The title "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" refers to Stephen Stills' former girlfriend, singer/songwriter Judy Collins, and the lyrics to most of the suite's sections consist of his thoughts about her and their imminent breakup. Collins is known for her piercing blue eyes. During a July 15, 2007 interview for the National Public Radio program Just Roll Tape, Stills revealed that Collins was present in the studio when the demo tapes were recorded. Collins had advised Stills "not to stay [at the studio] all night." Stills later commented that "the breakup was imminent...we were both too large for one house." Stills said that he liked parts of this demo version of "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" better than the released version.
Collins and Stills had met in 1967 and dated for two years. In 1969, she was appearing in the New York Shakespeare Festival musical production of Peer Gynt and had fallen in love with her co-star Stacy Keach, eventually leaving Stills for him. Stills was devastated by the possible breakup and wrote the song as a response to his sadness. In a 2000 interview, Collins gave her impressions of when she first heard the song:
"[Stephen] came to where I was singing one night on the West Coast and brought his guitar to the hotel and he sang me "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," the whole song. And of course it has lines in it that referred to my therapy. And so he wove that all together in this magnificent creation. So the legacy of our relationship is certainly in that song."
"Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" has four distinct sections.
First section
The first section is a traditional pop song with four verses, featuring a chorus of "I am yours, you are mine, you are what you are." Running at approximately 2:56, the lead vocal is performed by Stills, with Crosby and Nash providing harmonies.
Second section
The second section is performed in half time relative to the first section, and features four verses of three-part harmony from the band, with Stills performing a brief vocal solo between the second and third. This section runs from 2:56 to 4:43.
Third section
The third section is more upbeat and features poetic lyrics ("chestnut brown canary, ruby-throated sparrow"), lasting from 4:43 to 6:25. Each of the three phrases is initially sung by Stills, with Nash then joining, and finally Crosby rounding out the harmonies. Connecting the phrases are instrumental breaks performed by Stills on acoustic guitar.
Final section The final section (the coda) is sung in Spanish, starting at 6:34 until the song concludes. The "doo-doo-doo-da-doo" backing vocals are the best known segment of "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", with Stills singing Spanish lyrics in the background. Stills has said that he intentionally made the final stanzas unexpected and difficult, even using a foreign language for the lyrics, "just to make sure nobody would understand it" (not even Spanish speaking people).
The song is ranked #418 on Rolling Stone′s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time .
The title "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" refers to Stephen Stills' former girlfriend, singer/songwriter Judy Collins, and the lyrics to most of the suite's sections consist of his thoughts about her and their imminent breakup. Collins is known for her piercing blue eyes. During a July 15, 2007 interview for the National Public Radio program Just Roll Tape, Stills revealed that Collins was present in the studio when the demo tapes were recorded. Collins had advised Stills "not to stay [at the studio] all night." Stills later commented that "the breakup was imminent...we were both too large for one house." Stills said that he liked parts of this demo version of "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" better than the released version.
Collins and Stills had met in 1967 and dated for two years. In 1969, she was appearing in the New York Shakespeare Festival musical production of Peer Gynt and had fallen in love with her co-star Stacy Keach, eventually leaving Stills for him. Stills was devastated by the possible breakup and wrote the song as a response to his sadness. In a 2000 interview, Collins gave her impressions of when she first heard the song:
"[Stephen] came to where I was singing one night on the West Coast and brought his guitar to the hotel and he sang me "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," the whole song. And of course it has lines in it that referred to my therapy. And so he wove that all together in this magnificent creation. So the legacy of our relationship is certainly in that song."
"Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" has four distinct sections.
First section
The first section is a traditional pop song with four verses, featuring a chorus of "I am yours, you are mine, you are what you are." Running at approximately 2:56, the lead vocal is performed by Stills, with Crosby and Nash providing harmonies.
Second section
The second section is performed in half time relative to the first section, and features four verses of three-part harmony from the band, with Stills performing a brief vocal solo between the second and third. This section runs from 2:56 to 4:43.
Third section
The third section is more upbeat and features poetic lyrics ("chestnut brown canary, ruby-throated sparrow"), lasting from 4:43 to 6:25. Each of the three phrases is initially sung by Stills, with Nash then joining, and finally Crosby rounding out the harmonies. Connecting the phrases are instrumental breaks performed by Stills on acoustic guitar.
Final section The final section (the coda) is sung in Spanish, starting at 6:34 until the song concludes. The "doo-doo-doo-da-doo" backing vocals are the best known segment of "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", with Stills singing Spanish lyrics in the background. Stills has said that he intentionally made the final stanzas unexpected and difficult, even using a foreign language for the lyrics, "just to make sure nobody would understand it" (not even Spanish speaking people).
The song is ranked #418 on Rolling Stone′s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time .
The title "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" refers to Stephen Stills' former girlfriend, singer/songwriter Judy Collins, and the lyrics to most of the suite's sections consist of his thoughts about her and their imminent breakup. Collins is known for her piercing blue eyes. During a July 15, 2007 interview for the National Public Radio program Just Roll Tape, Stills revealed that Collins was present in the studio when the demo tapes were recorded. Collins had advised Stills "not to stay [at the studio] all night." Stills later commented that "the breakup was imminent...we were both too large for one house." Stills said that he liked parts of this demo version of "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" better than the released version.
Collins and Stills had met in 1967 and dated for two years. In 1969, she was appearing in the New York Shakespeare Festival musical production of Peer Gynt and had fallen in love with her co-star Stacy Keach, eventually leaving Stills for him. Stills was devastated by the possible breakup and wrote the song as a response to his sadness. In a 2000 interview, Collins gave her impressions of when she first heard the song:
"[Stephen] came to where I was singing one night on the West Coast and brought his guitar to the hotel and he sang me "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," the whole song. And of course it has lines in it that referred to my therapy. And so he wove that all together in this magnificent creation. So the legacy of our relationship is certainly in that song."
"Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" has four distinct sections.
First section The first section is a traditional pop song with four verses, featuring a chorus of "I am yours, you are mine, you are what you are." Running at approximately 2:56, the lead vocal is performed by Stills, with Crosby and Nash providing harmonies.
Second section The second section is performed in half time relative to the first section, and features four verses of three-part harmony from the band, with Stills performing a brief vocal solo between the second and third. This section runs from 2:56 to 4:43.
Third section The third section is more upbeat and features poetic lyrics ("chestnut brown canary, ruby-throated sparrow"), lasting from 4:43 to 6:25. Each of the three phrases is initially sung by Stills, with Nash then joining, and finally Crosby rounding out the harmonies. Connecting the phrases are instrumental breaks performed by Stills on acoustic guitar.
Final section The final section (the coda) is sung in Spanish, starting at 6:34 until the song concludes. The "doo-doo-doo-da-doo" backing vocals are the best known segment of "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", with Stills singing Spanish lyrics in the background. Stills has said that he intentionally made the final stanzas unexpected and difficult, even using a foreign language for the lyrics, "just to make sure nobody would understand it" (not even Spanish speaking people).
The song is ranked #418 on Rolling Stone′s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time .