♫ Wonderful Tonight ♫

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I was planning to play a Four Tops song, It’s the Same Old Song, tonight, but for some reason this one popped into my head, made itself at home, and wouldn’t leave.  So, the Tops will just have to wait a night.  I am not a huge fan of Eric Clapton, but there are four or five I do like … Lay Down Sally being my favourite.

The story goes that Clapton wrote this while waiting for his wife, Pattie, to get ready to attend a Buddy Holly tribute that Paul McCartney put together.  Now, a bit of backstory … Pattie had previously been married to Beatle George Harrison.  Eric Clapton wrote his famous song, Layla, to express his love for Pattie while she was still married to Harrison.  Despite all that, Clapton and Harrison remained good friends, and Harrison even played at their wedding in 1979.  Their marriage lasted nine years, and they divorced in 1988.  But, back to the song …

According to SongFacts …

Pattie Boyd recalled to The Guardian December 13, 2008 that Clapton “was sitting round playing his guitar while I was trying on dresses upstairs. I was taking so long and I was panicking about my hair, my clothes, everything, and I came downstairs expecting him to really berate me but he said, ‘Listen to this!'”  In the time she had taken to get ready Clapton had written this song.

Wonderful Tonight
Eric Clapton

It’s late in the evening; she’s wondering what clothes to wear
She puts on her make-up and brushes her long blonde hair
And then she asks me, Do I look all right?
And I say, “Yes, you look wonderful tonight”

We go to a party and everyone turns to see
This beautiful lady that’s walking around with me
And then she asks me, Do you feel all right?
And I say, “Yes, I feel wonderful tonight”

I feel wonderful because I see
The love light in your eyes
And the wonder of it all
Is that you just don’t realize how much I love you

It’s time to go home now and I’ve got an aching head
So I give her the car keys and she helps me to bed
And then I tell her, as I turn out the light
I say, “My darling, you were wonderful tonight
Oh my darling, you were wonderful tonight

Songwriters: Eric Patrick Clapton
Wonderful Tonight lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc

14 thoughts on “♫ Wonderful Tonight ♫”

  2. I often wonder, did she go to Eric hoping George would put up a fight? Or was it just that Eric was showing the passion George could no longer give her? Either way, she must be one of the most incredible women in the world. To inspire both George and Eric, as Keith just mentioned, I wonder if her third marriage makes her 3 times a lady? Just asking?

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    • If I could make even a halfway educated guess in answer to any of your questions, I would. As it happens, you are more inclined to think about those things than I. Could have been … who knows? I guess I would ask if she was in love with any of them, or was just ‘looking for love in all the wrong places’? 😉

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  4. Jill, Pattie had three sons written for her. This one, Layla (a nickname) and Something by George Harrison, which Frank Sinatra called one of the best love songs he ever heard. Now, that is some inspiration! Keith

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    • It is indeed!!! I wasn’t aware that “Something” was written for her too! And I’ve never inspired a single song. Though I did once date an ophthalmologist who sometimes called me on the phone and sang James Taylor songs to me. 🙂

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