Love Is

Album: Another Country (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • At age 70, Stewart released this song, where he shares his reflections on love. He is something of an expert on the subject, having been in and out of love some many times (he was married and divorced three times) and documenting these experiences in a lifetime of songs. However, as Stewart points out, he is still mystified. He told Rolling Stone: "This is me passing along, to anyone who will listen, a few nuggets of wisdom acquired from my dippings into life's chocolate box down the years. Believe me, though, I still don't understand the chemistry of love and why sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't."
  • In the second verse, Stewart sings about his first love, a girl "I dreamed I would wed" but told him "We're far too young for that."

    This alludes to an art student Stewart met when he was 17 named Susannah Boffey. They had a daughter together, who they gave up for adoption because the couple was in no condition to raise a child. Stewart and Boffey split up, but she remained entrenched in his memory. Their daughter, Sarah, later established a relationship with Stewart.

    In his 2013 song "Brighton Beach," Stewart also sings about this relationship.
  • This was the first single from Stewart's Another Country album. Before the album was issued, a video was released where Stewart is seen performing this song with a full band at the famous Capitol Records building in Los Angeles (Stewart was signed to the label).
  • This song has a Celtic sound, with fiddles and a hammered dulcimer among the instruments.

Comments: 1

  • Miranda from AustraliaPretty sure he wrote this about my mother
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Cheerleaders In Music Videos

Cheerleaders In Music VideosSong Writing

It started with a bouncy MTV classic. Nirvana and MCR made them scary, then Gwen, Avril and Madonna put on the pom poms.

Shaun Morgan of Seether

Shaun Morgan of SeetherSongwriter Interviews

Shaun breaks down the Seether songs, including the one about his brother, the one about Ozzy, and the one that may or may not be about his ex-girlfriend Amy Lee.

Real or Spinal Tap

Real or Spinal TapMusic Quiz

They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull

Ian Anderson of Jethro TullSongwriter Interviews

The flautist frontman talks about touring with Led Zeppelin, his contribution to "Hotel California", and how he may have done the first MTV Unplugged.

Stan Ridgway

Stan RidgwaySongwriter Interviews

Go beyond the Wall of Voodoo with this cinematic songwriter.

Dar Williams

Dar WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.