I was born in 1964. I remember hearing cat Stevens on the radio. Transistor radio. And my mother had his album. On vinyl. I remember studying the album art.
So when my now 35 yr old son was a baby/toddler… I sang this song to him (after reading Goodnight Moon most nites) every nite… the song made a connection for him with bedtime, nighttime and the dark room… and always made it easier for him to close his eyes. So, when he got married in Montana (we’re in Maryland) in August of ‘22… in the lead up music to the ceremony, the acoustic duo played Moonshadow back to me! Like I needed something else to cry about!!
He grew up in a city with street lights. He wrote this when he was outside the city and noticed that he could actually see his shadow cast on the ground from the light of the moon.
Peter Pan's shadow, 😊. Thank you for the explanation. I'm a city kid who did a lot of camping in the mountains with my family for many years, so I get it. I love this, the imagery is bringing back wonderful memories. ❤
""I was on a holiday in Spain. I was a kid from the West End [of London] - bright lights, et cetera. I never got to see the moon on its own in the dark, there were always streetlamps. So there I was on the edge of the water on a beautiful night with the moon glowing, and suddenly I looked down and saw my shadow. I thought that was so cool, I'd never seen it before." "
I believe it was a reflection on his close to death experience when he contracted tuberculosis a few years prior, and spent several months in the hospital. His message was when something terrible happens to you physically, look for the positives.
With an artist like Cat Stevens, it's not the individual songs that are the focus, it's the entire album and the accumulation of feelings that occur listening.
I love that the boys didn't quite know what to make of this song. Btw, Morning Has Broken is actually a hymn, it's in my church's hymnal that predates Cat Stevens recording it. I love his rendition of it.
Interestingly, Stevens changed a single letter in the lyrics, and changed the meaning significantly. The hymn says: “Praise for them, springing fresh from the Word” Stevens: “Praise for them, springing fresh from the world”
Cat Stevens is one of the best artists to emerge from the singer/songwriter movement of the early 70's. His best songs include: "Oh, Very Young", "Father And Son", "Peace Train", ,"Lady D'Arbanville", "Wild World" and, of course, his greatest song, "Morning Has Broken".
Impossible to separate Cats music from the times. He's a classic early seventies artist and at the forefront of the popular singer songwriter movement. It was a philosophy with him and a lifestyle. 😊🎉
One of his greatest songs - "The Wind" - is only 1:42 long. You should do a "Teaser & The Firecat" / "Tea For The Tillerman" stream. Two albums. It's about 70 minutes long between the two records. The man was on fire.
It is my favorite part...I listened to a lot of Cat Stevens as a teenager in the 1980's, from access to parent's and older siblings' music collections of my friends, and always thought this line was clever. My own era of music was filled with Phil Collins, and he uses a similar effect at the end of "I Don't Care Anymore," forever linking the two in my mind. Cheers!
my Cat Stevens epiphany happened when I watched Harold and Maude, which heavily featured his song "If You Want to Sing Out", and is very beautiful in this exact kind of melancholic/joyful way.
This is an extraordinary song. It's also a great singalong. His voice, the guitar, the song, its simplicity, and its dynamics. Its wistful and beautiful. It will grow on you. Morning has Broken is just as good.
Using these lyrics like you said he looked on the good side of bad things, his songs all were deep and soul-searching, Baby Its a Wild,World you need to listen to, thanks guys.
Back in the day when Cat was recording "Tea For The Tillerman" album I was recording with my band in the next studio over at Criteria Studios in Miami. That was too cool!!! I love his material and his voice and lyrics.
If this is Craig Reid of The Proclaimers, you are an all time favorite for me. I still can’t help but hear, “Harri-otta! Harri-otta!…” in I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles). I sooo wanted someone to love me like that in my youth!
Funny you mention childhood memories. This song was a total walk down memory lane....one of my earliest favorite songs that I can remember. ❤ It's about acceptance of your situation as opposed to struggling against it; perseverance, and seeing the bright side.
I knew before I clicked on this video that A&A weren't going to be crazy about this one. I actually expected B ratings from both of them, so it was better than I thought. I graduated from high school when this song came out, so it means more to me than it would contemporary reactors.
Cat Stevens was not only a great musician but also a wonderful artist who did the art for the album cover. Edited to add: It is a pleasure to see how much you enjoy the music many of us grew up on.
Happy New Year guys!Wow, was not anticipating an unfavorable response. As you mentioned perhaps setting affected. Check Chris Cornell performing this with Yusef Cat Stevens . For me the most soulful " Cat" in the genre. "Peace Train" That would be a no brainer. .
Many thanks to Andy and Alex! 💎 I love this song so much. 🌒 I think the point of the song wasn't the definition of "moonshadow", but more about the philosophy he described with every stanza.
Great song! Have always love Cat Steven's music. He is a great singer songwriter with a very unique sounding voice. One of my first albums I ever bought was his "Tea For The Tillerman". The whole album is great. So is the album "Teaser & The Firecat". He has had so many great songs in his career such as "Matthew & Son", "The First Cut Is The Deepest", "Father & Son", "Wild World", "Peace Train", "Morning Has Broken" etc. He is still recording & performing live & his voice still sounds great.
My college roommate listened to this album every. single. morning. 'Teaser and the Firecat', I'll never forget it. I know every song front to back. Thanks, Kelly.
His music literally changed my life. He made me understand that i was a spiritual searcher as well, and that i have the power to alter the way i see the world, and choosing life and joy is always preferable.
Yep. I didn't know this for many years, but he was writing that no matter what happens to you in life, there is always something to be thankful for. Side note: long time ago, I name my cat Moonshadow after this song. She lived to be just shy of 19 years old. I was lucky enough to see him in concert on his Magicat tour. Truly phenomenal. For next song, I suggest Bitterblue. Or, 18th Avenue.
We also had a cat named Moonshadow! RIP, sweetie. I always loved this song when I heard it on the radio when I was a kid but this is the first time I ever really paid attention to the lyrics. We just had too much good music to choose from back then to really appreciate everything.
Cat also wrote The First Cut is the Deepest (covered by Rod Stewart & Sheryl Crow) & Here Comes My Baby, a one hit wonder for the Tremeloes. The soundtrack for the dark comedy-drama film Harold and Maude was Cat's music.
Late 60s, this on the radio was so much better than the other folk stuff available. Distinct memories with each. Missed him terribly when he disavowed it all...and so glad he finally got over it and took all the music back up, not just the religious stuff. So many many lovely pieces, hoping you do pull some of them up
Good reaction to a great song. Been watching you two for years. Looking at old vids and new ones, you two definitely have an osmosis thang going on! Keep up the good work.
I always thought this meant that we can spend a lot of time worrying about all the things could possibly happen vs enjoying life as it is. Having grown up in the wilderness in the '60's and '70's, off the grid where there were no lights, a full moon on a clear night was a wonderful thing to walk in and see our shadows. I mean, when you don't have television it's the simple things so this song seemed easy to understand.
Ahhhh, beautiful music from my youth. Any clue about what it was like turning on the car radio and have all this coming at you one song after the other. All excellent. Happy days.
LOVE Cat Stevens... You should check out "MORNING HAS BROKEN" and "RUBYLOVE" (He sings part of it in Greek for this *gem*). BTW: Peter Gabriel plays flute on this album!! ALSO hit the GREATEST indie band ever: GUIDED BY VOICES. (Try "Space Gun" or "The Enemy" or "Lizard On The Red Brick Wall")
I saw him in concert a couple of years ago, in a London theatre just yards where he grew up. He was so good, playing hits from Tea For The Tillerman and Teaser And The Firecat, in my opinion his greatest albums. I get that some artists don't chime with everyone, but please persevere with Cat Stevens. His body of work as a singer/songwriter is extraordinarily good.
"Sitting" is my favorite, too. A year or two ago I came across somebody else's reaction video of it & gave it a listen, since I'd not heard it for decades. Fell in love with it all over again & ended up listening to it multiple times daily for the next few weeks. Am not quite as obsessed with it now, but probably still hit it at least every other month.
Taken from Original Rolling Stone 'Teaser and The Firecat' LP Review [December 9, 1971]: "Cat Stevens to a Boston DJ -"I get the tune and then I just keep on singing the tune until the words come out from the tune. It's kind of a hypnotic state that you reach after a while when you keep on playing it where words just evolve from it. So you take those words and just let them go whichever way they want.... "Moonshadow"? Funny, that was in Spain, I went there alone, completely alone, to get away from a few things. And I was dancin' on the rocks there ... right on the rocks where the waves were like blowin' and splashin'. Really, it was so fantastic. And the moon was bright, ya know, and I started dancin' and singin' and I sang that song and it stayed. It's just the kind of moment that you want to find when you're writin' songs."
This 1978 song is one of the most beautiful ever. Brought tears to my eyes, caused memories to come flooding back into my mind, and is an *S+,* for me.
Saw Cat Stevens years ago at the Zellerbach Auditorium in Berkeley. Cat started the concert with this song accompanied by an animation video (similar graphics to the album cover) the video showed him on a large leaf in a stream in early night, gliding down the stream past rushes and riverbank with the bright moon just above and behind him - being followed by a moon shadow!! Very cool start to a concert!!
"If I Laugh" ,"Into White" ,"Oh Very Young" all masterpieces. This one was the cornerstone of 'Teaser and the Firecat' and was all over the radio. Both 'Tea For the Tillerman' and 'Teaser and the Firecat' are perfect albums. And the little short movie cartoon that accompanies this song is very sweet but of it's time.
the word “Moon” has prompted me to suggest “Moonlight Shadow” by Mike Oldfield featuring (the original) vocalist Maggie Riley . It was a huge hit across Europe at the time.
My mom recorded a cassette tape of me singing this song at the top of my lungs when I was 8 years old. S tier all the way for me just because of the memories and the impact it had on me as a child. I love the introspective singer songwriters of the late 60s-early 70s like Cat, James Taylor, and Jim Croce.
Love this song. The entire album is incredible. My dad started playing this album (and other Cat Stevens) for me in the 1970s when I was an about 5. He passed at 91 a few months back but hearing this brought me right back to my childhood.
I love this song and his voice. He converted to Islam in 1977 and changed his name to Yusuf Islam in 1979. In 1989 a "Fatwa" was placed on author Salman Rushdie, and Yusuf made some "controversial comments" (to say the least) about Salman, and so a local radio comedy team did a cover of this song but changed the lyrics to: "Salman's being followed by a Moonshadow named Ayatollah Khomeini." They played that version quite a bit, so whenever I hear this song, I can't help but think of those lyrics. At the end of the day, regardless of what Mr Islam said, his music (including this song) still holds up.
Tea for the Tillerman is one of those albums that really needs to be listened to as a whole. Once you've done the album as whole, the individual songs hit different. Edit: Oh Very Young would be a good one to hit next
Happy New Year gang! I enjoy his songs, mom had Tea for a Tillerman when I was a kid - when you hear albums as a whole it tends to bind one song to the overall feeling of the album. They flow
Next Cat Stevens tracks should be Where Do The Children Play, The First Cut is the Deepest, and Sad Lisa! Also any plans to do more John Lennon? I really wanna hear your take on Watching the Wheels - one of my favourite songs that I feel doesn't get enough props
Hard to put into words the vibes this brings back. Being a teen, too young to have gone to Woodstock and yet kind of a hippie. Seeing the artsy, cool upper grade girls and how we newbs all wanted to be cool too. Just the silliness of youth, but a sweet memory. We had the best music.
If I ever lose my eyes…I won’t have to cry no more. When I was in elementary school we would always sing this and County Roads by John Denver. Mr Willie tought us the classics.
Back in 1972 I had to perform this song in front of my high school guitar class using finger picking and my 17 year old voice such as it was. Followed this by Morning has Broken and then a duet with a friend that we wrote together. Never been so nervous.
Many years ago I came upon a guy in the tube in London playing this song on an acoustic and singing his lungs out. The acoustics of being underground somehow made it even better.
My parents are Cat Stevens fans, and this was absolutely my favorite song of his when I was a kid. I think the lyrics appeal to children, and it's a easy song to sing and remember. As an adult, there is a lot of his music I like better. "Peace Train" is probably my favorite now. The message is just always relevant.
Cat Stevens is one of my earliest music memories via my mom. I listened to him throughout his religious break and then as his Yusuf Islam evolution came about, his newer music is equally as wondrous. I am so glad I have gotten to experience all of this man's writing, playing, and singing.
In my junior high chorus class our teacher had us sing this song and he would let some of the students take a solo on the verses and I was always ready to sing and after the verse I would hear the applause of my fellow students especially the girls and I think thats when I wanted to be a musician because it just came natural to me. I wanted him to call on me every time on every song. This was way back in 76 77. I got my first guitar in 78 and for me the rest was history. Another song I like you 2 to react to is Nick Drake I think it’s called From the morning. Great song. I know you did Pink Moon and you liked it but never got back to him. Peace out.
Cat Stevens had a knack for combining two words into one to capture a poetic idea, like 'Moonshadow," "Bitterblue," "Angelsea," "Whistlestar." He also did the artwork for his album covers. He was the first real musical influence on me after the Beatles.
Keep going with Cat, guys. I'd like to recommend two songs for your reaction, both deeper cuts: The Boy with a Moon and Star On His Head; and, Silent Sunlight. Thanks for your many takes on so much great music.
That time was an age of albums. You didn't listen to just one song. You listened to an entire album and let the music wash over you.
Exactly!!
So true
You did listen to single songs. It's in the name "single". And radio was also a thing and they didn't usually play whole albums.
“Peace Train” is definitely the next Cat Stevens song to hit.
Written all over my sophomore notebook when school started.
We need peace! Also try I Need Peace, by Frank Black & the Catholics!!✌️🕊️💥
Tea For the Tillerman would be a great full album to listen to.
That album is jammed packed with greatness.
Still have that album
I was born in 1964. I remember hearing cat Stevens on the radio. Transistor radio. And my mother had his album. On vinyl. I remember studying the album art.
So when my now 35 yr old son was a baby/toddler… I sang this song to him (after reading Goodnight Moon most nites) every nite… the song made a connection for him with bedtime, nighttime and the dark room… and always made it easier for him to close his eyes.
So, when he got married in Montana (we’re in Maryland) in August of ‘22… in the lead up music to the ceremony, the acoustic duo played Moonshadow back to me! Like I needed something else to cry about!!
Yes, morning has broken is a really beautiful song
He grew up in a city with street lights. He wrote this when he was outside the city and noticed that he could actually see his shadow cast on the ground from the light of the moon.
As a city kid, this makes so much sense to me, because I experienced this same thing. No wonder I love this song so much. 😊
Peter Pan's shadow, 😊.
Thank you for the explanation. I'm a city kid who did a lot of camping in the mountains with my family for many years, so I get it.
I love this, the imagery is bringing back wonderful memories. ❤
""I was on a holiday in Spain. I was a kid from the West End [of London] - bright lights, et cetera. I never got to see the moon on its own in the dark, there were always streetlamps. So there I was on the edge of the water on a beautiful night with the moon glowing, and suddenly I looked down and saw my shadow. I thought that was so cool, I'd never seen it before." "
@@David-iv6je Was that from his appearance on the Chris Isaak Show?
@@moniphil Just grabbed it from Wikipedida
The simplicity of this song is one of its strengths. It’s about the message. Acceptance and how our suffering comes from resistance.
I believe it was a reflection on his close to death experience when he contracted tuberculosis a few years prior, and spent several months in the hospital. His message was when something terrible happens to you physically, look for the positives.
@@HamiltonRb Or expressing the idea of radical acceptance, which is what many people profess.
I don't think these boys are very grassy/folksy. They like to rock.
@@David-iv6je He did become very spiritual, so it is open to interpretation
It takes a decent guitar player to play it right.
With an artist like Cat Stevens, it's not the individual songs that are the focus, it's the entire album and the accumulation of feelings that occur listening.
“Oh Very Young” !!!! You guys are CRAZY not to dive into more from this amazing singer songwriter!!!
I love that the boys didn't quite know what to make of this song.
Btw, Morning Has Broken is actually a hymn, it's in my church's hymnal that predates Cat Stevens recording it. I love his rendition of it.
Yes I love that hymn!
And Rick Wakeman played piano! ❤
Interestingly, Stevens changed a single letter in the lyrics, and changed the meaning significantly.
The hymn says:
“Praise for them,
springing fresh from the Word”
Stevens:
“Praise for them,
springing fresh from the world”
@@ontheroad5317 I'll have to listen to it again, because I always thought he sang "Word".
Me too! And yes I knew that song was not written by him . He just made it his style!
Cat Stevens is one of the best artists to emerge from the singer/songwriter movement of the early 70's.
His best songs include:
"Oh, Very Young", "Father And Son", "Peace Train", ,"Lady D'Arbanville", "Wild World" and, of course, his greatest song, "Morning Has Broken".
Love Lady D'Arbanville, !!
Foreigner Suite is a masterpiece song.
Lilywhite is my favorite.
YES! Love Morning Has Broken! Such a pretty song.
Don’t forget that he also wrote The First Cut Is The Deepest. A hit for both Rod Stewart and Sheryl Criw
Impossible to separate Cats music from the times. He's a classic early seventies artist and at the forefront of the popular singer songwriter movement. It was a philosophy with him and a lifestyle. 😊🎉
Man, I forgot how good this song is. The guitars and lyrics are top tier.
One of his greatest songs - "The Wind" - is only 1:42 long. You should do a "Teaser & The Firecat" / "Tea For The Tillerman" stream. Two albums. It's about 70 minutes long between the two records. The man was on fire.
I listened to those two albums constantly, all the way through. They transported and lifted me in my teens.
Legendary!
What I wouldn't give to hear that live stream!
I was also going to suggest The Wind.
His albums "Tea for the Tillerman" and "Teaser and the Firecat" are masterpieces, and I wore many copies of these two out over the years.
Don’t forget Catch a Bull at Four!
Tea for the Tillerman and Teaser and the Firecat are like an epic double album when played in the one sitting.
Morning Has Broken is the perfect soundtrack to a beautiful sunrise.
Also I love that Andy caught the lyric cutoff at "I won't have to talk..." I had never picked up on that little bit of cleverness until this listen.
It is my favorite part...I listened to a lot of Cat Stevens as a teenager in the 1980's, from access to parent's and older siblings' music collections of my friends, and always thought this line was clever. My own era of music was filled with Phil Collins, and he uses a similar effect at the end of "I Don't Care Anymore," forever linking the two in my mind. Cheers!
I love that part. He lost his mouth, so he CAN'T talk ("no more")! 😶 Clever line, indeed. 😄
“Where do the children play” is also one of my favorites from Cat Stevens
He is a painter of emotions with music and lyrics...beautiful.
If you are looking for a film to review then Harold and Maude is on to consider.
Cat Stephens's soundtrack is a bonus.
my Cat Stevens epiphany happened when I watched Harold and Maude, which heavily featured his song "If You Want to Sing Out", and is very beautiful in this exact kind of melancholic/joyful way.
This is an extraordinary song. It's also a great singalong. His voice, the guitar, the song, its simplicity, and its dynamics. Its wistful and beautiful. It will grow on you. Morning has Broken is just as good.
I love this song and Cat Stevens voice.
Using these lyrics like you said he looked on the good side of bad things, his songs all were deep and soul-searching, Baby Its a Wild,World you need to listen to, thanks guys.
Now that's a song I really like!
Man I played this album until it was worn out!! Loved cat stevens Lay on the floor and listen to the whole album! Good times!
I spent countless hours studying the album art when I was a kid. My dad used to play Cat Steven a lot on his guitar.
“Sitting “ is my favorite song of his. Lyrics are amazing.
Back in the day when Cat was recording "Tea For The Tillerman" album I was recording with my band in the next studio over at Criteria Studios in Miami. That was too cool!!! I love his material and his voice and lyrics.
Wolves of Azure? I notice a lot of professional musicians watch this channel.
If this is Craig Reid of The Proclaimers, you are an all time favorite for me. I still can’t help but hear, “Harri-otta! Harri-otta!…” in I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles). I sooo wanted someone to love me like that in my youth!
unlikely given that The Proclaimers started in the 80s @@harriotteworthington3147
Criteria was one of the great studios!
@@jasonbroad5478 Tons of superstars recorded there.
Funny you mention childhood memories. This song was a total walk down memory lane....one of my earliest favorite songs that I can remember. ❤
It's about acceptance of your situation as opposed to struggling against it; perseverance, and seeing the bright side.
I knew before I clicked on this video that A&A weren't going to be crazy about this one. I actually expected B ratings from both of them, so it was better than I thought. I graduated from high school when this song came out, so it means more to me than it would contemporary reactors.
Cat Stevens was not only a great musician but also a wonderful artist who did the art for the album cover.
Edited to add: It is a pleasure to see how much you enjoy the music many of us grew up on.
Cat/Yusef has one of most glorious baritones in pop music history. And his song writing was impeccable.
His voice has the natural God given smoothness that reminds me of Burl Ives.
One of the iconic albums of the 70's
"On The Road to Find Out" is my favorite Cat Stevens/Yusuf song. It's incredible and worth a listen guys!
Happy New Year guys!Wow, was not anticipating an unfavorable response. As you mentioned perhaps setting affected. Check Chris Cornell performing this with Yusef Cat Stevens . For me the most soulful " Cat" in the genre.
"Peace Train"
That would be a no brainer. .
Many thanks to Andy and Alex! 💎 I love this song so much. 🌒 I think the point of the song wasn't the definition of "moonshadow", but more about the philosophy he described with every stanza.
Don't over think it kids, lol. It's a lullaby. If you ever lose something you focus on the postive.
Great song! Have always love Cat Steven's music. He is a great singer songwriter with a very unique sounding voice. One of my first albums I ever bought was his "Tea For The Tillerman". The whole album is great. So is the album "Teaser & The Firecat". He has had so many great songs in his career such as "Matthew & Son", "The First Cut Is The Deepest", "Father & Son", "Wild World", "Peace Train", "Morning Has Broken" etc. He is still recording & performing live & his voice still sounds great.
My college roommate listened to this album every. single. morning. 'Teaser and the Firecat', I'll never forget it. I know every song front to back. Thanks, Kelly.
Check out the animated short they made in ‘77 when the song was recorded/released. Way ahead of its time?
His music literally changed my life. He made me understand that i was a spiritual searcher as well, and that i have the power to alter the way i see the world, and choosing life and joy is always preferable.
Yep. I didn't know this for many years, but he was writing that no matter what happens to you in life, there is always something to be thankful for.
Side note: long time ago, I name my cat Moonshadow after this song. She lived to be just shy of 19 years old.
I was lucky enough to see him in concert on his Magicat tour. Truly phenomenal.
For next song, I suggest Bitterblue. Or, 18th Avenue.
We also had a cat named Moonshadow! RIP, sweetie.
I always loved this song when I heard it on the radio when I was a kid but this is the first time I ever really paid attention to the lyrics. We just had too much good music to choose from back then to really appreciate everything.
@@terri2494 yes in the 70's were were musicality spoiled :) Wasn't it great?
Cat also wrote The First Cut is the Deepest (covered by Rod Stewart & Sheryl Crow) & Here Comes My Baby, a one hit wonder for the Tremeloes. The soundtrack for the dark comedy-drama film Harold and Maude was Cat's music.
Late 60s, this on the radio was so much better than the other folk stuff available. Distinct memories with each. Missed him terribly when he disavowed it all...and so glad he finally got over it and took all the music back up, not just the religious stuff. So many many lovely pieces, hoping you do pull some of them up
Good reaction to a great song. Been watching you two for years. Looking at old vids and new ones, you two definitely have an osmosis thang going on! Keep up the good work.
I always thought this meant that we can spend a lot of time worrying about all the things could possibly happen vs enjoying life as it is. Having grown up in the wilderness in the '60's and '70's, off the grid where there were no lights, a full moon on a clear night was a wonderful thing to walk in and see our shadows. I mean, when you don't have television it's the simple things so this song seemed easy to understand.
Ahhhh, beautiful music from my youth. Any clue about what it was like turning on the car radio and have all this coming at you one song after the other. All excellent. Happy days.
LOVE Cat Stevens... You should check out "MORNING HAS BROKEN" and "RUBYLOVE" (He sings part of it in Greek for this *gem*). BTW: Peter Gabriel plays flute on this album!!
ALSO hit the GREATEST indie band ever: GUIDED BY VOICES. (Try "Space Gun" or "The Enemy" or "Lizard On The Red Brick Wall")
I saw him in concert a couple of years ago, in a London theatre just yards where he grew up. He was so good, playing hits from Tea For The Tillerman and Teaser And The Firecat, in my opinion his greatest albums. I get that some artists don't chime with everyone, but please persevere with Cat Stevens. His body of work as a singer/songwriter is extraordinarily good.
S Tiere song all the way. One of the most beautiful songs.
Father and Son is the review track you are looking for,
Tea for the tillerman is a great album
I love the change up near the end of the song. It makes the song.
SITTING still my favorite Cats song, then OH VERY YOUNG.
"Sitting" is my favorite, too. A year or two ago I came across somebody else's reaction video of it & gave it a listen, since I'd not heard it for decades. Fell in love with it all over again & ended up listening to it multiple times daily for the next few weeks. Am not quite as obsessed with it now, but probably still hit it at least every other month.
Music Lover.@@jkj981
In rural areas, you can see your shadow from a full moon. I think he made a playful song from the image of a moon shadow.
Taken from Original Rolling Stone 'Teaser and The Firecat' LP Review [December 9, 1971]: "Cat Stevens to a Boston DJ -"I get the tune and then I just keep on singing the tune until the words come out from the tune. It's kind of a hypnotic state that you reach after a while when you keep on playing it where words just evolve from it. So you take those words and just let them go whichever way they want.... "Moonshadow"? Funny, that was in Spain, I went there alone, completely alone, to get away from a few things. And I was dancin' on the rocks there ... right on the rocks where the waves were like blowin' and splashin'. Really, it was so fantastic. And the moon was bright, ya know, and I started dancin' and singin' and I sang that song and it stayed. It's just the kind of moment that you want to find when you're writin' songs."
This 1978 song is one of the most beautiful ever. Brought tears to my eyes, caused memories to come flooding back into my mind, and is an *S+,* for me.
An elementary school teacher taught our class this song in the early 1970’s. It’s a good singalong for kids.
Saw Cat Stevens years ago at the Zellerbach Auditorium in Berkeley. Cat started the concert with this song accompanied by an animation video (similar graphics to the album cover) the video showed him on a large leaf in a stream in early night, gliding down the stream past rushes and riverbank with the bright moon just above and behind him - being followed by a moon shadow!! Very cool start to a concert!!
"If I Laugh" ,"Into White" ,"Oh Very Young" all masterpieces. This one was the cornerstone of 'Teaser and the Firecat' and was all over the radio. Both 'Tea For the Tillerman' and 'Teaser and the Firecat' are perfect albums. And the little short movie cartoon that accompanies this song is very sweet but of it's time.
That entire album is awesome!
the word “Moon” has prompted me to suggest “Moonlight Shadow” by Mike Oldfield featuring (the original) vocalist Maggie Riley . It was a huge hit across Europe at the time.
Saw him in concert in Baton Rouge about 1973. Left with a smile....
My mom recorded a cassette tape of me singing this song at the top of my lungs when I was 8 years old. S tier all the way for me just because of the memories and the impact it had on me as a child. I love the introspective singer songwriters of the late 60s-early 70s like Cat, James Taylor, and Jim Croce.
I admire the timeless beauty and purity of these old Cat Stevens songs!!
Love this song. The entire album is incredible. My dad started playing this album (and other Cat Stevens) for me in the 1970s when I was an about 5. He passed at 91 a few months back but hearing this brought me right back to my childhood.
I love this song and his voice. He converted to Islam in 1977 and changed his name to Yusuf Islam in 1979. In 1989 a "Fatwa" was placed on author Salman Rushdie, and Yusuf made some "controversial comments" (to say the least) about Salman, and so a local radio comedy team did a cover of this song but changed the lyrics to: "Salman's being followed by a Moonshadow named Ayatollah Khomeini." They played that version quite a bit, so whenever I hear this song, I can't help but think of those lyrics. At the end of the day, regardless of what Mr Islam said, his music (including this song) still holds up.
I used to sing this to my kids at bedtime, sometimes in long steaks of every single night. It never got old, even without his warm voice.
Tea for the Tillerman is one of those albums that really needs to be listened to as a whole. Once you've done the album as whole, the individual songs hit different. Edit: Oh Very Young would be a good one to hit next
Happy New Year gang! I enjoy his songs, mom had Tea for a Tillerman when I was a kid - when you hear albums as a whole it tends to bind one song to the overall feeling of the album. They flow
Next Cat Stevens tracks should be Where Do The Children Play, The First Cut is the Deepest, and Sad Lisa!
Also any plans to do more John Lennon? I really wanna hear your take on Watching the Wheels - one of my favourite songs that I feel doesn't get enough props
This song gets me since I first heard it in 1970-71. Every time. The ambience of this thing is just something else.
It’s one of those songs you just sing along to while doing something else; it doesn’t stop you in your tracks. Love him.
Hard to put into words the vibes this brings back. Being a teen, too young to have gone to Woodstock and yet kind of a hippie. Seeing the artsy, cool upper grade girls and how we newbs all wanted to be cool too. Just the silliness of youth, but a sweet memory. We had the best music.
Morning has Broken is the best one.
Every time I hear this song, I can't get it out of my head for days
If I ever lose my eyes…I won’t have to cry no more. When I was in elementary school we would always sing this and County Roads by John Denver. Mr Willie tought us the classics.
Back in 1972 I had to perform this song in front of my high school guitar class using finger picking and my 17 year old voice such as it was. Followed this by Morning has Broken and then a duet with a friend that we wrote together. Never been so nervous.
I've always had that same kind of benign affection for pretty much all CS's songs. Good reaction. 💙🩵
Many years ago I came upon a guy in the tube in London playing this song on an acoustic and singing his lungs out. The acoustics of being underground somehow made it even better.
SWEET! Thanks for sharing. Really appreciate all the work you guys (and your team) put into things.
In addition to the great Cat Stevens songs mentioned by others, Tuesday’s Dead is worth listening to. Some of its lyrics are profound.
That’s one of my favorites
Nice Caribbean feel. Top 7 Cat Stevens song for me.
My dad used to play this album as I fell asleep, and I sang it (and many Yusef/Cat Stevens songs) to my daughter as lullabies when she was little.
Can't believe you didn't feel the joyfulness of this song!
"Trouble" is another great song of his.
My parents are Cat Stevens fans, and this was absolutely my favorite song of his when I was a kid. I think the lyrics appeal to children, and it's a easy song to sing and remember. As an adult, there is a lot of his music I like better. "Peace Train" is probably my favorite now. The message is just always relevant.
Cat Stevens is one of my earliest music memories via my mom. I listened to him throughout his religious break and then as his Yusuf Islam evolution came about, his newer music is equally as wondrous. I am so glad I have gotten to experience all of this man's writing, playing, and singing.
Acoustic folk rock, done in perfection!
...all I kept hearing is "old school Peter Gabriel's voice" on this one.
Good...needed more.
I've never heard this song by C.S .
It's the simplest masterpiece of all masterpieces.
It grows on you. And it stays with you.
Just a reminder.. "Morning has Broken" was written by English children's author Eleanor Farjeon to a traditional Scottish folk tune..
Check out the cult film "Harold and Maude". It's amazingly odd and I LOVE it. Cat Stevens soundtrack as well.
In my junior high chorus class our teacher had us sing this song and he would let some of the students take a solo on the verses and I was always ready to sing and after the verse I would hear the applause of my fellow students especially the girls and I think thats when I wanted to be a musician because it just came natural to me. I wanted him to call on me every time on every song. This was way back in 76 77. I got my first guitar in 78 and for me the rest was history. Another song I like you 2 to react to is Nick Drake I think it’s called From the morning. Great song. I know you did Pink Moon and you liked it but never got back to him. Peace out.
So much of his music is about finding your balance and seeing the spiritual in everyday life. He seems to have found his center.
Cat Stevens had a knack for combining two words into one to capture a poetic idea, like 'Moonshadow," "Bitterblue," "Angelsea," "Whistlestar." He also did the artwork for his album covers. He was the first real musical influence on me after the Beatles.
I think some of Cat's most beautiful music can be found on Numbers. "Novim's Nightmare" comes to mind.
It’s folk music, soulful, thoughtful & soothing.
Keep going with Cat, guys. I'd like to recommend two songs for your reaction, both deeper cuts: The Boy with a Moon and Star On His Head; and, Silent Sunlight. Thanks for your many takes on so much great music.
"Peace Train" is his epic, next if you have not done it. Otherwise, "Morning Has Broken" should follow.