![]() That peeling riff at the outset pierces through everything, a miserable wail that won't go away. I mean, listen to this: "I tried to give you consolation / When your old man had let you down / Like a fool, I fell in love with you / Turned my whole world upside down." I'm not saying it's great poetry, but the story he's telling requires - no, DEMANDS - a howl of anguish.Įric's voice was never suited for howling, but his guitar sure was. And now here I am finally listening to the lyrics of "Layla," and it's ripping my heart out. My brother eventually told me that "Layla" was about Pattie Boyd Harrison, Eric's best friend George's wife, but by then Pattie had married Eric so it was a moot point - I never revisited "Layla" to check it out. By the time Clapton unplugged for the MTV show, he and I were both comfortable with narcoleptic acoustic versions of his old hits, versions that sound more strung-out on heroin than the music he made when he himself was on heroin. ![]() ![]() "Wonderful Tonight"? "Tears in Heaven"? I was just impressed to hear Eric come into his own as a crooner. As time passed and Eric dabbled in reggae ("I Shot the Sheriff," "Lay Down Sally"), or rootsy blues ("After Midnight," "Cocaine"), the groove worked so well, I didn't notice Slowhand was Slowing Down. I happily lost myself in the dense tangle of that music, loving the bluesy syncopation, the passionate abandon of his guitar playing. Once I figured out that the lyrics were not important (a real leap of faith for an English major like me), I appreciated Eric Clapton in a whole new light. It was the Cream stuff that won me over, "White Room" and "Badge" in particular. I didn't get the point of Eric Clapton until senior year, when I knew a lot more about both drugs and sex and suddenly his music made sense. At the time, though, (get this) I didn't even know Eric Clapton was in Derek and the Dominos. The original version reminds me of freshman year in college, when my friend Kathy and I cranked it up loud enough to make our next-door neighbor - named Leila - pound on the walls. Instinctively, the very first time I heard "Layla" unplugged, I preferred it. Instinctively I always go for the acoustic version of any song, especially when the original runs 7:07 minutes long with endless guitar solos. On one hand you've got the blistering 1970 recording of this song by Clapton's band Derek and the Dominos on the other hand there's the laid-back acoustic version from his 1992 Unplugged album. Layla, darling won't you ease my worried mind.To plug or not to plug - that is the question. You've been running and hiding much too long. more »īecome A Better Singer In Only 30 Days, With Easy Video Lessons! What'll you do when you get lonely The song was further inspired by Clapton's then-unrequited love for Pattie Boyd, the wife of his friend and fellow musician George Harrison of the Beatles. The book moved Clapton profoundly, because it was the tale of a young man who fell hopelessly in love with a beautiful young girl, went crazy and so could not marry her. The song was inspired by a love story that originated in 7th-century Arabia and later formed the basis of The Story of Layla and Majnun by the 12th-century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi, a copy of which Ian Dallas had given to Clapton. The piano part has also been controversially credited to Rita Coolidge, Gordon's girlfriend at the time. Its contrasting movements were reportedly composed separately by Clapton and Gordon. "Layla" (Persian: لیلا) is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally released by their blues rock band Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their only studio album, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (November 1970).
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