Album: Innervisions
Year: 1973
. . .
But Innervisions wasn’t all philosophy and politics; at least that seemed to be the case with the third single, the salsa-flavored “Don’t You Worry ’bout a Thing, which opened up with just Stevie at a piano spouting what seems to be complete gibberish before launching into an pickup routine declaring all of the places he’s been to (including the prescient “Iraq, Iran”) before declaring himself a very fluent Spanish speaker because he knows the word “chévere,” which roughly translates to “groovy.”
Naturally, after that weird opening, Stevie gracefully transitions into the song properly, singing in his calmest voice, his piano and voice surrounded by latin percussion.
Everybody’s got a thing
But some don’t know how to handle it
Always reaching out in vain
Just taking the things not worth having but
At least a first, that sense of calm permeates the first chorus, Stevie not even raising his voice for reassurance.
Don’t you worry ’bout a thing
Don’t you worry ’bout a thing, mama
‘Cause I’ll be standing on the side
When you check it out
Unlike a lot of the other songs on Innervisions, “Don’t You Worry ’bout a Thing” isn’t laden with instrumental overdubs, though, as always, Stevie does add a fair share of overdubs near the end of the song, having the calm voice, but still not going into overdrive.
Don’t you worry ’bout a thing
(Todo ‘stá bien chévere)
Don’t you worry ’bout a thing
(Todo ‘stá bien chévere)
Don’t you worry ’bout a thing
(Todo ‘stá bien chévere)
Don’t you worry ’bout a thing
And while he’s basically saying “don’t worry, everything’s groovy” — whether or not it was sincere or sarcastic depends on you, I guess — I honestly thought that he was singing “pink Chevrolet” instead “bien chévere”, and either way, I’ve always loved the songs extended outro, which is basically variations on the title until the end.
Anyways, “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing” was the Stevie’s first single since Music of My Mind’s “Keep On Runnin'” not to crack the top 10 on the Billboard charts, stalling out a #16, but weep no tears for Stevie, as 3 out of his next four singles would top the charts.
“Don’t You Worry ’bout a Thing”
“Don’t You Worry ’bout a Thing” Live in Germany, 1974
Did you miss a Certain Song? Follow me on Twitter: @barefootjim
The Certain Songs Database
A filterable, searchable & sortable somewhat up to date database with links to every “Certain Song” post I’ve ever written.
Certain Songs Spotify playlist
(It’s recommended that you listen to this on Spotify as their embed only has 200 songs.)
Support “Certain Songs” with a donation on Patreon
Go to my Patreon page