I did a Valentine’s Day post about some of my favorite “romantic” songs, and the 1973 Cat Stevens song ‘Foreigner Suite” was one I was considering including on the list, but I did not. Mainly because it’s an 18-minute song. So it essentially deserves its OWN blog!

There are quite a few “romantic” lines in the song, that if uttered or written in some kind of messaging format just make the person you’re saying them to say “awww!” Just make SURE the person you’re talking to isn’t a Cat Stevens fan! This song is from the eponymously titled album “Foreigner,” which was not one of his more popular albums, and nobody but the most die-hard fans will tend to listen to this song, let alone the album.  Except maybe Chris Martin from Coldplay (more about him and Coldplay in a bit). And yes…I own this album! Per wikipedia, though the album sold well and reached #3 on charts on both sides of the Atlantic, it was not very well reviewed.

My  mom was a huge fan of Cat Stevens, which (duh) wound up getting passed down to me. She even kept a poster of him on MY bedroom wall when I was about 4-5 years old!  In this poster, he was shirtless, bearded (I was kind of scared of guys with beards when I was little), and he was wearing a lei. I think she just put it up there so she could look at it while she was putting me to bed or something. When I got old enough to have any kind of say in the decor of my room, I asked that the Cat Stevens poster come down – and I replaced it with a cheesy poster of kittens hanging from something. I also had some Girl Scout cookie posters I’d won on the wall that had bunnies on them.  To this day, I can’t deal with posters of humans. They just kind of…creep me out.

I am not very good at taking photos of photos. This was my bedroom wall, circa 1978-1979. Note: NO human posters!

As for Cat Stevens’ song “Foreigner Suite,” it made rock headlines in 2009 when Cat Stevens (now known professionally as Yusuf Islam or just Yusuf) considered suing the band Coldplay because of their song “Viva La Vida” sounding similar to his “Foreigner Suite.” Joe Satriani actually DID sue Coldplay because of “Viva La Vida’s” similarity to his instrumental song “If I Could Fly.” I listened to this song while I was writing this, and yes, it does sound like a ripoff! While Yusuf “forgave” Coldplay rather than pursuing the lawsuit, the other lawsuit by Satriani was eventually dismissed. Read more about that here

Here are some woo-worthy lines from the song…

“The moment you walked inside my door
I knew that I need not look no more
I’ve seen many other girls before, ah but darling
Heaven must’ve programmed you…”

While this next line might not be “the” most romantic of the song, it does have a poignant honesty, which might serve you well in some scenarios…

“Well I love you baby, Ooh my dear
And I think about you sometimes
But when you’re with me boy it chokes my mind…”

Some more lines…

“…And the sky all glistens with gold
When you’re talking to me
And the whirling wind turns to song
Why it sets my soul free…”

“Won’t you give me your word that you won’t laugh
Cos you’ve been a saving grace to me
And I’d hate to face a day without you around
My life would be without sound…”

“Oh babe, understand
Take my love that’s all I have at hand
Please say you will … Don’t say you can’t…”

Just be careful about the terms of endearment, such as “baby,” “babe,” and “darling!” Tailor them to the person you’re talking to! 🙂