Every Picture Tells a Story

Rod Stewart

About Every Picture Tells a Story

"Every Picture Tells a Story" is a song written by Rod Stewart and Ron Wood and initially released as the title track of Stewart's 1971 album Every Picture Tells a Story. It has since been released on numerous Stewart compilation and live albums, including The Best of Rod Stewart, Storyteller – The Complete Anthology: 1964–1990 and Unplugged...and Seated. It was released as a single in Spain, backed with "Reason to Believe." It has also been covered by The Georgia Satellites on their 1986 album Georgia Satellites and by Robin McAuley on Forever Mod: A Tribute to Rod Stewart. In the Rolling Stone Album Guide, critic Paul Evans described "Every Picture Tells a Story" and "Maggie May," another song off the Every Picture Tells a Story album, as Rod Stewart's and Ron Wood's "finest hour—happy lads wearing their hearts on their sleeves." Music critic Greil Marcus regards the song as "Rod Stewart's greatest performance."The lyrics of "Every Picture Tells a Story" from a first person narrative of the singer finding adventures with women all over the world but eventually returning home after having learned some moral lessons. Locations of his adventures include Paris, Rome and Peking. Allmusic critic Denise Sullivan commented that lyrics are racist and sexist (e.g., describing an Asian woman as a "slit-eyed lady"), and that the song "is a real nugget from a brief period in time when rock singers didn't worry about what it meant to be rude -- in fact, the ruder and cruder, the better."However, a live version of the song performed by Stewart in 1992, 21 years after the original album version was released, skips a complete verse containing some particularly unkind and crude references to women, as well as a self-deprecating reference: "I firmly believed that I/Didn't need anyone but me/I sincerely felt I was so complete/Look how wrong you can be/The women I've known I wouldn't let tie my shoe/They wouldn't give you the time of day/But the slit-eyed lady knocked me off my feet/God I was so glad I found her". Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised the song as "devilishly witty." The lyrics begin with a reference to the theme of self-discovery: 


Year:
1999
5:57
207 
#1

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Spent time feelin' inferior standing' in front of my mirror
Combed my hair in a thousand ways, but I came out lookin' just the same
Daddy said, son, you better see the world
I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to leave
But remember one thing, don't lose your head to a woman that'll spend your bread
So I got out

Paris was a place you could hide away, if you felt you didn't fit in
French police wouldn't give me no peace, they claimed I was a nasty person
Down along the left bank, minding my own
Was knocked down by a human stampede
Got arrested for inciting a peaceful riot, when all I wanted was a cup of tea
I was accused

I moved on
Down in rome I wasn't getting enough
Of the things that keep a young man alive
My body stunk, but I kept my funk at a time when I was right out of luck
Getting desperate, indeed I was looking like a tourist attraction
Oh, my dear, I better get out of here for the vatican don't give no sanction
I wasn't ready for that, no, no

I moved right out east, yeah
On the peking ferry I was feeling merry, sailing on my way back here
I fell in love with a slant-eyed lady by the light of an eastern moon
Shanghai lil never used the pill, she claimed that it just ain't natural
She took me up on deck and bit my neck
Oh, people, I was glad I found her
Oh, yeah, I was glad I found here

I firmly believed that I didn't need anyone but me
I sincerely thought I was so complete
Look how wrong you can be
The women I've known I wouldn't let tie my shoe
They wouldn't give you the time of day
But the slant-eyed lady knocked me off my feet
God, I was glad I found her

And if they had the words I could tell to you
To help you on your way down the road
I couldn't quote you no dickens, shelley or keats
'Cause it's all been said before
Make the best out of the bad, just laugh it off
You didn't have to come here anyway, so remember

Every picture tells a story don't it?
Every picture tells a story don't it?
Every picture tells a story don't it?
Every picture tells a story don't it?
Every picture tells a story don't it?
Every picture tells a story don't it?

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Rod Stewart

Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer-songwriter, born and raised in North London, England, and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with The Jeff Beck Group and then Faces. He launched his solo career in 1969 with his debut album An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down (US: The Rod Stewart Album). His work with The Jeff Beck Group and Faces influenced heavy metal genres. more »

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Written by: RONALD DAVID WOOD, STEVE HARLEY

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind


13 facts about this song

Genre Classification
"Every Picture Tells a Story" is primarily classified as a rock and folk rock song.
Album Information
The song is the title track from Rod Stewart's third studio album, released in May 1971.
Critical Reception
The album "Every Picture Tells a Story" is often considered Stewart's best work, and is widely regarded as a seminal album in the history of rock music.
Songwriting Credits
The song was co-written by Rod Stewart and Ron Wood.
Ron Wood Participation
Rod Stewart's frequent collaborator and Faces bandmate, Ron Wood, played several instruments on the track including acoustic and electric guitars and bass guitar.
Multi-instrumentalist Input
In addition to the guitars and bass, Wood also played the mandolin, contributing a distinctive sound to the track.
Notable Cover
In 1988, it was covered by the Georgia Satellites, an American southern rock band.
Shared Album Success
The success of "Every Picture Tells a Story," the single, echoed the overall success of the album of the same name, which reached number one on the Billboard 200 in the United States and the UK Albums Chart in Britain.
Chart-Topping Hits
While "Every Picture Tells a Story" was not released as a single itself, the album had two top five hits including "Maggie May" and "Reason to Believe."
Iconic Lyrics
The opening lyrics, "Every picture tell a story don't it?" has become a memorable and often quoted line.
Spontaneous Recording
According to Stewart, the recording of the song was very spontaneous with the final version being very close to the original first take.
Stewart's Favorite
In interviews, Rod Stewart has cited "Every Picture Tells a Story" as one of his favorite songs from his long career.
Continuing Legacy
More than four decades later, the song is still a staple in Stewart's concerts and popular on classic rock radio stations.

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