Pop stalwart Rod Stewart returned on Thursday with a wistful song about a child’s struggles with drugs as the singer announced a new album.
The 73-year-old father of eight questions his skills as a father on Didn’t I, his famously raspy voice, in the words of the song, “tinged with love and regret.”
“Didn’t I try to tell you that stuff’s gonna kill you / Oh, didn’t I? / But you thought it was cool / And I’m just an old fool,” Stewart sings.
The song is addressed to a daughter although the lyrics would seem to reflect the experience of Stewart’s son Sean, who has a history of addiction and legal troubles.
In 2002, Sean Stewart was arrested for assaulting a man outside a Los Angeles-area restaurant in a fight broken up by Superman actor Dean Cain. More recently, Stewart was arrested for allegedly riding a luggage carousel into the restricted area of the Miami airport.
Rod Stewart sings in Didn’t I of warning his child about the dangers of the California lifestyle. His son, whose mother is US model Alana Stewart, grew up in Los Angeles and starred on the reality show Sons of Hollywood.
Didn’t I is the first single off Blood Red Roses, Stewart’s 30th studio album which will come out on September 28.
“I always think I make albums for a few friends and this record has that intimacy,” Stewart said in a statement announcing the album.
“Sincerity and honesty go a long way in life and the same is true in songwriting,” he said.
The album comes nearly 50 years after the first album by Stewart, whose best-known hits include Forever Young.
