The Story Behind The Song: How Cat Stevens found light after darkness in ‘Lilywhite’
Known best by his original stage name, Cat Stevens, Steven Demetre Georgiou has led a wholly unique music career over the last five decades. After proving himself a crucial string to the bow of the early 1970s singer-songwriter boom, Stevens found faith in Islam following a near-death experience off the coast of Malibu. Changing his name to Yusuf Islam, he discarded his guitar in favour of the Qur’an, much to the frustration of his devoted fans.
The first incarnation of Stevens’ career reached a climax in the early 1970s with his triple platinum-certified fourth and fifth albums, Tea for the Tillerman and Teaser and the Firecat. The two records boasted some of Stevens’ most memorable and essential hits, including ‘Father and Son’, ‘Wild World’, ‘Moonshadow’, ‘Peace Train’, and ‘Morning Has Broken’.
Before these two meteoric releases, however, came the equally alluring Mona Bone Jakon. Perhaps the most famous tracks on this 1970 release were ‘Trouble’ and ‘Lady D’Arbanville’, but one of its undeniable highlights is our focus for today: the beautifully quaint ‘Lilywhite’.
‘Lilywhite’ is an artistic exploration of Stevens’ spiritual enlightenment that personifies his spirit, or white light, as the titular female character. Throughout his subsequent material, Stevens habitually assigned female characters in his life to the colours red or white, the former connoting flesh and blood.
Although Stevens sought a profound religious connection following his near-death experience off the coast of Malibu in 1976, his religious quest had begun long before. Although he was born to a Greek Orthodox father and a Baptist mother, Stevens opened his mind to “Buddhism, Zen, I Ching, numerology, tarot cards, and astrology” before settling with Islam, according to his brother, David Gordon, in Amy Reiter’s 1999 book Salon People: Cat Stevens.
The lyrics of ‘Lilywhite’ suggest that, while holding the pen in the late 1960s, Stevens was exploring Buddhism. “The Dial” and the “Wheel Of Change” refer to the Buddhist concept of reincarnation, the cycle of life and death. This is also hinted at in the first line, “Back Up on the mended road”.
In a conversation with Mojo in 2009, three years after his return to pop music, Stevens remembered the “amazingly bad trip” that inspired him to write ‘Lilywhite’. “I was at Noel Redding’s house, we were on tour, and he introduced me to this substance,” he said.
“That was the worst night of my life! It was in his flat in Clapham Common,” he added. “By the time I got to dawn and I was able to get out of the door, it had snowed, and it was like looking at an angelic gift from heaven! It was beautiful. Now, the song represents a recapturing of that moment where after darkness comes light.”
‘Lilywhite’ has been unfairly eclipsed by some of Stevens’ subsequent hits but remains essential among devoted fans. Among its keenest admirers is the comedian Ricky Gervais, who said, “It’s just beautiful,” when selecting it as his “Castaway’s Favourite” on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs.
Gervais also showed his love for ‘Tea for the Tillerman’ in 2007 when he selected the classic song for the closing soundtrack of his and Stephen Merchant’s second comedy series, Extras. In recognition, Stevens gave a shout-out to Gervais during his Glastonbury performance in 2023 when introducing the song.
“Oh, Glastonbury, are you enjoying yourselves?” Stevens asked the audience. “You should be; it’s teatime! The only person missing right now is Ricky Gervais.”
Listen to Cat Stevens’ ‘Lilywhite’ below.
