You Are the Woman

This soft rock favorite was Firefall's breakout hit and their most enduring song. In it, a man sings that he's found the ideal woman, and he loves her not for external qualities, but how much she loves him in return. She is the woman he's always dreamed of.

Most of Firefall's songs were written separately by their singer/guitarists Rick Roberts and Larry Burnett. "You Are The Woman" was written by Roberts, who in The Yacht Rock Book: The Oral History of the Soft, Smooth Sounds of the '70s and '80s, told the story behind the song. "As I understand it, there are about a half a dozen women around this country who have told people repeatedly that the song was written about them," he said. "In fact, the song was not written about anyone, because the woman I had always dreamed of, I was still dreaming of. I wrote the chorus at one point in maybe '74 or '75." Roberts considers the song to be about his wife, Mary, even though he hadn't met her yet when he wrote it.

When Firefall formed in 1974, they were a rock band with two electric guitars. When Rick Roberts presented "You Are The Woman" for their first album, the rest of the band had misgivings because it was so soft. "The band did like a collective eye roll because it was so obvious, so syrupy and formulaic," bass player Mark Andes said on the Songfacts Podcast. "We knew it was going to be hugely successful, but we resisted. I remember feeling like, "Oh God, really?" Their producer, Jim Mason, set them straight, insisting they record it because you don't turn down a hit. They were glad they did. Guitarist Jock Bartley said on the same episode: "I've been playing 'You Are The Woman' for 40-plus years and we are so lucky to have a hit song that is that big. It isn't totally representative of what all the rest of our songs sounded like, but that song has kept me working for 40 years and has kept Firefall together, so I'm happy to play it."