The 1976 song that made Rod Stewart wince while writing: “I didn’t think I’d get away with it”
Rod Stewart knew the risks that it took when it came to being a rock and roll star.
The entire idea of being a larger-than-life singer may have been interesting for a kid who had stars in their eyes, but most people who actually managed to get to that point needed to have a certain naivete about the stumbling blocks in the road. And even when Stewart managed to become one of the biggest stars of his time, he felt that some of his lyrics would have been absolutely torn apart if he had the wrong idea.
Granted, it’s not like rock is a genre that prides itself on having the greatest lyricists of all time. Bob Dylan and Patti Smith are certainly up there when it comes to phenomenal wordsmiths, but when you look at the way that all of the biggest tunes of all time capture people’s imaginations, sometimes a song about partying all night is all you need to become a pop star. And it’s not like Stewart didn’t benefit from that kind of song every now and again.
The Faces weren’t looking to make anything too ambitious outside of some great blues riffs, and while Stewart did have a lot more to offer as a solo artist, there were certain times when he felt like he needed to stick his neck out a little bit further than normal. ‘Maggie May’ was a shot in the dark that he didn’t feel was going to go anywhere, but if he managed to gain that much traction off of one song, he surely had a few more stories to tell other than the first time that he had sex.
However, even by the standards of the day, ‘The Killing of Georgie’ was slightly deeper. The concept of homosexuality was still very much taboo in those times, and while Stewart was happy to spin the narrative in a different direction, there were more than a few times when he was writing the lyrics and thinking that he was going to get his ass handed to him for even thinking about this kind of topic.
The typical rock and roll machismo didn’t have much time for this kind of song, and Stewart wasn’t exactly comfortable writing down every line, either, saying, “The subject is fairly sophisticated. It’s a brave attempt. I actually winced when I wrote the words cause I didn’t think I’d get away with it. The lyrics looked trite on paper to me. The lyrics didn’t mean anything till I sang them then everything just fell into place.”
At the same time, rock is actually the perfect medium to hear a lot of stories like this. You have to remember that rock and roll was based upon being music for outsiders first and foremost, and while most lyricists were going the extra mile to try and be an advocate for gay rights this early in their career, Stewart felt that someone needed to say something other than the average rock and roll tune did.
And while the song was eventually considered a classic in Stewart’s catalogue, the real importance was the kind of doors it opened for other people to talk about their experiences. No one would have ever dreamed of being able to speak up if they were feeling the same feelings as the protagonist here, but all it took was one of the biggest names in music at the time to help give them a voice that they didn’t think they had in them.
So while Stewart’s friend didn’t end up living that long, his soul lives forever in a song like this. Because no matter what kind of prejudice was lobbied towards Georgie or the countless other outsiders who don’t know how to express themselves, you need people like Stewart who are willing to put something on the line to make sure that their voices are heard.
