Rod Stewart's new album Time features his first original songs in years, and for inspiration the singer looked not only to his own life, but to his own wife.  Three of the tracks on the disc are about Rod's missus, Penny Lancaster, including the first single, "She Makes Me Happy."

Rod tells ABC News Radio, Penny liked "She Makes Me Happy" when she first heard it, , "She was obviously over the moon."  With lyrics that compare Penny to "an angel" and describe every day with her as being "like Christmas," it's easy to see why.  "We're both a couple of romantics," adds Rod.

However, he's quick to point out that, while all the things he says about Penny in the song are accurate, not all the lyrics are exactly based on real life.

"She has made me a very happy man, but there are some lines in there that are not actually about me," he explains, referring specifically to these words: "I could smoke and drink and gamble just as I please."

"I've never smoked. I've never gambled," he insists. "But it is about her."

In addition to "She Makes Me Happy," Penny also inspired the songs "Finest Woman" and "Sexual Religion."  So, does Penny, who's a photographer and the mother of Rod's two youngest kids, enjoy being her rock star husband's muse?

"Yeah, I'm sure she does.  I'm sure she does," he laughs.  "She is an inspiration for a lot of wonderful things in my life."

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