The First Cut Is the Deepest

This was written by Cat Stevens. It was a hit for P.P. Arnold in Britain in 1967, reaching #18 in the charts. Stevens, who included it on his debut album New Masters later in 1967, never released his version as a single, as he felt Arnold's rendition was definitive. P.P. Arnold is a female singer from America who got her start as one of Ike & Tina Turner's backup performers (an Ikette). After two years with Ike & Tina, she moved to London and got a record deal with Immediate Records. Cat Stevens was also part of the London music scene at the time, and his song found it's way to Arnold, who recorded it for her first album. Arnold, who was in an abusive marriage as a teenager, felt it was a perfect song for her. "It encapsulated everything that I was at the time," she said. "Having the courage to get out of that [abusive relationship] and create a life for me and my kids. What a blessing." In 1968, Arnold scored another UK hit when her cover of "Angel of the Morning" went to #29.

This is about a guy who has met a girl he wants to start a relationship with. In the song, he is explaining the hurt he feels because of his first love, and how it is keeping him from diving into this potential new relationship.

In America, the first version to chart was by Keith Hampshire, who took it to #70 in 1973. Rod Stewart covered it in 1976, taking it to #21 US and #1 UK; Sheryl Crow released her version in 2003, which made #14 in the US and #37 in the UK.