This, That, and the Other

For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday, Jim Adams once again looked to Melanie, at Sparks From a Combustible Mind, for the theme. Melanie suggested songs that incorporate Excitement, Pleasure, Sentiment, or Spirit. I immediately thought of the Bob Welch classic, “Sentimental Lady.”

“Sentimental Lady” was written by Bob Welch. Welch was a member of Fleetwood Mac from 1971 to 1974, and Fleetwood Mac recorded this song on their 1972 album Bare Trees. It became a hit when Welch recorded it on his first solo album, French Kiss, in 1977. Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac sang backup on Welch’s solo version.

Welch’s 1977 re-recording of “Sentimental Lady” is the most well-known version of the song and was a solo hit for Welch. It was the first single released from his album and it reached the top 10 in both the U.S. Pop and Adult Contemporary charts. Unlike the original Fleetwood Mac version, which ran for four and a half minutes and had two verses, Welch’s solo version only had one verse in order to cut it down to less than three minutes for the final radio cut.

Welch explained in an interview that the song was referencing his first wife, Nancy, at the time he wrote it. In the song, he personifies the love of his life as a “sentimental, gentle wind [that is] blowing through my life again.” Welch died in 2012 at age 65.

Here are the lyrics to “sentimental Lady.”

You are here and warm
But I could look away and you'd be gone
Cause we live in a time
When meaning falls in splinters from our lives
And that's why I've traveled far
'Cause I come so together where you are

And all of the things that I said that I wanted
Come rushing by in my head when I'm with you
Fourteen joys and a will to be merry
And all of the things that we say are very

Sentimental gentle wind
Blowing through my life again
Sentimental lady, gentle one

(All I need is you)

Sentimental gentle wind
Blowing through my life again
Sentimental lady, gentle one

Sentimental lady

Yeah all of the things that I said that I wanted
Come rushing by in my head when I'm with you
Fourteen joys and a will to be merry
And all of the things that we say are very

Sentimental gentle wind
Blowing through my life again
Sentimental lady, gentle one

(All I need is you)

Sentimental gentle wind
Blowing through my life again
Sentimental lady, gentle one

(All I need is you)

All of the things that I said that I wanted
Come rushing by in my head when I'm with you
Fourteen joys and a will to be merry
And all of the things that we say are very (all I need is you)

All of the things that I said that I wanted
Come rushing by in my head when I'm with you
Fourteen joys and a will to be merry
And all of the things that we say are very

And is the 1972 Fleetwood Mac recording, for those of you you are interested.