Tonight, I am re-playing one that I played three years ago, a Stevie Wonder tune. It’s not that I don’t have any ideas for new songs — I have a list as long as my arm! And it’s not that I’m too tired or lazy to do a new post — sleep is a long way off yet. Rather, it is that I’ve been in a rabbit hole for days now, and tonight I thought to myself, “I want me some Stevie Wonder!” I thought Stevie would bring a bit of a smile to this tired, empty heart. Yet, rather than a smile, it brought tears. But nonetheless, it is a beautiful song and I do love me some Stevie, even when he makes me cry.
It would be difficult to choose a single favourite musician, but if you held my feet to the fire, it would most likely be Stevie Wonder. Just watching this man perform gives me chills, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard music by him that I did not like. Not too long ago I did a post with one of my absolute favourites pairing Stevie Wonder with Paul McCartney in Ebony and Ivory — one that I am likely to repeat from time-to-time, for the meaning of the song should never be forgotten.
Blind since birth, Stevie Wonder was considered a child prodigy and signed with Motown at age 11. He has recorded more than 30 U.S. top ten hits and received 25 Grammy Awards, one of the most-awarded male solo artists. He is also noted for his work as an activist for political causes, including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a holiday in the United States. In 2009, Wonder was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace.
This song, Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday, was released in 1969. It reached #7 on the pop singles chart and become Wonder’s ninth Top 10 single of the 1960s. The single fared even better on the UK singles chart where it reached #2 in November 1969, and at that time, it was Wonder’s biggest UK hit.
Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday
Stevie Wonder
What happened to the world we knew
When we would dream and scheme
And while the time away
Yester-me yester-you yesterday
Where did it go that yester glow
When we could feel
The wheel of life turn our way
Yester-me yester-you yesterday
I had a dream so did you life
Was warm and love was true
Two kids who followed all the rules
Yester fools and now
Now it seems those yester dreams
Were just a cruel
And foolish game we used to play
Yester-me yester-you yesterday
When I recall what we had
I feel lost I feel sad with nothing but
The memory of yester love and now
Now it seems those yester dreams
Were just a cruel
And foolish game we had to play
Yester-me yester-you yesterday
Yester-me yester-you yesterday
Sing with me
Yester-me yester-you yesterday
One more time
Songwriters: Bryan Wells / Ronald Miller / Ronald N. Miller
Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC