I’ve wondered about the meaning of this song since i heard it, shortly after the Cat Stevens album, Back to Earth, came out (the last album before he became known as Yusef). Stevens had already converted to Islam by this time.
The lyrics to Randy are enigmatic; the subject of the song is not identified as to gender. Randi is a common way to spell the name for a girl; that’s not written in stone.
The early, problematic verse is “if they knew i think they’d take me away, just for loving you, all alone in my own quiet way, ‘cause that’s the way that i want it.” This does not make sense for a heterosexual love affair unless the family objects to the suitor for any speculative reason. However, the prospect that it is a gay love affair has to be a possible interpretation.
That being said, even though the artist is speaking in the first person, it shouldn’t be assumed Stevens is coming out as gay or bisexual. (All the love affairs in his previous songs are with females, e.g., “I’m looking for a hard headed woman,” etc. However, he ~may~ be stating that if one is gay, it’s OK. Gay love is not sanctioned anywhere in Islam.
I’ve wondered about the meaning of this song since i heard it, shortly after the Cat Stevens album, Back to Earth, came out (the last album before he became known as Yusef). Stevens had already converted to Islam by this time.
The lyrics to Randy are enigmatic; the subject of the song is not identified as to gender. Randi is a common way to spell the name for a girl; that’s not written in stone.
The early, problematic verse is “if they knew i think they’d take me away, just for loving you, all alone in my own quiet way, ‘cause that’s the way that i want it.” This does not make sense for a heterosexual love affair unless the family objects to the suitor for any speculative reason. However, the prospect that it is a gay love affair has to be a possible interpretation.
That being said, even though the artist is speaking in the first person, it shouldn’t be assumed Stevens is coming out as gay or bisexual. (All the love affairs in his previous songs are with females, e.g., “I’m looking for a hard headed woman,” etc. However, he ~may~ be stating that if one is gay, it’s OK. Gay love is not sanctioned anywhere in Islam.