How I Wrote..."Year of the Cat"

AI Stewart reflects on his beguiling hit, some 10 years in the making.

- JOE MATERA

BY THE TIME AI Stewart finally achieved his commercial breakthrough with 1976's "Year of the Cat," it was the culmination of a decade-long odyssey to bring the song to completion. Its bones date back to 1966, when Stewart penned a set of lyrics titled "Foot of the Stage".

"It was about British comedian Tony Hancock," the Scottish folk-rocker recalls.

"But the American record company had never heard of Tony Hancock and asked me to rewrite it." Stewart responded with a new set of lyrics about Princess Anne called "Horse of the Year." Not surprisingly, he says, "they requested another rewrite."

CAT'S TAIL

Luck would finally prevail on the third try. "I had a girlfriend who had a book on Vietnamese astrology, and it was opened on a chapter called 'Year of the Cat,'" Stewart reveals. "Having studied Bob Dylan.

I noticed he always had song titles with the word 'of' in them: 'Chimes of Freedom,' 'Masters of War' and 'Visions of Johanna.' I realized there was something portentous about having a song with 'of' in the title.