People often think of The Great American Songbook as the source for the songs known as standards. But that doesn’t quite cover the story. Pop music has produced its share of standards as well, songs that get covered again and again and still manage to enchant listeners.
Videos by American Songwriter
“The First Cut Is The Deepest” has displayed that kind of staying power over the years, thanks to numerous popular renditions. That’s a pretty good result for a song written by a teenage Cat Stevens before he had even found success as a recording artist.
Cat Calls
Born Steven Demetre Georgiou, Cat Stevens grew up in London. He hit his teenage years just as the early 60s rock/pop explosion was taking place in Great Britain. It was the perfect setting for someone developing an interest in music. Working with a guitar purchased for him by his father, he soon began writing songs.
Stevens initially thought he’d be only a songwriter. Like most teenagers, he based his early songs on the romances that came and went as a youth. One of those was “The First Cut Is The Deepest”, which he imagined as a kind of Otis Redding homage.
As a budding songwriter-for-hire, Stevens began looking around for other artists who might be interested in the song. Having made a demo to shop it around, he eventually found a taker in an American female artist named P.P. Arnold. Stevens sold “The First Cut Is The Deepest” to Arnold for the modest sum of £30.
Various Versions
Arnold did quite well with “The First Cut Is The Deepest”, reaching the Top 20 in the UK in the spring of 1967. By that time, Stevens, who had started playing his music out in clubs in England, had secured his own recording contract. He released several high-charting singles in 1966 and 1967, and then his debut album, Matthew And Son, which also became a big hit.
Stevens put out his own version of “The First Cut Is The Deepest” on his second album, New Masters, also released in 1967. The song was just beginning to make its imprint on the public consciousness. Cover versions began popping up with regularity. Every few years, it seemed like it would reappear.
For American audiences, two hit covers stand out. Rod Stewart made the song part of a powerhouse double A-side in 1977 with “I Don’t Want To Talk About It”. In 2003, Sheryl Crow did a version of “The First Cut Is The Deepest” that she used as the lead single from a greatest hits compilation. Crow’s version also hit the US Top 15.
Exploring the Lyrics of “The First Cut Is The Deepest”
Considering Stevens wrote the song when he was only 17 years old, “The First Cut Is The Deepest” displays impressive wisdom about the ways of love. Considering he’s still reeling from a breakup, the narrator wonders whether embarking on a new relationship is worthwhile.
“I would have given you all of my heart,” Stevens sings. “But there’s someone who has torn it apart.”
He admits that he can use the comfort: “I still want you by my side / Just to help me dry the tears that I cried.” But he also sympathizes with the new girl in his life: “’Cause when it comes to being lucky, she’s cursed / When it comes to loving me, she’s worse.”
Not only has the song become a standard, but the phrase “The First Cut Is The Deepest” has entered the lexicon, referring to the initial romance that always looms large. Cat Stevens sold the song on the cheap in the early days. He likely never could have imagined the impact it would make on the music world.
Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.