Lady D'Arbanville
Encyclopedia
"Lady D'Arbanville" is a song written and recorded by Cat Stevens
, and released in April, 1970. He was already a successful songwriter, and this was his first single released upon signing a contract with Island Records
, with the encouragement of his new producer, Paul Samwell-Smith
, fostering a folk rock
direction for the young composer. "Lady D'Arbanville" has a madrigal
sound, and was written about Stevens' former girlfriend, Patti D'Arbanville
, metaphor
ically laying her to rest.
, which took off in a completely different direction from the songs of his previous two albums. Although Stevens' debut album had charted, and while both albums he'd recorded had successful single releases in the British pop music charts, he chafed against the "Carnaby Street musical jangle" and "heavy handed orchestration" that his producer, Mike Hurst
(of Deram Records
) favoured. Just at the completion of his second album with Hurst, Stevens contracted tuberculosis
and a collapsed lung
, requiring hospitalisation and rest for a year. During this time, he spent his empty hours writing over 40 songs, and upon a clean bill of health successfully negotiated out of his Deram contract, and settled on Island Records
' Paul Samwell-Smith
as his new producer
, who encouraged Stevens' inclinations towards an emerging folk rock
genre
.
As Stevens was nearing the end of his period of recuperation, he attended a party that boasted a gathering of musicians in London; including Jimmy Page
, Steve Winwood
, Ginger Baker
, Eric Clapton
, and others in attendance. Among the party-goers was an American teenager who was pursuing a modelling career named Patti D'Arbanville
. The two began dating over a period of more than a year. D'Arbanville stayed with him whenever she was in London, but often found her career taking her to Paris, and New York City
. Unfortunately, after over a year with her, Stevens was willing to invest more in a serious relationship than his young, ambitious girlfriend. It was on such a foray to New York that she heard his song about her on the airwaves. Her reaction was one of sadness. She said, "I just have to be by myself for a while to do what I want to do. It's good to be alone sometimes. Look, Steven [Stevens' given name] wrote that song when I left for New York. I left for a month, it wasn't the end of the world was it? But he wrote this whole song about 'Lady D'Arbanville, why do you sleep so still.' It's about me dead. So while I was in New York, for him it was like I was lying in a coffin... he wrote that because he missed me, because he was down... It's a sad song." D'Arbanville continues, "I cried when I heard it, because that's when I knew it was over for good."
tion, this was the first single to contain only acoustic guitars, bass
, percussion, and vocals
. Newly-hired Alun Davies
, initially brought in as a session guitarist, shared Stevens' love for the newly emerging folk rock sound
that Stevens chose to pursue. The two guitarists worked with John Ryan's syncopated basslines and drummer Harvey Burns' latin rhythms were used to emphasize the beat of the song on the body of the guitar. Stevens said of it later, that "the name itself was intriguing", and that "it was one of the unique songs that stood out, even lyric
ally". The song had a unique arrangement, and melody as well. The song was singular enough to reach #8 on the British pop music chart, and became the first to get noticeable airplay in the United States
. "Lady D'Arbanville" was issued in June 1970 and became his third Top Ten hit in the United Kingdom, with the album Mona Bone Jakon
, beginning a modest climb up the charts as well.
Elton John
also performed a version of "Lady D'Arbanville" for a covers record, at a time in his career when he was still in relative obscurity. However, in parts of the song, he substitutes one word. The original song is written thus:
Elton John's version has him singing "You will be my pill", instead of the original lyrics. John's career took off around the same time as that of Stevens, and the cover songs that John sang on, including "Lady D'Arbanville" remained in obscurity until they were eventually released on a compilation album titled Legendary Covers As Sung By Elton John
in 1996.
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
, and released in April, 1970. He was already a successful songwriter, and this was his first single released upon signing a contract with Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
, with the encouragement of his new producer, Paul Samwell-Smith
Paul Samwell-Smith
Paul Samwell-Smith is best known as a founding member and bassist of the 1960s English band, The Yardbirds, a group that spawned such noteworthy musicians as Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Page...
, fostering a folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
direction for the young composer. "Lady D'Arbanville" has a madrigal
Madrigal (music)
A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six....
sound, and was written about Stevens' former girlfriend, Patti D'Arbanville
Patti D'Arbanville
Patricia "Patti" D'Arbanville is an American actress and former model.-Early life:D'Arbanville, born May 25, 1951 in New York City, New York, is the daughter of Jean , an artist, and George D'Arbanville, a bartender, and attended PS 41 on Eleventh Street...
, metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
ically laying her to rest.
Background
"Lady D'Arbanville" was the first single released from Stevens' third album, Mona Bone JakonMona Bone Jakon
Mona Bone Jakon is the third album released by singer-songwriter Cat Stevens. The album was released In July, 1970 on the Island Records label in the United Kingdom, and A&M record label in the United States and Canada...
, which took off in a completely different direction from the songs of his previous two albums. Although Stevens' debut album had charted, and while both albums he'd recorded had successful single releases in the British pop music charts, he chafed against the "Carnaby Street musical jangle" and "heavy handed orchestration" that his producer, Mike Hurst
Mike Hurst (producer)
Mike Hurst is an English musician and record producer.-Biography:...
(of Deram Records
Deram Records
Deram Records was a subsidiary record label established in 1966 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom. At this time U.K. Decca was a completely different company than the Decca label in the United States, which was then owned by MCA Inc. Deram recordings were also distributed in the U.S. through...
) favoured. Just at the completion of his second album with Hurst, Stevens contracted tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
and a collapsed lung
Pneumothorax
Pneumothorax is a collection of air or gas in the pleural cavity of the chest between the lung and the chest wall. It may occur spontaneously in people without chronic lung conditions as well as in those with lung disease , and many pneumothoraces occur after physical trauma to the chest, blast...
, requiring hospitalisation and rest for a year. During this time, he spent his empty hours writing over 40 songs, and upon a clean bill of health successfully negotiated out of his Deram contract, and settled on Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
' Paul Samwell-Smith
Paul Samwell-Smith
Paul Samwell-Smith is best known as a founding member and bassist of the 1960s English band, The Yardbirds, a group that spawned such noteworthy musicians as Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Page...
as his new producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, who encouraged Stevens' inclinations towards an emerging folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
.
As Stevens was nearing the end of his period of recuperation, he attended a party that boasted a gathering of musicians in London; including Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
, Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
, Ginger Baker
Ginger Baker
Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker is an English drummer, best known for his work with Cream and Blind Faith. He is also known for his numerous associations with World music, mainly the use of African influences...
, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, and others in attendance. Among the party-goers was an American teenager who was pursuing a modelling career named Patti D'Arbanville
Patti D'Arbanville
Patricia "Patti" D'Arbanville is an American actress and former model.-Early life:D'Arbanville, born May 25, 1951 in New York City, New York, is the daughter of Jean , an artist, and George D'Arbanville, a bartender, and attended PS 41 on Eleventh Street...
. The two began dating over a period of more than a year. D'Arbanville stayed with him whenever she was in London, but often found her career taking her to Paris, and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Unfortunately, after over a year with her, Stevens was willing to invest more in a serious relationship than his young, ambitious girlfriend. It was on such a foray to New York that she heard his song about her on the airwaves. Her reaction was one of sadness. She said, "I just have to be by myself for a while to do what I want to do. It's good to be alone sometimes. Look, Steven [Stevens' given name] wrote that song when I left for New York. I left for a month, it wasn't the end of the world was it? But he wrote this whole song about 'Lady D'Arbanville, why do you sleep so still.' It's about me dead. So while I was in New York, for him it was like I was lying in a coffin... he wrote that because he missed me, because he was down... It's a sad song." D'Arbanville continues, "I cried when I heard it, because that's when I knew it was over for good."
Musical genre and sound
While Stevens' previous singles featured orchestraOrchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
tion, this was the first single to contain only acoustic guitars, bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, percussion, and vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
. Newly-hired Alun Davies
Alun Davies (guitarist)
Alun Davies is a Welsh guitarist, studio musician, recording artist, and composer who rose to fame primarily with his supporting guitar work and backing vocals as accompanist for English musician Cat Stevens, from early 1970 to 1977...
, initially brought in as a session guitarist, shared Stevens' love for the newly emerging folk rock sound
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
that Stevens chose to pursue. The two guitarists worked with John Ryan's syncopated basslines and drummer Harvey Burns' latin rhythms were used to emphasize the beat of the song on the body of the guitar. Stevens said of it later, that "the name itself was intriguing", and that "it was one of the unique songs that stood out, even lyric
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
ally". The song had a unique arrangement, and melody as well. The song was singular enough to reach #8 on the British pop music chart, and became the first to get noticeable airplay in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. "Lady D'Arbanville" was issued in June 1970 and became his third Top Ten hit in the United Kingdom, with the album Mona Bone Jakon
Mona Bone Jakon
Mona Bone Jakon is the third album released by singer-songwriter Cat Stevens. The album was released In July, 1970 on the Island Records label in the United Kingdom, and A&M record label in the United States and Canada...
, beginning a modest climb up the charts as well.
Charts
Song| Year | Chart | UK Chart Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Pop Songs | #8 |
Personnel
- Cat StevensCat StevensYusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, vocals - Alun DaviesAlun Davies (guitarist)Alun Davies is a Welsh guitarist, studio musician, recording artist, and composer who rose to fame primarily with his supporting guitar work and backing vocals as accompanist for English musician Cat Stevens, from early 1970 to 1977...
– guitar, backing vocals - John Ryan – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Harvey Burns – percussion
Version from Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
also performed a version of "Lady D'Arbanville" for a covers record, at a time in his career when he was still in relative obscurity. However, in parts of the song, he substitutes one word. The original song is written thus:
"My Lady D'Arbanville, why do you sleep so still?
I'll wake you tomorrow, and you will be my fill,
Yes, you will be my fill
Elton John's version has him singing "You will be my pill", instead of the original lyrics. John's career took off around the same time as that of Stevens, and the cover songs that John sang on, including "Lady D'Arbanville" remained in obscurity until they were eventually released on a compilation album titled Legendary Covers As Sung By Elton John
Chartbusters Go Pop! 20 Legendary Covers from 1969/70 as Sung by Elton John
Chartbusters Go Pop is a compilation album of cover versions by Elton John.These recordings are from the days prior to Elton John's first success as a solo performer...
in 1996.