1971 "It's a Wild World" and it still is!

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1971 was a crazy time. I was a Freshman in Sandy Hook, CT at Newtown High school.

The Vietnam War was on the news every night. It was so awful, so there was a lot of fluffy stuff to help us distract ourselves from all the stress, like the "Bewitched" TV show. Silly and funny.

We were caught in a time that was unlike any other. Every year there were protests about the War. Some young people were creative, some peaceful, some activists. Times were changing rapidly. The Woodstock Music Festival was just 2 years before in 1969.

Richard Nixon was the President, and Walt Disney World opened in the Orlando area in October of 1971. The Attica Prison riots happened this year as well.

My favorite class in High School was called "Rock Poetry". The teacher was young and was trying to relate to us by bringing the study of poetry to us with our interests. It was my favorite class out of all 4 years. We mainly studied the Beatles, Cat Stevens, and Elton John lyrics. We delved into our own interpretations, researching the songwriters lives and what they said about their lyrics, and current events around each song.

I feel in "love" with Cat Stevens through the work in this class. He really spoke to me, and his music calmed me.

I don't remember what we said in class about the specific songs, it was a LONG time ago! I will never forget how the songs made me feel, and how I learned that there is so much more to learn when you like a song.

"Wild World" is one of those songs that gets stuck in my head. I researched for some info on the meaning again today. People have a lot of theories of who the song is talking about and why. Some say he wrote the song about his one time girlfriend Patti D'Arbanville. Another time Cat Stevens alluded to the way he felt himself during the turmoil of his life.

The details of this song don't matter as much to me, because I think that the message is universal. I still feel it is relevant and meaningul 46 years later. Timeless.

I was heartbroken when Cat Stevens changed his life in 1977. I totally respect his spiritual journey and need for change now, but it was tough on me when I was young.

I hope you enjoy this video and reading the lyrics that always meant so much to me. This song has been recorded by other artists. It has also been used for a number of TV shows, documentaries and movies.

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Cat Steven's hit "It's a Wild World"

graphic from http://catstevens dot com/media/singles/wild-world-sad-lisa/

Lyrics for "It's a Wild World"

Writer/s: CAT STEVENS
Publisher: EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Now that I've lost everything to you
You say you want to start something new
And it's breaking my heart you're leaving
Baby, I'm grieving

But if you want to leave, take good care
Hope you have a lot of nice things to wear
But then a lot of nice things turn bad out there

Oh baby baby it's a wild world
It's hard to get by just upon a smile
Oh baby baby it's a wild world
I'll always remember you like a child, girl

You know I've seen a lot of what the world can do
And it's breaking my heart in two
'Cause I never want to see you sad girl
Don't be a bad girl

But if you want to leave take good care
Hope you make a lot of nice friends out there
But just remember there's a lot of bad and beware
Beware

Oh baby baby it's a wild world
It's hard to get by just upon a smile
Oh baby baby it's a wild world
And I'll always remember you like a child, girl

Baby I love you
But if you want to leave take good care
Hope you make a lot of nice friends out there
But just remember there's a lot of bad and beware
Beware

Oh baby baby it's a wild world
It's hard to get by just upon a smile
Oh baby baby it's a wild world
And I'll always remember you like a child, girl

Oh baby baby it's a wild world
And it's hard to get by just upon a smile
Oh baby baby it's a wild world
And I'll always remember you like a child, girl

photo from http://catstevens com com/media/galleries/pop-star/

Research Sources:

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=291
http://catstevens.com/
https://www.facebook.com/YusufCatStevens
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_World_(song)
http://www.metrolyrics.com/wild-world-lyrics-cat-stevens.html
http://catstevens.com/media/songs/wild-world/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0828310/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_in_the_Vietnam_War
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1971.html