Stevie at the Superbowl!!!!!!!!!!!!
Edited to add: Sorry, guys, got a bit carried away, just saw the woman herself doing Stand Back on the Superbowl Pre-show!
I didn't know that Soda! I LOVE that pic! Of course....the first time I saw it I was just looking at where his hand wasOriginally Posted by SodaScouts
There were years and years where she refused to sing it live, although in 2004, for the first time in a LONG time, she sang it. I was there when she did it for the first time in decades and I actually cried, it was so beautiful.Originally Posted by Ive always been a dreamer
When Stevie sings it live, she changes it a bit. In the original, she sings "But now it's gone... it doesn't matter what for." Now, live, she first sings, "And now it's gone, they say it doesn't matter anymore," then on the last chorus she changes it to, "It's never gone; it ALWAYS matters what for." And now, she adds at the end of it, "Then the wind became crazy....just a heartbeat, but it never really died." Then, her voice rises and she sings that final line, changing it from the original past tense to the future tense: "All I ever wanted was to know that you'd be dreaming...."
Remembering the emotion in her voice when she sang it still gives me chills.
BTW for those of you unfamilar with Stevie's song Sara, here are the lyrics to it:
Wait a minute baby...
Stay with me awhile
Said you'd give me light
But you never told me 'bout the fire
Drowning in the sea of love
Where everyone would love to drown
But now it's gone
It doesn't matter what for
When you build your house
Then call me home
And he was just like a great dark wing
Within the wings of a storm
I think I had met my match
He was singing
And undoing...and undoing the laces
Undoing the laces
Said, Sara
You're the poet in my heart
Never change, never stop
But now it's gone
It doesn't matter what for
But when you build your house
Well, then call me home
Hold on
The night is coming
And the starling flew for days
I'd stay home at night all the time
I'd go anywhere, anywhere, anywhere
Ask me and I'm there
Ask me and I'm there, 'cause I care
In the sea of love
Where everyone would love to drown
But now it's gone
They say it doesn't matter anymore
If you build your house
Then, please, call me home
Sara, you're the poet in my heart
Never change, and don't you ever stop
And now it's gone
No, it doesn't matter anymore
When you build your house
I'll come by
Sara, baby
There's a heartbeat and it never really died
Never really died
Would you swallow all your pride?
Could you speak a little louder?
All I ever wanted was to know that you were dreaming...
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Some Don-centric interp:
The affair with Don was very passionate while it lasted. It started out as a fun fling - "light" - but then developed into something unexpectedly deeper - "fire."
The part about "building the house," as it's been said, was referring to Don building his house while they were together.
As dreamer pointed out, the man as "a great dark wing" and little starling bird work with Don and the baby (whom she named Sara). There's also some Welsh myth thrown in there, but the two are not mutually exclusive.
When Stevie talks about this song, she NEVER talks about the abortion - she talks about Don, she talks about everything but the abortion. We wouldn't have even known she had one if Don hadn't said so in an interview around 1990 or so.
This is another song about her abortion of their baby:
Don't take me to the tower
And take my child away
'Twas I who was the hourglass
And the sands of time like shattering glass
Went past me, like a tunnel to the sea
And I who went to sleep in tears
Woke up in tears for all of the years
And I have said goodbye before, and then
I said goodbye again
And when you hold yourself and know that
There were two, now only you remain
You'll close your eyes and travel back
To the time when the light went fading fast
And the words you'll never, ever forget...
As I slipped away...
Goodbye, baby
Soda, you are making me cry with all this talk of their aborted baby. Every time I hear "Sara" I think of the two of them. When I saw them perform together in Atlanta, it was obvious to everyone that they still care for each other. They were just so natural with each other on stage.
And, the fact that Don went on to have three children that he loves tremendously, and Stevie never had any children of her own, just makes the song even more wistful.
I was thinking about this thread on the way home from church today when the Alabama song "There's an Old Flame Burning in Your Heart," came on the radio. Do you guys know that song? Part of it goes:
"You say it ended when he left you,
You say your love for me is strong,
But those old memories stil upset you
I might be a memory before too long.
There's an old flame burning in your eyes
That tears can't drown and makeup can't disquise
That old flame may not be stronger
But it's been burning longer
Than any spark I might have started in your eyes."
I have heard that song - my parents loved Alabama and played them a lot in the house in the 80s. I remember when Don's Storytellers was first broadcast, Don was talking about "Taking You Home" and how wonderful it was to have a baby. The camera cut to Stevie and she looked sad. And the next time I saw broadcasted, that reaction shot was edited out. I always wondered if Don had something to do with that.
Here's the MP3 of the above song if anyone wants to hear it - it's the demo version, just Stevie at the piano, recorded not long after it happened:
The Tower
And, for those who are curious, a demo version of the song Sara, with some different lyrics:
Sara Demo
Did anyone see Stevie perform yesterday during the pregame festivities?
It was about 4:00 CST on CBS. She sang Stand Back and looked and sounded really great. She was dressed in a black dress. And her hair is really long! Like past her waist!
DonFan, I love that old Alabama song. One of my favorites of theirs.
"They will never forget you 'till somebody new comes along"
1948-2016 Gone but not forgotten
I sure did, Brooke! I thought she looked great. It's been a while since she's worn the short skirt and boots, and her hair is longer than when I last saw her.
My Stevie fandom is just as intense as my Glenn fandom. In fact, I had two plane credits that I had to use by May. One I'm using for Glenn and Pebble Beach. The other I'm using to see Stevie in Vegas in March!