This, That, and the Other

For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday prompt, Helen Vahdati chose the word, “stay.” There are tons of songs that contain that word, but one of my favorites is Rod Stewart’s “Stay With Me.”

“Stay with Me” was written by Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood. It was first recorded by their band Faces for the 1971 album A Nod Is As Good As a Wink…to a Blind Horse.

The song is essentially a tale of sexual debauchery. The lyrics describe a woman — a groupie — named Rita with “red lips, hair, and fingernails” that the singer “found… down on the floor.” He proposes a one-night stand on the condition that she must be gone when he wakes up, although he does offer to pay her cab fare home.

The song reached number 17 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Here are the song’s lyrics.

In the morning
Don’t say you love me
Cause I’ll only kick you out of the door

I know your name is Rita
Cause your perfum smelling sweeter
Since when I saw you down on the floor,
guitar

Won’t need to much pursuading
I don’t mean to sound degrading
But with a face like that
You got nothing to laugh about

Red lips hair and fingernails
I hear your a mean old jezabel
Lets go up stairs and read my tarot cards

Stay with me
Stay with me
For tonight you better stay with me

Stay with me
Stay with me
For tonight you better stay with me

So in the morning
Please don’t say you love me
Cause you know I’ll only kick you out the door

Yea I’ll pay your cab fare home
You can even use my best colonge
Just don’t be here in the morning when I wake up

Stay with me
Stay with me
Cause tonight you better stay with me
Sit down, get up, get down

Stay with me
Stay with me
Cause tonight your going stay with me
Hey, whats your name again
oh no, get down, wooo