Year of the Cat

Once again, I found myself watching another music reaction by one of my favorite reviewers, OK, Christina Listens. As soon as I saw the name of the tune, I knew she’d fall in love with Al Stewart’s melodic song from the album of the same name. And, I was correct in my assumption. She was immediately swept away by everything about the song — his voice, the melody, the mix, the instrumentation, and of course his beautiful words.

No matter the day or the time of year, the Year of the Cat instantly transports me. It’s like a leaf gently blowing in the wind on a delightful autumn day. I’m taken to another time and place and left with a warm, fuzzy feeling. That’s the ability of a true classic.

I was always enamored by the mix, and I learned something I didn’t know until today, from a response left in someone’s comment. It was mixed by none other than Alan Parsons. Yes, the same Alan Parsons who engineered Dark Side of the Moon. I should have known because it’s a masterpiece.

If you watched her video (and I certainly hope you will), she wondered about the title. While she got the gist of a beautiful romantic night, she wasn’t quite certain how it fit. However, I left a YouTube link about Al’s own account of the song’s history. I even learned a few things myself. Now you can too.

The Year of the Cat – Al Stewart

On a morning from a Bogart movie
In a country where they turn back time
You go strolling through the crowd like Peter Lorre
Contemplating a crime

She comes out of the sun in a silk dress
Running like a watercolor in the rain
Don’t bother asking for explanations
She’ll just tell you that she came

In the year of the cat

She doesn’t give you time for questions
As she locks up your arm in hers
And you follow ’til your sense of which direction
Completely disappears

By the blue tiled walls near the market stalls
There’s a hidden door she leads you to
“These days,” she says, “I feel my life
Just like a river running through

The year of the cat”

While she looks at you so coolly
And her eyes shine like the moon in the sea
She comes in incense and patchouli
So you take her to find what’s waiting inside

The year of the cat

Well morning comes and you’re still with her
And the bus and the tourists are gone
And you’ve thrown away your choice and lost your ticket
So you have to stay on

But the drumbeat strains of the night remain
In the rhythm of the newborn day
You know sometime you’re bound to leave her
But for now, you’re gonna stay

In the year of the cat
Mm, year of the cat