‘You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)’ is a song written and recorded by Rod Stewart for his 1977 album Foot Loose & Fancy Free. The song become a hit, reaching the top ten of many countries, including the United States (number 4), Canada (number 2), and Australia, peaking at number 1 for one week.
Stewart wrote this love song when he was dating the Swedish actress Britt Ekland; they were together from 1975-1977. Stewart said, "It wasn't totally about Britt... it could have been anybody I met in that period - and there were a lot of them." This statement may have been influenced by the $12.5 million lawsuit Ekland filed against Stewart, in which her lawyers pointed out how she inspired some of Stewart's most successful music. Stewart and Ekland split up very publicly after he was photographed leaving a nightclub with another actress, Liz Treadwell. In his autobiography, Stewart said that Ekland thought they were going to get married, but he had no intention of settling down and in turn, was unfaithful.
The song has an interesting origin story that Stewart told in his Storyteller compilation: "I was standing outside the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Toronto, Canada with my producer, Tom Dowd, when the chorus hit me like a bolt of lightning. 'Tape recorder!' I yelled. 'Ain't got one,' said Tom. 'Christ,' I said. 'What the bloody hell we gonna do?' 'Sing it anyway, and I'll write the chords and melody on this cigarette packet, said Tom. And I started to sing in full voice at 10 o'clock in the morning with many bemused onlookers. A song was born."
Soon after the album came out, Stewart explained to NME that in writing the songs, he was expressing his true feelings, and that it made him realize that he wanted to be free, as suggested in the album title. "The songs came first," he said. "I didn't actually think, 'Well, I'll put it in the songs and hope she hears them and knows what I mean.' But it's ironic that the album title and the songs came out as they did."
The "Beardsley prints" is a reference to Aubrey Beardsley, a Victorian artist. It shows that the lady Stewart is singing about has very refined taste, which points to Ekland. Stewart later admitted that she taught him a great deal about art and visual presentation. She even got him to start wearing make-up. The lyrics mention two of Stewart's favourite football teams in the phrase "Celtic, United". The inner sleeve to the album Foot Loose & Fancy Free also pictures artwork with the names Glasgow Celtic and Manchester United drifting out of a car stereo.
Label – Warner Bros.
Songwriter – Rod Stewart
Producer – Tom Dowd
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]I didn't know what day it was
When you walked into the room
I said hello unnoticed
You said goodbye too soon
Breezing through the clientele
Spinning yarns that were so lyrical
I really must confess right here
The attraction was purely physical
I took all those habits of yours
That in the beginning were hard to accept
Your fashion sense, Beardsley prints
I put down to experience
The big bosomed lady with the Dutch accent
Who tried to change my point of view
Her ad lib lines were, well rehearsed
But my heart cried out for you
[Chorus]
You're in my heart, you're in my soul
You'll be my breath should I grow old
You are my lover, you're my best friend
You're in my soul
[Verse 2]
My love for you is immeasurable
My respect for you immense
You're ageless, timeless, lace and fineness
You're beauty and elegance
You're a rhapsody, a comedy
You're a symphony and a play
You're every love song ever written
But honey, what do you see in me?
[Chorus]
You're in my heart, you're in my soul
You'll be my breath should I grow old
You are my lover, you're my best friend
You're in my soul
[Verse 3]
You're an essay in glamour
Please pardon the grammar
But you're every schoolboy's dream
You're Celtic, United, but baby I've decided
You're the best team, I've ever seen
And there have been, many affairs
Many times I've, thought to leave
But I bite my lip and turn around
Cause you're the warmest thing, I've ever found
[Chorus]
You're in my heart, you're in my soul
You'll be my breath should I grow old
You are my lover, you're my best friend
You're in my soul
You're in my heart, you're in my soul
You'll be my breath should I grow old
You are my lover, you're my best friend
You're in my soul
You're in my heart, you're in my soul
You'll be my breath should I grow old
You are my lover, you're my best friend
You're in my soul