Empty Pages

I always wondered what this song was about. I assumed it was about Winwood having trouble finishing (or starting) writing a song and "staring at empty pages." And that he associated this feeling with girlfriend troubles. It's a plea for people to be patient and understanding- "but I just want you to know." I know Capaldi had a hand in writing this song as well, but this is mainly Winwood's song: terrific Hammond B3 and electric piano playing, incomparable blue-eyed soul vocal. Winwood has to be one of the most underrated talents of the British '60s/'70s pop scene. When he wrote this song, he had already made a competent but obscure Birmingham R & B band, the Spencer Davis Group (with his own older brother Muff on bass), into British Invasion stars, started and led Traffic through three albums even dealing with the constant arrivals and departures of Dave Mason in the band, and been through the brief, troubled, but brilliant "supergroup" collaboration of Blind Faith by the time he recorded John Barleycorn Must Die- and he was all of 22 years old!!! JBMD if I remember right was supposed to be a solo album (and Winwood plays all the guitar, bass, keyboard, and harmonica parts on the album, as well as doing most of the lead vocals) but Winwood ended up collaborating with old Traffic cohorts Capaldi (drums and some vocals) and Chris Wood (flute and saxes) and so it became Traffic's fourth studio album instead, and Winwood wouldn't release his first "official" solo album until 1977 at the ripe old age of 29.