“I Love My Dog” by Cat Stevens
Cat Stevens’ “I Love My Dog” is premised on the idea of the singer ‘loving his dog’ just as much as the person he is singing to. And the reason he is expressing such a sentiment is because he receives unconditional love from his pet. In other words, he only has to give it minimal attention, that being “food”, yet the dog is constantly by his side. Moreover, he understands that his relationship with the addressee may be fleeting. But as for his dog, it “will always come through”.
So it seems that more than anything, this song is touting the virtues of having a dog as a pet. That is Cat is not criticizing the addressee outside of realizing that human relationships tend to come and go. Rather, the bulk of the lyrics are dedicated to detailing the pleasure he derives from his faithful pet, including the beauty of the animal. Or let’s say this entire track is an extended, lyrical exposition of common adage that a dog is a man’s best friend, which is actually a proverb, if you will, dating back to the 18th century.
Facts about “I Love My Dog”
Having an official release date of 1 January 1967, this is actually the first song that Cat Stevens ever dropped. And accordingly it is featured on his debut album, “Matthew and Son”.
He wrote “I Love My Dog” to a 1961 instrumental called “The Plum Blossom” by a jazz musician called Yusef Lateef (1920-2013). And Cat has stated that he actually compensated Lateef for such. (Interesting to note is that Cat Stevens also later changed his name to Yusef Islam.)
The label behind this song is Deram Records. In fact “I Love My Dog” is the song which helped Cat Stevens secure his first record deal, which was with Deram.
“I Love My Dog” was produced by Mike Hurst.
