a lot Polyphonic, totally subscribed and please keep it up!
@@pallasathena1555 he just talks about the outro to Layla and how the last few seconds have that high pitched slide guitar sound that one of the members called the "Crying Bird". You can just go find the song and listen to those last few seconds yourself.
Yousef Ghaneemah Nizami Ganjavi, Nizami Ganje'i, Nizami, or Nezāmi, whose formal name was Jamal ad-Dīn Abū Muḥammad Ilyās ibn-Yūsuf ibn-Zakkī, was a 12th-century Persian Sunni Muslim poet. Nezāmi is considered the greatest romantic epic poet in Persian literature, who brought a colloquial and realistic style to the Persian epic. Wikipedia
Layla and her majnun were in fact real. They were Layla Al Ameriya & Qays ibn Al Mulawah. Qays was a famous poet snd his poetry still survives until this day. Being mentioned in Persian literature does not make them Persian. That being said, now I can continue enjoying the rest of the video. P.S. Polyphonic, keep doing what you’re doing. You rock!
Yeah, it couldn't have just been her beauty. There were many beautiful women for them to have. She must've been hella charismatic and just overall nice.
I'm not being chauvinistic or something, but the folk tale is actually arab : Layla lived in the modern day Saudi Arabia in the 7th century CE (see Wikipedia). The persian poet is one of many that did a retelling of the story and this version stuck the most with the western world for reasons I guess...
Nick Drake would be a great topic for a vid, 3 albums that sold about 15,000 total before his death at 26 years old. 45 years on his albums have sold over 2 million, possibly one of the greatest acoustic guitarists.
I met an older guy many many years ago that had all 3 of his albums. This would have been in the early 80’s and I’m sure he has long past away or is to old to even know he is sitting on a gold mine.
I've always wondered why the song was called Layla when it was about Pattie Boyd, now I know, thank you polyphonic. What are your opinions on the album as a whole?
Love the song, but definitely don't strive for those kind of relationships. They're not good formulas for a long and healthy relationship and all of their endings make that painfully obvious. If anything they should act as warning signs in front of a dangerous path. Its just not worth it. Find someone that you can work with as a partner and grow with. Leave the childish romances where they belong - in fiction and failed marriages.
Majnoon layla actually means that's this guy (qais ibn almulawah) is mad with his love for layla and her father refused their mirrage for 2 reasons 1-majnoon layla was black 2-because he wrote poems about her(her father got this as a violation for their privacy) ur welcome
BTW the origin of the story is about an Arabian poet who fell in love with Layla and wrote a lot of poems about her and later it reached Persia and nthami adapted this famous story into a poem . Magnun مجنون is not a name its an adjective meaning the crazy , meaning he went crazy for her and also similar to the word jin
Whilst I totally acknowledge the classic nature of Layla, I've always had a love/hate relationship with that song. The opening riff is awesome, but I've never really dug the piano part at the back end. It just doesn't resonate with me like other ballads do from time to time. Duane Allman was a magnificent player though and his contribution was stellar.
In the early 70’s, did all roads lead to Rita Coolidge? She is connected to Kris Kristofferson, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Leon Russell, Joe Cocker ..... now the origin story of Layla.... amazing. Great video 👍
My Goodness, coincidentally, this has been the most relevant song in my life right now. I have been listening to it endlessly recently. Such awesome timing!
There are a lot of inaccuracies in this video firstly, the famous love story between Qias and Laila is from ARABIAN literature. NOT persian. Qais bin Almulawah and Lailal Alamiriyah lived in the early times of the Umayyad state, in the region of Najd (Central modern day saudi arabia). their story is well known in arabic literature and the poems were written in arabic (Naturally). the persioan author you're refering to merely transferred their story to Persian literature. so the poems are not a part of Persian literature. it is Arabian literature. if you wanted to qoute from the persian version then it does not make any sense. why would you go the branches and not the original? No disrespect for Persian culture. However, History and fact should be respected.
Clapton: Hey I saw you live, play on my song Allman:Okay... Clapton: Hey you using the studio without paying I'm stealing your piano track Drummer: Okay... Clapton: Hey best friend I'm stealing your wife Harrison: Okay...
I always had the theory that the first half of the song was of how Eric Clapton felt about her and the second half about how he saw her. The image of her he had in his mind
Nice video!! Hey can you do a video about Arctic Monkeys? How they evolve from time to time, starting from humble beginning at sheffield and then becomes two times headliners at Glastonbury...about how they always do something different in each of their albums, the brilliant and sometimes uniquely poetic lyrics from Alex Turner and his always evolve persona like David Bowie.. and also dig inside of their fans who always go to war at each other every time they released their new album?! I didn't watch a lot of youtubers did an essay about them, it's only 1 or 2 essay and based on their track records it's really interesting to do an essay about them.. Big fanss of your video PP!!! Keep up your works!!
@@stray999 for me it's more like how they matured as a band, starting from humble beginning just boys chillin in their home at sheffield playin' hip hop, to do a headliners two times at glasto...TWO TIMES AT GLASTO, and then now after TBH&C it's like how they evolved and changed as a whole..or maybe just alex?lol..
@@dimasakbar5105 i think they matured well due to alex in a way because he was the one who wanted to play piano and I guess his time in TLSP played a part in their sound changing and honestly the fact that they headlined at Glastonbury twice is amazing
My god, yes! Thank you for making this! I fucking love Layla and it's awesome you did a video on it. You are one of my favourite youtubers ever, especially for the Lateralus video, keep up the great work! Would you mind doing another video on Tool or just rock/metal in general?
You had the right word for what was going on with Boyd and Clapton...infatuation. Love had nothing to do with it. True love is a lasting thing and does not begin with lusting after ones friend's wife, or anyone's wife, really. The initial "falling in love" feeling is very brief and misleading. No matter how intense it is, it only lasts for something like 18 months at the most. After that, it burns out and is either replaced by the real thing, that involves total giving of self and putting the other's needs ahead of ones own, and *always* treating the other with respect and consideration, OR, it is replaced by nothing at all, allowed to decay entirely and become an odious and burdensome thing. Just a reminder of one's intial folly.
actually, it is an old Arabic story and not a Persian myth. Majnun's name is Qais, and he was a poet. his poems are written and preserved to this day, you can read them.
An interesting note is that the story of Layla & Majnun is a classic Sufi tale/poem. Thus it has mostly been viewed throughout history as (like basically all Sufi poetry) a metaphor for passionate love of God. Layla is the divine Beloved and Majnun is the crazed lover, drunk on the love of God. Most of this is obviously lost in the song, but the poetry and metaphors of the Islamic mystical tradition usually has double meaning, so it can mean both divine love AND worldly love because, at the end of the day, it is the same love. In this tradition, God is sometimes best experienced through a woman (or man, depending on your gender). Great story, and a wonderful song! Nice video!
She was capable and organized; she was a model, an artist and a photographer. Some famous photos of the Beatles are her work. Most women(at that time) were taught to be spouses, and not work at a job. In the workplace, some women will out turn to be smart and well organized; OK if she's your employee, not so much when you have to compete with her for a job. These women, once rare, became more commonplace after a couple of world wars. Patti Boyd's work caused her to have contacts in many different areas, and her ability helped in all of them. George Harrison met her while filming "A Hard Day's Night," and asked her to marry him the first day. EC was the Harrison's neighbor, and I think that he wanted and envied the domestic relationship, as much as Patty Boyd, the pretty girl. It's a great story, if you overlooked all the personality disorders on display. Fortune passes everywhere.
Absolutely all respect to Parisians , but the origin of the story is Arabic , you can search it for further details, The story happened in Saudi Arabia in نجد ( naajid ) , majnun real name is قيس بن الملوح Qais bin almoullouh , he was called by Arabs majnun ( which means crazy in Arabic ) cuz he was crazy for layla , he wrote alot of poems about her which we arabs still study in schools till nowdays. I will quote some lines from one of his poems that i remember أَلَسْتَ وَعَدْتَنِي يَا قَلْب إِذَا مَا تُبْتُ عَنْ لَيْلَى تَتُوبُ فَهَا أَنَا تَائِبٌ عَنْ حُبِ لَيْلَى فَمَا لَكَ كُلْمَا ذُكِرَتْ تَذُوبُ The story then traveled to Persia and became famous when nizami wrote about it , so that's why many people thought that it's a Persian legend , but it's an Arabian real story that was famous in Persian and many Persian poets wrote about it
I love Rob Sheffield's quote about Layla. Clapton exposing the love triangle: ' "In public” doesn't cover it - there's public and then there's “Layla.” '
Qauis and Layla isn't a fictional story, He was an Arab poet who lived in the Arabian peninsula around mid 600 AD. He was a pioneer in what was called Alghazal Alothry (Platonic Love Poems). He went on to inspire many love stories including the one was mentioned.
The poem was actually about an Arabic man called "Qays Ibn al-Mulawwah" And it was he who was called "Majnun Layla" which means "layla's Madman." That is the whole point of the poem! he isnt just a "madman", he is "Layla's Madman." The Persians and many other cultures then adopted the story and told it in their own languages and in their poetry. Nice video though.. here's a link if anyone's interested Because Layla and the madman were both Real historical people. : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Layla_and_Majnun_(Nizami_Ganjavi_poem)
That is really interesting! I am originally from Layla, Saudi Arabia, a small town where Qays and Layla lived. Did not know that Eric Clapton wrote a song about my hometown lol
Layla and almajnun , is from an Arabic origin , the famous poignant love story , which incidentally was not fictional, dates to the omayyad period in the seventh Century .To have it attributed to Persia is most inaccurate and untrue. The story and the poetry of Qais are well documented in Arabic literature . We grew up with it , and we learned to recite the poem from childhood.
I've always wondered why the song was called Layla when it was about Pattie Boyd, now I know, thank you polyphonic. What are your opinions on the album as a whole?
You should do a video on King Crimson. They are considered one of the major founders of prog rock, and I think it'd be fascinating, despite knowing some of it already, you always seem to spin it in a fascinating direction
Good job. Layla was one of the first albums I ever bought back in the seventies. I think the first was a John Mayal album. Wish I still had that one, PS: get the Duane Allman Anthology I and II albums and you won't be disappointed.
thank you for very nice documentary . but you mist small detail about the true story of "Qays Ibn al-Mulawwah" . and it is an Arabian story not Persian .
I remember hearing Layla getting a lot of airplay on our local AM station here in Southern Ontario in 1970-71. We loved it! It may have been because DJ's put their own playlists together back then, and it was one of his favourites, but we could count on hearing it every Friday or Saturday night for about a year. Definitely one of Eric's best!
Hey, I was wondering if you could cover anything from King Crimson. They are absolute masters and aren't known nearly as much as they should be, and most of their songs are masterpieces.
I am an arab, I studied the story of leyla and her "majnun" for a whole year in high shcool . I've known this song since I was a child. But only now I understood. Thank you.
It is well known that Rita Coolidge got screwed out of her royalties for the piano riff by the good ole boys. Strange that this channel continues the misogyny.
saying "all 3 remained friends" is kinda an understatement; george was the best man at their wedding lol
@Belle George was a chill guy, he almost never got mad, especially in the post beatle days
@Belle 1. Yeah fair enough but george was a super chill guy
2. She didnt divorce george cuz of this song
@Belle yeah
Belle lmao George was kinda had an affair with Ringo’s wife so he couldn’t say much
simp
So what you're telling me is Clapton took a story from an ancient Persian myth, then took a guitarist from another band, who in turn took a riff from another song; he then took a piano piece from his own drummer, all so he could take the wife of a Beatle?
That's a paddlin'
"Should'na took more than you gave" - Traffic.
@@morganfisherart i don't need to run over you - crosstown traffic
there was so much more collaboration in the past
That's inspiration for you
Masterpieces arnt made on creating new forms of art but perfecting well respected ones.
Actually it's not a meth the poet qais lived and we learned his poems in high school(i'm an arab) and yes eric clapton took this story because a friend told him about it and he saw how he is similar with qais(the poet) so he wrote it to george harrison wife
Pattie Boyd, the Helen of Rock N Roll, launched a thousands riffs
A true muse
Yep Layla, Something and You look wonderful tonight and probably more
This leads to one of my favorite nerd jokes:
Q: What is a "millihelen"?
A: The amount of beauty required to launch exactly one ship
Courtney Love: ROOKIE NUMBERS!!
Didn't George write 'Something' about Patti as well
Now Meghan may have scored a Prince, but ain't no one gonna write her 2 or 3 influential songs
George Harrison gonna come back from the dead to dislike this
If he could bring lennon..
@@timverdickt280 Lennon would beat his wife from the dead
@@DonkeyBoyVids too soon? I guess not
Lol nah he cool
Actually, Harrison loved the music, and he knew his one song, “Something”, was forgotten, after an entire album dedicated to Patty.
She did end up going back to Harrison, and Clapton nearly killed himself with cocaine and heroin.
Then Harrison realized she wasn’t worth all that drama anymore, and ended up with his true partner, Olivia.
George Harrison: "hey Eric, i made this song called "Savoy Truffle" to poke around your love of sweet food"
Eric: "your wife is pretty sweet too"
*Proceeds to make Layla*
Geez. The internet is rough.
You must have forgotten that Harrison wrote Something about his wife, and released All Things Must Pass less than a month after Layla came out.
Actually when in quotes, and you need to use another set of quotes, use this icon " ' " Example: "Paul was always nice to his subordinates. He once said and I quote 'I like my friends.' What a nice guy...."
wow, I would've told Clapton to get out of my face.
"Jim Gordon had his own project"
Catching the joker of course
Brilliant!!!!!
Jim Gordon is quite a tragic figure.
Jose Del Carmen This is such a great comment.
he oughta be watching his daughter better
Been looking for this comment on all the Layla vids. Finally someone says it! lol!
So... Clapton stole his friend's wife and stole the piano ending. Got it.
Full circle adultery.
And the riff wasn't his either lmao.
Oh well, I guess the lyrics were original.
wait...
George Harrison accepted it. And you can't "steal someone's wife" since a wife is not a possession. She had a will of her own. You should never attempt to keep those with you who are not willing.
Right and neither were that good 😂
Eaty McEatison harrison ex wife actually admitted that she missed being with George while dating clapton
Pattie Boyd's got to be the luckiest girl in the world. She has two amazing classic rock/love songs written for her; George Harrison's "Something" and Eric Clapton's "Layla"
I think, Harrison wrote some more songs about her: Love you to for example
Wonderful tonight.
Something is not about Pattie
@@firmanchristiansianturi4794 Are you actually dumb
@@ReubenHillier George said it himself. The song is about love, not especifically her.
Clapton admitted after his divorce from Patti that "the quest fulfilled sated the desire." Once obtained, the reality of their love and life didn't match up with his incensed longing for her. EC said that he thought himself to be "edgy" and "cheeky" to desire the wife of a Beatle, especially his very best friend.
EC put Freddie King's song "Have you ever loved a woman" into his show for years. At first it was an anthem of unrequited love, of passion unrealized that introduced and set up Layla as the concert finale. For those of you who are not familar with Freddie King's song, the lyrics go like this:
Have you ever loved a woman?
So much you tremble in pain?
Yee-es!
Have you ever loved a woman?
So much you tremble in pain?
Yee-es!
All the time you know
She bears another man's name
You just love that woman
So much it's a shame and a sin
Yee-es!
You just love that woman
So much it's a shame and a sin
Yes, you know, yes you know
She belongs to your very best friend
And yee-es!
Have you ever loved a woman?
One that you know you can't leave her alone?
And yee-es!
Have you ever loved a woman (sing!)
Only you know you can't leave her alone?
A- yee-es!
But there's something deep inside a-you
Won't let you wreck yo very best friend's home.
Fans knew of Eric's pursuit of Pattie after she and George called it quits. She didn't immediately relent to his overtures but she eventually went on the road with him.
Pattie and Eric married March 27, 1979 in Tucson Arizona.
Three of the Beatles attended, George, Paul and Ringo. John would have come but the staff had not sent him an invitation. After the ceremony the 3 Beatles jammed with EC marking the last time a possible reunion of the Beatles could have taken place. Lennon was disappointed that he missed it and it’s safe to say all the Beatles would have jammed at the reception of Eric and Pattie's wedding had he been there.
Eric was married but it didn't change his rockstar ways. It was drugs and alcohol and groupies all around. It soon became apparent that Pattie could not conceive children. Over the years they sought medical advice and help but she remained childless.
Meanwhile, Eric took up with Yvonne Kelly, a studio assistant that he had an affair with in Montserrat. From that union produced Eric's first daughter, Ruth. He hid Ruth's existence all through his divorce from Pattie five years later.
Still married to Pattie, Eric was also dealing with his strange and strained relationship with his birth mother Pat, who was in and out of his life leaving him confused. They had alcohol in common and Eric had drugs to go along with it.
Whatever passion exuded through the vibrations of "Layla" withered away as reality set in to Pattie as she watched the grotesque dance between a mother and an unwanted son.
Fans are all too familar with the story of the tragically short life and death of Conor Clapton and of Eric's relationship with Conor's mother Lory Del Santo. Originally Eric approached Pattie with the hairball idea that they could stay married and they both could parent Conor during Eric's annual custody period. That was the last straw for Pattie, frustrated by her own inability to conceive and asked to be a part time mom to another woman's son. She moved to end the marriage.
Knowing the backstory of events that occurred after the song's recording, "Layla" can be seen as a plea for love in the first section, and a mix of romance and ennui in the piano coda, of love's great potential and the inability for two flawed people to realize it fully. It is a very human song, stripped away from spiritual overtones and barren of the happiness that both good souls desperately desired.
After the success of "Unplugged" Eric played Layla only in his acoustic arrangement, going back to the simpler time of when he first wrote it, when it had the clearer message of love in it. An observer could guess that the singer was pouring salve into some old wounds to smooth out and soothe areas formerly tormented by his demons that had since been vanquished and vanished by years of sobriety.
The acoustic arrangement jettisoned the piano coda; its promise of romance and its reminder of a love's potential not realized. The song became what it started out to be; a plain song of love painted in the imagery of an ancient story of unrequited love.
This should be in the script for the video
@@kianyt5804 Thank you for the comment. It is the highest compliment I can receive. Eric's struggles unfolded publicly after Conor's death. He opened his soul to us during the taping of the "Unplugged" video in 1992. From that, we learned of his fractured childhood, his dysfunctional relationship with his mother, and his abuse and excess of many vices.
Had he not opened up to show us his identity, his story would have ended there and we could have packed it away as "just another wasted rockstar." But for Eric, the story continued and had a happy turn. He had cleaned up, acknowledged a Higher Power, and began on his Road to Redemption.
He had a child with Melia McEnery but thought he could fit them into his life as he had Ruth and Conor. Fortunately for him Melia's parents had a functional and loving family. Baby Boomers like Eric, they weren't impressed with his fame or his fortune. They were concerned about their daughter and the young baby girl that Eric had helped conceive into this world. They questioned Eric like prosecutors in court about his responsibilities to the child and to the emotional hurt to Melia caused by Eric's hands off behavior.
Challenged by the questions of what it took to be a father, Eric examined his life and decided that, with the help of the clarity of sobriety, maybe the untold promise of a loving family might be within his grasp. He cleared his calendar and spent a month in Melia's parents home in Columbus, Ohio with the task of convincing them that he would meet his responsibilities as a father.
Eric "stepped up" and embraced domesticity. He dropped his lifestyle for his girlfriend and infant daughter. They married Jan 1, 2002 at the St. Mary Magdalen Church in Eric's hometown of Ripley, England, where he has lived all his life. It was a surprise ceremony, as the small group of good friends thought they were there for the christening of both the new daughter Julie Rose and Eric's older daughter Ruth. After the christening rituals, Eric and Melia stepped up for the priest to perform the marriage ceremony.
After the ceremony, Eric and Melia went outside the churchyard and paid an emotional visit to the gravesite where Conor is buried.
Eric Clapton had come to the Crossroads, personally and professionally. Instead of meeting Robert Johnson's Devil who bought Johnson's soul, Eric met a God of Mercy and Compassion for a wandering troubadour who had no lasting family roots. As we know, Eric and Melia were blessed with two more daughters and the family unit lives intact today as the Claptons approach their 18th Anniversary.
Eric Clapton's long pilgrimage, a hell raising and guitar screeching blaze through the universe, from the tormented loneliness and loss of unrequited love and passion of 'Layla', found his way to a place of love, acceptance, care and respect that never entered his mind as a young man. The change of heart, the change of mind, and the reason why are found in the lyrics of a song he wrote that many fans may never have heard:
BACK HOME
I've been on the road too long
Moving in the wrong direction
I don't know where I belong
I don't know what I will do
If I can't get back home
Troubles I got on my own
They don't fit no other person
The memories keep rollin' on
And I don't know what I will do
If I can't get back home
I don't fit but I don't give a damn
I won't quit 'cause I know who I am
And I'll admit and I've been on the lam
Bit by bit, I'll review my plan
This is it, do the best I can
Trust and understand
'Cause I know that I am loved
'Cause I'll be on my way
Got no need to stay 'round here
'Cause I been on this road too long
Going in the wrong direction
And I don't know where I come from
All I know is I will die
If I don't get back home
The story of Eric Clapton is not of his origins but of his destination, a journey of Hope and a thirst for Love that found a place of Refuge. It is his singular story yet it touches many aspects of human life that don't often appear in such a pronounced way.
We can wonder if Majnun's life would have taken a similar turn if Layla's parents had challenged him. We're left with the knowledge that unlike Eric, Majnun was still a madman and hadn't begun on a Road to Redemption.
Perhaps the real story of the poems about Layla and the song about Layla is about their authors' fate and not the unrequited love that drove them to despair. Majnun perished in the lifeless desert. Eric found his way Back Home.
You can write.
@@gmb858 you should put this in a blog post or article ! I want to share your writing so bad
This is very well written! Thank you for posting
Oh, hey. A new Polyphonic video! Time to get the popcorn...
garge7676 this comment made me make popcorn
Your comment to that comment made me make popcorn
Your comment to his comment to the comment made me get popcorn
IDIOT , think of something new you fckign moron
@@aksekhiddelll8900 ..you need some popcorn to go with your cheese balls.
I'm Persian and I performed this song in Iran in 2002.
We probably did the first public performance of it after the 79 revolution. It was my first time on stage and things were beginning to open up then. But, still they stopped our performance after this song, because the crowd was going wild. Years later, politics became bad again and I realized they wouldn't let me do PhD there because of the rock bands I had been in. So, I ended up moving to the US and it was here that I read that this song was inspired by the famous story. I had noticed the name, but always thought it was a coincidence. This song decided my destiny and is part of me forever.
Do you have a recording of your version? I have listened to so many versions over the years. It never get old. My youngest was named after this awesome song. It's cool to know there is something even deeper than what I already knew about the song's history.
Nice.
This. I want a film adaption of this. Eric’s heartache, his departure from blind faith and forming the dominoes, meet Duane Allman, Allmans death, etc. this is hands down one of the, if not the best rock n roll story!
Clapton has gone through heartbreaks throughout his life. Him coming out of all those is truly magnificent.
As an aspiring filmmaker, i doubt there'll ever be a half decent movie about it. I myself could probably make a decent one, but i will just never have the interest to do it. This is what almost nobody gets, and why there are no actually good videogame movies for example. You gotta take in count why would a good artist want to make something based on what you're talking about.
The piano coda on Layla is one of the most beautiful, calming pieces of music I've ever heard.
Yeah, it's amazing. I always forget about it till I hear it again and it leaves me SHOOK every time.
Drummer Jim Gordon wrote it.
mileswmathis.com/gordon.pdf
@@IAm-qf2xb actually I think I read he stole it from his girlfriend lol
@Bonifacio Salinas I've actually done a fair share of research on this, and hate to say it but the coda's origin belongs to Jim Gordon; not Rita Coolidge. She added a few parts to it, but Jim wrote the piece. Also, if you consider Jim to be a thief for not crediting Rita, then Rita is also a thief. She gave the song to Booker T. in 1973, and the song doesn't credit Gordon.
Here's an in-depth look at the situation:
The two people who back Rita's story are Bobby Whitlock (whose well known for twisting the truth and he certainly twists the truth in this situation) and Graham Nash (a man whose band-CSN-is extremely famous for having petty quarrels) don’t have credible stories to back up her claim. Just a side note, the second track on David Crosby’s 1971 album, If Only I Could Remember My Name, is a song that is a warning to the others in the group about Rita Coolidge, as there had been a lot of drama concerning her, Nash and Stills. Crosby even blames Coolidge for being one of the reasons why CSN broke up (although there were plenty of rifts in the group before, but Coolidge certainly didn’t help). Nash also is never mentioned in pieces on The Dominos and isn’t known for being around when the group first was originating back in the days with Delaney and Bonnie. So he really isn’t a reliable source. He most likely is someone who is just backing up Coolidge only because Coolidge told him. I highly doubt he was present when the song was being composed. CSN&Y were busy touring and playing festivals in the summer to late ’69, while the song was first being composed. Also take note that Graham Nash was heavily involved with Joni Mitchell in 1969 and 1970, not with Rita Coolidge. Coolidge and Nash weren’t together until late 1970 and early 1971. So Nash isn’t a reliable source.
So onto Bobby Whitlock claims that Gordon stole the whole melody from Coolidge, which obviously isn’t true. Coolidge even doesn’t go this far in her claim. She recognizes that the tune has its origin with Gordon and without him the song/coda wouldn’t have existed. However, Whitlock twisted the truth about it (most likely out of jealousy). If one does enough research on Whitlock, they will find that he enjoys to diminish the roles of Gordon and Radle in the Dominos in order to make himself appear more important than he was. Furthermore, in discussing the famous piano coda to “Layla,” Whitlock is quoted as saying, “I hated it. I hated it. I couldn’t stand it.” Whitlock’s hatred of the coda only further evidences his jealousy. So it’s safe to say he isn’t a credible source, and I haven’t even gone into other lies he spewed.
Coolidge also has gone back and forth with details, specifically concerning Jim Gordon’s ability on piano and organ. In an interview with Dean Budnick for Relix (published on October 26, 2016), she is quoted as saying, “He [Gordon] was not a great piano player, barely even competent.” However, then in her 2016 memoir, she writes, “he was… a capable pianist, and because he was exposed to so many styles of music, he had a well-developed sense of melody and structure” (Coolidge). So Coolidge, within the same year (2016), goes from saying Gordon was “barely even competent” on the piano to being “a capable pianist.” Clearly she isn’t staying consistent with the details. Also, one should factor in that Jim Gordon actually did session work as an organ/piano player for artists, such as Jackson Browne (on his ’72 debut), Delaney and Bonnie, and Renee Armand (The Rain Book). So if he’s clearly competent enough to be called in by a producer or an artist to play keys, he certainly is a capable piano and organ player.
Another detail that Coolidge screwed up is when she said her and Gordon showed Clapton the piece “Time.” Coolidge claims that they first showed Clapton at a session for Delaney and Bonnie in 1970 at Olympic Studios in London. The two left a cassette of the piece “hoping… that he [Clapton] might cover it.” The idea that Coolidge was hoping that Clapton would cover the piece is in reference to Clapton mustering up material for his first solo LP. The first sessions for Clapton’s debut were at Olympic, but took place in November of 1969, not in 1970. These first session were in the midst of touring with Delaney and Bonnie, which produced the album, On Tour with Eric Clapton (recorded December 7, 1969). Coolidge wasn’t a participant for Delaney and Bonnie in 1970, mainly due to the fact that the majority of D&B’s backing band left to participate for Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour. They were recruited by Leon Russel on March 13, 1970. Some of the Mad Dog backing band consisted of D&B veterans: Jim Gordon, Carl Radle, Rita Coolidge, Bobby Keys, and Jim Price. Before venturing onto the Mad Dogs tour, these D&B musicians were busy recording for Clapton’s debut and Dave Mason’s debut LP (Alone Together). Coolidge not being a participant for Delaney and Bonnie is evidenced by her absence on their 1970 LP, To Bonnie from Delaney, which only features Bobby Whitlock from the ’69 touring act. This displays that their 1970 LP was recorded during the Mad Dogs album, since it was released in September 1970.
However, the biggest fact from the last paragraph is that Clapton wasn’t interested in the piece when Coolidge played it for Clapton. But Clapton was interested when he heard Gordon play the piece during the recording sessions for Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs in August/September 1970. Clapton’s disinterest in “Time” helps to display that Coolidge’s contribution (her largest contribution to the piece were the lyrics) weren’t satisfactory. So the piece is better without a prominent presence by Coolidge and there obviously is a big difference between Coolidge’s vision for the piece and the piece that ended up on “Layla.”
Also, let’s not act like she’s an innocent girl who’s done nothing wrong. Because in 1973, with the release of this album, Chronicles, Coolidge took the Law of Retaliation approach (also known as “an eye for an eye”), since she took the tune that she helped to write with Gordon (“Time”) and didn’t give Gordon credit. The Law of Retaliation is about getting even and that’s exactly what Coolidge did. So if it's true Coolidge did write that part, then she got even by letting "Time" be published without giving credit to Gordon. However, she clearly is mad because “Time” didn’t make nearly as much as “Layla.” I wonder if she mentioned she also ripped off Gordon in her memoir. Probably not.
One shouldn’t pick and choose which facts to incorporate when telling a story, because “Time” also has a father, which is Jim Gordon.
Link to the album Chronicles, which Coolidge didn't credit Gordon:
www.discogs.com/Booker-T-Priscilla-Jones-Chronicles/release/4959914
Coolidge not crediting Gordon for the song on Booker T.'s record is just the cherry on top of a bunch of hazy and questionable details. All the information in my comment can be backed by articles written by journalists, linear notes of albums, autobiographies, and interviews of the musicians. You just need to take the time to investigate them.
Mark Turner Read the pdf, he did not kill his mother, he is/was not incarcerated, all a rich kid ruse.
mileswmathis.com/gordon.pdf
mileswmathis.com/clap.pdf
I've always thought that this song was the ultimate rock and roll cry for love.
As a persian I must tell you that the name of the poet at 0:18 is written horribly wrong!
This is the right form👇
"نظامی گنجوی"
BTW Keep up the good work!
Armin Mobarak Abadi He also pronounces Majnun wrong. It's Majnün not Majnen.
But the video is great anyways.
I know I was like that doesn’t look like Arabic
Meh must have been just a typo lol
Armin Mobarak Abadi thats one of the slight struggles that we have as persians and arabs (pakistan too) when using those letters. cus non lingual speakers end up just copy pasting the letters onto a software that doesnt support it
It struck a "chord" with Clapton, eh?
I see you Polyphonic. I see everything.
Being a Middle Eastern, I've always loved the fact that Clapton chose the name "Layla" because the name resembles true love even more than Juliet in the Middle East's culture.. I just never knew that Clapton knew the poem or even this fact! This gives me tons of satisfaction.
Thanks a lot Polyphonic, totally subscribed and please keep it up!
But like, the irony is, Clapton is a white supremacist and probably hates us middle easterners lol.
I'm not a religious person but that outro is like being ascended into heaven.
@dbltrplx the ending of a song is called outro
@dbltrplx Would "coda" be a more accurate term?
Pucci?
yeah didn't know that was still the same song. i always hated that piece of music. sounds like old people
The audio cuts out for a bit around 4:38.
He had to cuz of the copyright. This video was taken down for months and just got reuploaded thankfully.
Have you got a link to the missing audio?
@@pallasathena1555 he just talks about the outro to Layla and how the last few seconds have that high pitched slide guitar sound that one of the members called the "Crying Bird". You can just go find the song and listen to those last few seconds yourself.
I thought my headset broke lmao
I just started to read about this love triangle.
BagOfNickels Well it’s bs.
mileswmathis.com/clap.pdf
Jimmy Johnston what is bs, the received fairy tale, or the pdf?
Yousef Ghaneemah
Nizami Ganjavi, Nizami Ganje'i, Nizami, or Nezāmi, whose formal name was Jamal ad-Dīn Abū Muḥammad Ilyās ibn-Yūsuf ibn-Zakkī, was a 12th-century Persian Sunni Muslim poet. Nezāmi is considered the greatest romantic epic poet in Persian literature, who brought a colloquial and realistic style to the Persian epic. Wikipedia
Layla and her majnun were in fact real. They were Layla Al Ameriya & Qays ibn Al Mulawah. Qays was a famous poet snd his poetry still survives until this day.
Being mentioned in Persian literature does not make them Persian.
That being said, now I can continue enjoying the rest of the video.
P.S. Polyphonic, keep doing what you’re doing. You rock!
*_Somewhere in Springfield, the band finally played the forbidden music._*
@Jorrun And you could hear it all the way to Maine. It wasn't half bad, either.
What are you referencing?
I thought that was "for he's a jolly good fellow"?
My step sister was named Layla after this song and my step brother was named Duane after Duane Allman :)
Duane Dibley?
Blue Nidalee my father wanted to name me layla after the song but my mom said it was like a dog name hahaha :( i rlly want to be named layla
@@ayami3067 you have the power to change your name if you'd really be more comfortable with it! I did and it's been one of my best decisions.
Blue Nidalee
Try "Dwayne Stomp public service announcement" for something hysterical, a rock station back my way used to play it all the time.
That explains a lot, Cocaine.
You’re telling me that Pattie Boyd believed that “Layla” was a more powerful and moving song than “Something”... oof
"Struck a chord" with Clapton...
I SeE wHAt yOu DiD ThERe...
The way he wails out “Layla” is so powerful
I just want to know what Patty Boyd was doing so right that made all these legends fall to their knees for her lol
Does make one wonder...
Yeah, it couldn't have just been her beauty. There were many beautiful women for them to have. She must've been hella charismatic and just overall nice.
That's epic...🤣
Couldn't have kids is a start, beautiful, smart.
I've always known that Layla was about Clapton's love for Patti Boyd but had no idea it was a Persian folk tale. Thanks great video.
I'm not being chauvinistic or something, but the folk tale is actually arab : Layla lived in the modern day Saudi Arabia in the 7th century CE (see Wikipedia).
The persian poet is one of many that did a retelling of the story and this version stuck the most with the western world for reasons I guess...
@@aliifliss114 that’s what I’ve been trying to say
Not even going to mention the unplugged (and best) version of layla?
mr. smash96 Definitely agree with you.
i think the live aid version with phil collins is the best
Yesss
My personal favourite is this one from hyde park 96
ua-cam.com/video/O7J8SqZMD0g/v-deo.html
Debatable. I enjoy the slide guitar parts of that song the most, so the Duane Allman's collaboration is essential for me.
Pattie Boyd: "I had 2 songs written about me."
Courtney Love: ROOKIE NUMBERS!!
I suppose every Majnun has their Layla.
I named my daughter Layla ❤️ Also imagine the song being called “Pattie” 😂
Nick Drake would be a great topic for a vid, 3 albums that sold about 15,000 total before his death at 26 years old. 45 years on his albums have sold over 2 million, possibly one of the greatest acoustic guitarists.
Never heard of the dude til a VW ad featuring "Pink Moon" caught my ear. What a loss! I'd love to know more!!
He absolutely would. Great idea.
I met an older guy many many years ago that had all 3 of his albums. This would have been in the early 80’s and I’m sure he has long past away or is to old to even know he is sitting on a gold mine.
Read the book: White Bicycle.
He was a reclusive guy who made lowkey acoustic folk songs with very poetic lyrics. This guy would've thrived today on youtube.
Seriously speaking, Layla gives me goosebumps each time. And those guitars ain't being played. They are crying too.
I've always wondered why the song was called Layla when it was about Pattie Boyd, now I know, thank you polyphonic.
What are your opinions on the album as a whole?
Love the song, but definitely don't strive for those kind of relationships. They're not good formulas for a long and healthy relationship and all of their endings make that painfully obvious. If anything they should act as warning signs in front of a dangerous path. Its just not worth it. Find someone that you can work with as a partner and grow with. Leave the childish romances where they belong - in fiction and failed marriages.
Majnoon layla actually means that's this guy (qais ibn almulawah) is mad with his love for layla
and her father refused their mirrage for 2 reasons
1-majnoon layla was black
2-because he wrote poems about her(her father got this as a violation for their privacy)
ur welcome
Layla is one of my favorite songs ever! Thank you for telling it’s story. I can’t believe some people didn’t like it when it first came out
Nancy Smoke true love this song since 8 yrs now both versions of it the rock & acoustic version
BTW the origin of the story is about an Arabian poet who fell in love with Layla and wrote a lot of poems about her and later it reached Persia and nthami adapted this famous story into a poem . Magnun مجنون is not a name its an adjective meaning the crazy , meaning he went crazy for her and also similar to the word jin
Did the audio cut out for everyone else at 4:40?
It got copyright striked. This video was down for a while. Clapton is such a dick.
Artist: *Has Something*
Clapton: Hippity Hoppty this is now my property
The Blues had a baby and called it rock n roll. Thank you Albert king.
Whilst I totally acknowledge the classic nature of Layla, I've always had a love/hate relationship with that song. The opening riff is awesome, but I've never really dug the piano part at the back end. It just doesn't resonate with me like other ballads do from time to time. Duane Allman was a magnificent player though and his contribution was stellar.
The piano outro will forever bring me the memories about "Goodfellas", the greatest film of all time (in my opinion).
If I'm not mistaken, the dude that did the piano solo, Jim Gordon, killed his mother with a hammer.
@@drgwhatsthetruth3783 yep, hit her a hammer and stabbed her to death. Too bad he was schizophrenic and delusional, he was a great musician
Definitely one of the best. Also the best gangster movie ever. Imo, better the. The Godfather 1 or 2.
Johnny Roast beef never had the makings of a varsity athlete.
In the early 70’s, did all roads lead to Rita Coolidge? She is connected to Kris Kristofferson, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Leon Russell, Joe Cocker ..... now the origin story of Layla.... amazing. Great video 👍
My Goodness, coincidentally, this has been the most relevant song in my life right now. I have been listening to it endlessly recently. Such awesome timing!
There are a lot of inaccuracies in this video
firstly, the famous love story between Qias and Laila is from ARABIAN literature. NOT persian. Qais bin Almulawah and Lailal Alamiriyah lived in the early times of the Umayyad state, in the region of Najd (Central modern day saudi arabia). their story is well known in arabic literature and the poems were written in arabic (Naturally). the persioan author you're refering to merely transferred their story to Persian literature. so the poems are not a part of Persian literature. it is Arabian literature. if you wanted to qoute from the persian version then it does not make any sense. why would you go the branches and not the original?
No disrespect for Persian culture. However, History and fact should be respected.
Thank you.
Attending Clapton's Crossroads Festival in September, can't wait, the guy is a legend.
Clapton: Hey I saw you live, play on my song
Allman:Okay...
Clapton: Hey you using the studio without paying I'm stealing your piano track
Drummer: Okay...
Clapton: Hey best friend I'm stealing your wife
Harrison: Okay...
I was not named after the band and I love the second half of “Layla”.
I love this song. Can you do a video about Billy Joel (but not about Piano Man)?
Sam Fisher the stranger would be a great topic
That gutair riff will be an eternal earworm for me.
I always had the theory that the first half of the song was of how Eric Clapton felt about her and the second half about how he saw her. The image of her he had in his mind
Nice video!!
Hey can you do a video about Arctic Monkeys?
How they evolve from time to time, starting from humble beginning at sheffield and then becomes two times headliners at Glastonbury...about how they always do something different in each of their albums, the brilliant and sometimes uniquely poetic lyrics from Alex Turner and his always evolve persona like David Bowie..
and also dig inside of their fans who always go to war at each other every time they released their new album?!
I didn't watch a lot of youtubers did an essay about them, it's only 1 or 2 essay and based on their track records it's really interesting to do an essay about them..
Big fanss of your video PP!!! Keep up your works!!
yes please
@@stray999 they just so underrated these days..after TBH&C released i think it's really good time to talk about them
@@dimasakbar5105 that was definitely their biggest shift in sound and people definitely overlooked it imo
@@stray999 for me it's more like how they matured as a band, starting from humble beginning just boys chillin in their home at sheffield playin' hip hop, to do a headliners two times at glasto...TWO TIMES AT GLASTO, and then now after TBH&C it's like how they evolved and changed as a whole..or maybe just alex?lol..
@@dimasakbar5105 i think they matured well due to alex in a way because he was the one who wanted to play piano and I guess his time in TLSP played a part in their sound changing and honestly the fact that they headlined at Glastonbury twice is amazing
**takes long hit, holds it in**
(choked voice): freakin groupies, man...
**exhales**
4:13 it sounds slightly like the piano intro of Mellon Collie and the infinite sadness album.
Watching all these videos, I'd love to see something about The Alan Parsons Project
video about Mark Knopfler please
Yes he is such an underrated guitarist. I get a lot of emotional attachment to his playing and it isn’t just technically impressive.
The outro just makes me think of a frozen dead body , if you know you know haha
My god, yes! Thank you for making this! I fucking love Layla and it's awesome you did a video on it. You are one of my favourite youtubers ever, especially for the Lateralus video, keep up the great work! Would you mind doing another video on Tool or just rock/metal in general?
The poets name is not written in a correct form.It should be like this: نظامی گنجوی
A bit of info: majnun is pronounced as "majnoo'n" and N is a bit of a signal at the end rather than pronounced
Hey polyphonic can u do a Stephen Stills or CSNY video
You had the right word for what was going on with Boyd and Clapton...infatuation. Love had nothing to do with it. True love is a lasting thing and does not begin with lusting after ones friend's wife, or anyone's wife, really. The initial "falling in love" feeling is very brief and misleading. No matter how intense it is, it only lasts for something like 18 months at the most. After that, it burns out and is either replaced by the real thing, that involves total giving of self and putting the other's needs ahead of ones own, and *always* treating the other with respect and consideration, OR, it is replaced by nothing at all, allowed to decay entirely and become an odious and burdensome thing. Just a reminder of one's intial folly.
actually, it is an old Arabic story and not a Persian myth. Majnun's name is Qais, and he was a poet. his poems are written and preserved to this day, you can read them.
Do a video on the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway and how Peter Gabriel left Genesis
Vail Kuntz Omg yess!!
An interesting note is that the story of Layla & Majnun is a classic Sufi tale/poem. Thus it has mostly been viewed throughout history as (like basically all Sufi poetry) a metaphor for passionate love of God. Layla is the divine Beloved and Majnun is the crazed lover, drunk on the love of God. Most of this is obviously lost in the song, but the poetry and metaphors of the Islamic mystical tradition usually has double meaning, so it can mean both divine love AND worldly love because, at the end of the day, it is the same love. In this tradition, God is sometimes best experienced through a woman (or man, depending on your gender). Great story, and a wonderful song!
Nice video!
Aside from her beauty, what do you think attracted all these men to Pattie Boyd ?
She was capable and organized; she was a model, an artist and a photographer. Some famous photos of the Beatles are her work.
Most women(at that time) were taught to be spouses, and not work at a job. In the workplace, some women will out turn to be smart and well organized; OK if she's your employee, not so much when you have to compete with her for a job. These women, once rare, became more commonplace after a couple of world wars.
Patti Boyd's work caused her to have contacts in many different areas, and her ability helped in all of them. George Harrison met her while filming "A Hard Day's Night," and asked her to marry him the first day.
EC was the Harrison's neighbor, and I think that he wanted and envied the domestic relationship, as much as Patty Boyd, the pretty girl. It's a great story, if you overlooked all the personality disorders on display. Fortune passes everywhere.
Patti Boyd once said that Clapton was her playmate, while Harrison was her soulmate
ive been waiting for this song!!
Absolutely all respect to Parisians , but the origin of the story is Arabic , you can search it for further details,
The story happened in Saudi Arabia in نجد ( naajid ) , majnun real name is قيس بن الملوح Qais bin almoullouh , he was called by Arabs majnun ( which means crazy in Arabic ) cuz he was crazy for layla , he wrote alot of poems about her which we arabs still study in schools till nowdays.
I will quote some lines from one of his poems that i remember
أَلَسْتَ وَعَدْتَنِي يَا قَلْب
إِذَا مَا تُبْتُ عَنْ لَيْلَى تَتُوبُ
فَهَا أَنَا تَائِبٌ عَنْ حُبِ لَيْلَى
فَمَا لَكَ كُلْمَا ذُكِرَتْ تَذُوبُ
The story then traveled to Persia and became famous when nizami wrote about it , so that's why many people thought that it's a Persian legend , but it's an Arabian real story that was famous in Persian and many Persian poets wrote about it
I love Rob Sheffield's quote about Layla. Clapton exposing the love triangle: ' "In public” doesn't cover it - there's public and then there's “Layla.” '
Sometimes I think about what the lyrics to the slow second half of Layla would be
Qauis and Layla isn't a fictional story, He was an Arab poet who lived in the Arabian peninsula around mid 600 AD.
He was a pioneer in what was called Alghazal Alothry (Platonic Love Poems).
He went on to inspire many love stories including the one was mentioned.
The poem was actually about an Arabic man called "Qays Ibn al-Mulawwah" And it was he who was called "Majnun Layla" which means "layla's Madman." That is the whole point of the poem! he isnt just a "madman", he is "Layla's Madman." The Persians and many other cultures then adopted the story and told it in their own languages and in their poetry. Nice video though.. here's a link if anyone's interested Because Layla and the madman were both Real historical people. : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Layla_and_Majnun_(Nizami_Ganjavi_poem)
That is really interesting! I am originally from Layla, Saudi Arabia, a small town where Qays and Layla lived. Did not know that Eric Clapton wrote a song about my hometown lol
Layla and almajnun , is from an Arabic origin , the famous poignant love story , which incidentally was not fictional, dates to the omayyad period in the seventh Century .To have it attributed to Persia is most inaccurate and untrue. The story and the poetry of Qais are well documented in Arabic literature . We grew up with it , and we learned to recite the poem from childhood.
I've always wondered why the song was called Layla when it was about Pattie Boyd, now I know, thank you polyphonic.
What are your opinions on the album as a whole?
@@beckyweisfeld6977 hahahaha, nah doesn't have the same ring to it
You should set up a UA-cam Join feature so you can get contributions that way. I'd subscribe immediately.
He stole his guitar so he stole his wife
Heard this story a hundred times but still love your take on it!
You should do a video on King Crimson. They are considered one of the major founders of prog rock, and I think it'd be fascinating, despite knowing some of it already, you always seem to spin it in a fascinating direction
Anyone else who fell in love with the acoustic version first? No? Just me then.
audio cut out for a bit at 4.40
Good job. Layla was one of the first albums I ever bought back in the seventies. I think the first was a John Mayal album. Wish I still had that one, PS: get the Duane Allman Anthology I and II albums and you won't be disappointed.
The whole album is fantastic and with one of the best album covers of all time!
Please do a video about the Foo Fighters / Dave Grohl !
Duane allman makes this song no doubt about it
No mention of the unplugged version :/
Just as lovely, but I'd say this has more history behind it.
Was the unplugged version what Clapton originally had in mind ( being slower)? We'll never know, because he never said in the video 😄
Thankfully! It was horrible...
thank you for very nice documentary . but you mist small detail about the true story of "Qays Ibn al-Mulawwah" . and it is an Arabian story not Persian .
4:40 copyright issues? The sound cuts out entirely.
It was Rita Coolidge herself who claims they stole it from HER!!
can you do one on emerson lake and palmer’s experimental style and synth work?
I remember hearing Layla getting a lot of airplay on our local AM station here in Southern Ontario in 1970-71. We loved it!
It may have been because DJ's put their own playlists together back then, and it was one of his favourites, but we could count on hearing it every Friday or Saturday night for about a year.
Definitely one of Eric's best!
More Allman Brothers related content plox!
Would I sound like too much of a fanboy if I said I LOVE this channel? Cause I LOVE THIS CHANNEL!!
Audio cuts out at 4:40 for about 10 seconds
Hey, I was wondering if you could cover anything from King Crimson. They are absolute masters and aren't known nearly as much as they should be, and most of their songs are masterpieces.
So, basically, Duane Allman had to die for people to appreciate this amazing composition. Godspeed, Skydog.
I am an arab, I studied the story of leyla and her "majnun" for a whole year in high shcool . I've known this song since I was a child. But only now I understood. Thank you.
It is well known that Rita Coolidge got screwed out of her royalties for the piano riff by the good ole boys. Strange that this channel continues the misogyny.