Oh Very Young

"Oh Very Young" is a song composed by Cat Stevens. It was released on his 1974 album Buddha and the Chocolate Box, as well as several later "Best of..." and "Greatest Hits" albums.[1] The song reached number 10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100[2] and number two Easy Listening.[3]

"Oh Very Young"
Single by Cat Stevens
from the album Buddha and the Chocolate Box
B-side"100 I Dream"
ReleasedMarch 1974
RecordedFebruary 1974
GenreFolk rock, pop rock
Length2:39
LabelIsland (UK/Europe)
A&M (US/Canada)
Songwriter(s)Cat Stevens
Producer(s)Paul Samwell-Smith, Cat Stevens
Cat Stevens singles chronology
"The Hurt"
(1973)		 "Oh Very Young"
(1974)		 "Another Saturday Night"
(1974)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All Music Guide link

Background

On his website djallyn.org, DJ Ally posted the following about "Oh Very Young" on April 30, 2009:

Its lyric is a gentle response to Don McLean's hit "American Pie" released two years previously. Like McLean, he stops short of mentioning Buddy Holly directly, but questions the ill-fated songwriter's "Not Fade Away" (the last song Holly performed) lyric "a love to last more than one day, a lover's love, not fade away" with Stevens' own "denim blue, fading up to the sky, and though you want him to last forever you know he never will, and the patches make the goodbye harder still". Stevens then mentions the young American's mould-breaking work "Words Of Love" in the line "will you carry the words of love with you, will you ride the great white bird into heaven, and though you want to last forever you know you never will, and the goodbye makes the journey harder still."

Chart performance
Chart (1974) Peak
position
US Billboard Easy Listening 2
US Billboard Hot 100 10

Cover versions
  • Suzanne Lynch worked as a session musician until she became a regular part of Cat Stevens' vocal group and appeared on several of his albums. The first song Lynch did for Stevens was "Oh Very Young" in which she sang the solo line and the haunting background melody.[4]
  • Jonathan Rayson also covered the song on his 2006 album "Shiny and New".

References
  1. "Cat Stevens "Oh Very Young"". AllMusic.com. 2014. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
  2. "'Oh Very Young' by Cat Stevens peaks at #10 in USA 40 years ago today (June 1 1974)". RetroNewser. 1 June 2014. Retrieved 2014-06-28.
  3. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 228.
  4. "Susanne Lynch – History". Archived from the original on 2013-06-24. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
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