Randy

[michaelb]

This song, to me has always been puzzeling as I perceive it to be written to a male.
Cat expresses a deep love but it is not a sexual love ...more a spiritual love.

The first 2 lines seem to confirm (to me) that it was written about a male Randy

Over the years I have gained a real appreciation of this expression of love for a member of the same gender, even if my perception is way off the mark, I can totally understand where he is coming from.

Randy

oh Randy if they knew
i think they'd take me away
just for loving you you
all alone in my own quiet way
cause that's the way that i want it

wish i could see you now
you and your cherry black eyes
my heart would never lie down down
cause that's the way my arrow flies
and that's the way that i want it
you never said it would rain
you only told me that the sun would come again
you never said it would rain
oh Randy if you did
it wouldn't mean a thing
it wouldn't hurt me a bit
cause only you can break my wings
and that's the way that i want it

you drew my face in the sand
and ever since that day you made me what i am
you drew my face in the sand
oh Randy if i could
there's nothing i wouldn't give
to live with you for good
ause that's the way i'd like to live
and that's the way that i want it

Randy oh my Randy
Randy oh my Randy
Randy oh my Randy

[italianrover]

is Randy possible a female name too, in english language?

[matthew]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy

[italianrover]

"female name" - "common in the usa and canada"... case closed no?

[Vivian]

I've always thought that Randy was a metiphore for God.

Peace,Vivian

[michaelb]

Yes certainly, Randy could be either a male or female but why does he say
"I think they'd take me away"

For some reason the love is forbidden.

[matthew]

michaelb said:

For some reason the love is forbidden.

forbidden according to her ''Randy's'' family for a reason or another
example:
Girl, You'll be A Woman Soon"
Neil diamond
I love you so much, can't count all the ways
I've died for you girl and all they can say is
"He's not your kind"

[cristalina]

I don't think Randy would be thought of as a girl's name here in the UK, it would commonly be used sexually, such as in "you randy devil" type of comment Well at least in The Midlands.

Edited to add I did have a friend with a dog called Randy.

[bernadette]

Randy is the short form of the masculine name Randolph. Girls are not so much called Randy but I don't think Randy is male or female in this case. Not even androgynous but more likely spiritual, Heaven like.

[salsabil]

michaelb said:

Yes certainly, Randy could be either a male or female but why does he say
"I think they'd take me away"

For some reason the love is forbidden.

This has been discussed in depth, as I recall, and quite a few people agreed with your thoughts, at first read it seems that way to me as well.

But then, reading this part:

"you drew my face in the sand
and ever since that day you made me what i am
you drew my face in the sand.." my thoughts tend to lean toward a spiritual thing.

I guess we'll never know!

[thewind]

or perhaps Randy is too young??? Thats why they could take em' away...
I gave up on figuring out male names verse female names long ago, after meeting a guy named Cheryl... Anything goes...

[bernadette]

Then there's the boy named Sue.

[bernadette]

Actually, I get a great kick out of people trying to find a "deep" meaning for every song that Cat ever wrote. I know that it would be disingenuous of me to pretend to find some profound definition attached to each and every set of lyrics. I think, that Cat, along with several other songwriters just wrote songs to have no particular meaning but maybe just for fun, or to have them rhyme or to make them look mysterious. Cat himself admitted he wasn't sure what Tuesday's Dead meant which is the tell tale clue that he was not so fastidious in making all of his songs "mean" something relevant but rather some are just "songs" with a great beat. My opinion; that's all.

[thewind]

A great artist provokes with their work... What ever the meaning maybe... But the power in the followers of the artist brings insight with an other whole perspective that which the artist may or may not ever have seen... It's all part of the fun... We are all MGM's = Meaning Generating Machines... We can't help it, we think, see, dream, believe, want to find the unknown... I listen to music in two ways... For fun which includes:insightful, meaningful, enjoyable, beautiful, heart touching, etc... AND Music is a reminder of where I don't want to be anymore in life: My old wallow music, I now sing it to the world not to stay depressed but to be joyous that it doesn't control my life... Let the power of music enhance the day, the occasion, the moment... I will always look deep into music and reflect pieces of my life, what I want, what I don't want or just enjoy...

[bernadette]

And don't ever forget it.

[thewind]

nothing like a good soap box to stand on...

[Vivian]

Interesting video. Reminds me of a scene that could come out of the movie, "Brokeback Mountain".

Peace,Vivian

[Starlight]

Randy is a nickname for Miranda. It was written for a female and my guess is that there is a racial, social, religious or some other perceived barrier to their relationship. Vaun

[thewind]

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Vivian]

starlight said:

Randy is a nickname for Miranda. It was written for a female and my guess is that there is a racial, social, religious or some other perceived barrier to their relationship. Vaun

Although I think Randy has more to do with God, this definitely makes more sense.

Peace,Vivian

[Starlight]

I don't get anything religious out of this song. To me it is a love song written by a male to a female about a forbidden love. As far as "I drew your face in the sand", it is what my friends and I did as teenagers when we were thinking about our boyfriends and had time to kill. The words "your cherry black eyes", makes me think perhaps Randy aka Miranda is black, so maybe there is a racial barrier to their love. I don't read homosexuality, religion or any hidden meaning in it at all. Vaun I want to add though, that I like the song. It is catchy and fun to listen to. V.

[Vivian]

starlight said:

I don't get anything religious out of this song. To me it is a love song written by a male to a female about a forbidden love. As far as "I drew your face in the sand", it is what my friends and I did as teenagers when we were thinking about our boyfriends and had time to kill. The words "your cherry black eyes", makes me think perhaps Randy aka Miranda is black, so maybe there is a racial barrier to their love. I don't read homosexuality, religion or any hidden meaning in it at all. Vaun I want to add though, that I like the song. It is catchy and fun to listen to. V.

Good possibility, and I might agree with it, if it weren't for the timing of release. Cat was really Yusuf at the time Randy was released. At that point, I don't think Yusuf would have been singing about forbidden love. Just my thought. I really like the song as well.

Peace,Vivian

[Starlight]

If you think about the album Back To Earth, Vivian, he released it under the name Cat Stevens. There are a lot of songs on it that definitely have nothing to do with him being a muslim, and he very well could have written it years earlier. Case in point; the CD he is releasing now. He has stated this contains songs he wrote back in his Cat days. So, I stand by my opinion. Of course that is just what it is. an opinion. Vaun

[tydirious]

Yusuf did say that back to earth is moreless fulflling his obligation to the fans..... so perhaps its not about his personal emotional and religious battlefield but "one for the fans" so to speak.
Which means the songs may very well have been written a long while back.

[Starlight]

Good point! I remember reading he did Back To Earth to fulfill a contractual obligation to his record label. By then his albums were declining in sales and he wanted out of the business. The Recording studio agreed to let him go after he completed the album.

[Vivian]

starlight said:

If you think about the album Back To Earth, Vivian, he released it under the name Cat Stevens. There are a lot of songs on it that definitely have nothing to do with him being a muslim, and he very well could have written it years earlier. Case in point; the CD he is releasing now. He has stated this contains songs he wrote back in his Cat days. So, I stand by my opinion. Of course that is just what it is. an opinion. Vaun

You're right. He released the album under "Cat Stevens". However, Yusuf was brand new to the Muslim life, and still quite confused. While Yusuf choosing old Cat songs today, he is very sure about who he is. Just my take on it, that's all.

Peace,Vivian

[Turan]

The first release of Back to Earth had a Muslim prayer in arabic written on the cover.

[tydirious]

Hmmm it is interesting at any rate.
I suppose only Yusuf himself would know the answer.

[Vivian]

tydirious said:

Hmmm it is interesting at any rate.
I suppose only Yusuf himself would know the answer.

I suppose someday Yusuf will tell us

Peace,Vivian

[kareema113]

starlight said:

Randy is a nickname for Miranda. It was written for a female and my guess is that there is a racial, social, religious or some other perceived barrier to their relationship. Vaun

Actually Br. Yusuf took flak from the Muslim community for putting Allah's Name on the cover of Back to Earth. If I remember right, he was a new Muslim proclaiming what he'd found, however he didn't connect that the album's contents were not in accordance with Islamic concepts. The relationships mentioned in the songs, for example. I think he subsequently removed the Qur'anic calligraphy from the front of the jacket.

Guys, to me it's very obvious why there is a barrier between the songwriter and 'Randy'. Just think about the slang meanings of 'randy' and 'cherry'. (Have you ever heard of 'cherry black' eyes?) It seems that Randy and/or her family are not ok with this. (So the songwriter is 'randy', but Randy isn't ok with this... or is and can't act on it.)

But then again, I'm from CA. And there are girls here with all sorts of formerly 'masculine' names. Randi. Jamie. Taylor. Carson. Rikki.

As far as 'you drew my face in the sand and ever since that day you made me what I am' goes... didn't you or your significant other ever write "xxxx loves yyyy" on the beach with a stick? And then watch the waves lap the words away?

For me this song has long signified the relationship I had with a Muslim in the mid70s. We both knew it could only work in that insulating bubble called college life. We were near the ocean, so we did 'draw our faces' in the sand. The song came out after the relationship ended because families... and reality... got in the way.

kareema