Lady Of The Island

Album: Crosby, Stills & Nash (1969)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Graham Nash wrote this love song, which he says is "for two ladies." We can assume one of them is Joni Mitchell.

    Before Crosby, Stills & Nash formed, Mitchell and David Crosby were an item, then she fell in love with Nash and moved in with him (see: "Our House"). The Crosby, Stills & Nash album - the debut for the trio - contains another love song to Mitchell, "Guinnevere," which was penned by David Crosby. Nash told Mojo magazine April 2009 that this potentially tricky situation did not create any problems. He explained: "The way that we went about our lives did not entail jealousy and it didn't entail raging about somebody being with somebody else's woman. Me and David and Joan didn't think anything of it, that's for sure."
  • The islands in this song, according to Nash, are Ibiza and Long Island, New York.
  • Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills & Nash doesn't appear on this song. Crosby and Nash sang it together in one take, with Nash on acoustic guitar. They improvised the section in the middle.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Andrew Farriss of INXS

Andrew Farriss of INXSSongwriter Interviews

Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.

Jethro Tull

Jethro TullFact or Fiction

Stage urinals, flute devices, and the real Aqualung in this Fact or Fiction.

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino EditionMusic Quiz

Whether he's splitting ears or burning Nazis, Quentin Tarantino uses memorable music in his films. See if you can match the song to the scene.

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)Songwriter Interviews

Mike Rutherford talks about the "Silent Running" storyline and "Land Of Confusion" in the age of Trump.

Donald Fagen

Donald FagenSongwriter Interviews

Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.

Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillian

Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillianSong Writing

A Soul Train dancer takes us through a day on the show, and explains what you had to do to get camera time.