"Sit Down, I Think I Love You" is a 1966 song composed by American singer-songwriter

Stephen Stills Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Crosby, Stills & Nash; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; and Manassas (band ...

and originally recorded by American-Canadian rock band

Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield was a Canadian-American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1966 by Canadians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin (musician), Dewey Martin and Americans Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely know ...

. A

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

The Mojo Men The Mojo Men was an American rock band based in San Francisco. Formed in 1965, the group underwent several name and personnel changes until their 1969 breakup. Their highest-charting ''Billboard'' Hot 100 single was a cover of Buffalo Springfie ...

was released as a single in 1967 and reached the U.S. Top 40. Also that year, Australian band The Executives charted in their home country with their version of the song.

Buffalo Springfield version

Stephen Stills wrote "Sit Down, I Think I Love You" as a fairly direct love song. It was written prior to the formation of

, when Stills had just settled in Los Angeles and had begun writing songs that he felt "were personal statements and had something to say." The song was included on Buffalo Springfield's eponymous debut album, but because Stills had sold the song's publishing rights, he never received any writer's royalties.

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Matthew Greenwald said the song "showcases Stills' already refined pop moxie and melodic instinct, crossed with a strong folk flavoring." Dave Swanson of

Ultimate Classic Rock Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

described it as "pristine folk-rock with a great garage band feel" and ranked it as the ninth best song by Buffalo Springfield.

The Mojo Men version

San Francisco-based group

released a cover version of "Sit Down, I Think I Love You" as a single in early 1967. Arranged by

Van Dyke Parks Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, arranger, record producer, singer, and former Warner Bros. Records executive whose work encompasses orchestral pop, elaborate recording experiments, Ame ...

, the song was the band's biggest hit in the United States, peaking at number 36 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. In Canada, it reached number 26 on ''RPM'' magazine's singles chart. Greenwald said The Mojo Men's recording "transformed the song into a near-Mamas & Papas graft, complete with counterpoint vocals and a warm feeling. An odd and wide variety of instruments (from mandolins, Dobro, to multiple keyboards) add great texture to the melody, creating one of the great 'lost' masterpieces of the era." The song was included on the seminal 1972 '' Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968'' garage rock compilation album.

Chart performance

The Executives version

Australian pop group The Executives released their cover of "Sit Down, I Love You" as a single in 1967. It peaked at number 4 in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, 13 in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, and 28 on the ''

Go-Set ''Go-Set'' was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble. NOTE: This PDF is 282 pages. Widely described as ...

'' national chart.

References

{{Buffalo Springfield 1966 songs 1967 singles Buffalo Springfield songs Reprise Records singles Songs written by Stephen Stills