Before I start to sing the blues, let me give a shout out to everyone at LillStreet Art Center. It was great taking part in the “Booze and Blogs” panel on Thursday night. I had a blast, guys. Thanks.
And now let me get back to the topic at hand. Broken promises and broken hearts.
Sigh. Ever carry a torch? Well, if so, this one’s for you, baby.
Lately I’ve been listening to Aretha Franklin’s killer rendition of “Until You Come Back To Me” (That’s What I’m Gonna Do).
And if you don’t know this song, you’ve probably never been bluesin’.
It was written by Morris Broadnax, Clarence Paul and Stevie Wonder, and it was originally recorded by Stevie back in 1967. However it didn’t make it onto an album until his 1977 anthology Looking Back.
But in 1973 the First Lady of Soul had a million-selling top ten hit with it on both the Billboard 100 and the Billboard R&B charts.
Here are the heartachy lyrics:
Though you don’t call anymore
I sit and wait in vain
I guess I’ll rap on your door
tap on your window pane
I wanna tell you, baby
changes I’ve been going through, missing you, listen you
’til you come back to me that’s what I’m gonna do
Why did you have to decide
you had to set me free?
I’m gonna swallow my pride
and beg you to please, baby, please see me
I’m gonna walk by myself
just to prove my love is true, all for you, baby
’til you come back to me that’s what I’m gonna do
Living for you, my dear
is like living in a world of constant fear
hear my plea
I’ve got to make you see that our love is dying
Although your phone you ignore
somehow I must explain
I’m gonna rap on your door, tap on your window pane
I’m gonna camp by your steps
until I get through to you
I got to change your view, baby
’til you come back to me that’s what I’m gonna do
’til you come back to me, that’s what I’m gonna do
’til you come back to me that’s what I’m gonna do
I’m gonna rap on your door, tap on your window pane
open up, baby
I’ll gonna rap on your door, tap on your window pane
I’ll gonna rap on your door, tap on your window pane
That about sums up my love life situation.
And, baby, you know who you are.
Now let’s hear The Queen of Soul plead my case. Sing it pretty, Miss Ree.
And make it count.
Sounds like you need some Otis Redding playing in the background bluesin “Try a little tenderness.”
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UnPMoAb4y8U&feature=kp
One more by the Man, http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf1HDz5W3Zw&autoplay=1
Right on, Mitch and thanks. Btw, I went to Otis’s last concert-only he didn’t. My boyfriend and I got there just in time to be told,”He’s dead. His plane crashed in Lake Monona.” We were in shock. And when Dock Of The Bay came out it was so good and so sad. Thanks, buddy. I needed this. And it’s also great that he wrote another of Aretha’s awesome cuts- R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
Here is Carole King’s reply:
“It’s Too Late”
Stayed in bed all morning just to pass the time
There’s something wrong here, there can be no denying
One of us is changing, or maybe we’ve stopped trying
And it’s too late, baby, now it’s too late
Though we really did try to make it
Something inside has died and I can’t hide
And I just can’t fake it
It used to be so easy living here with you
You were light and breezy and I knew just what to do
Now you look so unhappy, and I feel like a fool
And it’s too late, baby, now it’s too late
Though we really did try to make it
Something inside has died and I can’t hide
And I just can’t fake it
There’ll be good times again for me and you
But we just can’t stay together, don’t you feel it too
Still I’m glad for what we had, and how I once loved you
But it’s too late, baby, it’s too late
Though we really did try to make it
Something inside has died and I can’t hide
Wait a minute. I like this song and it’s apropos and all, but YOU from Detroit countering an Aretha song with a Carole King? You might have just lost your dual citizenship. Thanks, Jimmy. I loved this comment.
Now that Carole King has entered the conversation, we’ve been treated to another song the lyrics of which I may never have appreciated when it was originally on the airwaves. She’s very much in the news these days, having inspired a Tony-winning acting turn, and being the ex-widow (that can’t be the right word?!) of the just deceased Gerry Goffin.
Back in 2004, Carole was campaigning for John Kerry on the campus of the University of Minnesota, a noon-time rally just a few weeks before the election. It was right around the time that my gifted 15-year old daughter had unleashed a bevy of mixed emotions in me with her all-too-realistic cover of “I Feel the Earth.” Anyhow, I waited patiently until the event ended, and collected a personalized autograph to Deborah from Carole. That evening, for at least 15 minutes, I was the greatest Dad who ever lived.
Very nice CK tie-in, O Puzzle Master. I hoped your daughter framed it. And I like “ex widow.” Let’s use it in another puzzle. Thanks, George.
I have carried a few torchs in my life, have loved and lost, but there was only one song that got to me a few years ago after a break-up. Now I am not a huge country music fan ( I do like some) but Alan Jackson’s song “Remember When” really tugged at my emotions. I have moved on from this break-up a long time ago, but when I hear this one it still gets me, if you know what I mean!
I do get it, Steve. Sometimes I think we only find out we have a heart when it gets broken. Thanks for being a shoulder to cry on, today. Nice I’m not the only one who ever had the blues.and PS Toby Keith’s version of Scotty Emerick’s great song”I Can’t Take You Anywhere” KILLS me. Check it out.
Funny you mention Toby Keith…I just listened on your advice ” I Can’t Take You Anywhere” and it was really good. Have not heard it in a while, however, on a lighter note I go by his song “Good AS I Once Was”.
Glad you tried it, Steve. Here’s Scotty Emerick’s version. TK is on it. I love this one even more. http://youtu.be/I4yDiSapzaE
Ellen, 2 more great songs to get one thru heartbreak, Jimmy Ruffin singing ” What becomes of Broken Hearted” and The Beach Boys “In My Room”.
You are so right. Jimmy Ruffin is so terrific and The Beach Boys! I love “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.” Wistful kind of sad. This Old Heart Of Mine is another great broken-hearter. Thanks for the input. Now I need a new guy to get me over this one.
Mitchell/Ellen:
Another great Otis Redding ballad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-FQL-tJ3ic
Thanks for playing, Fred. These Arms Of Mine! Very very soulful. And he sounds so torn up. Very nice addition to our Otis canon.
Ellen, by the title of your blog, I was sure you were going to write about The Shirelles because one of my favorite songs by the group is “Dedicated to the One I Love.” Of course, I still very much enjoyed your blog about Aretha Franklin, one of the finest singers of our time. I think Aretha is only a couple months older than I am so she’s got a lot of singing time left….:)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnLyypuGG6o
Sorry to disappoint you, Susan. I love the Shirelles- especially on this Carole King/Gerry Goffin classic. But this Aretha number was helping me make it through a heartache and so I wanted to give her a shout out. Thanks for the suggestion, however. Best wishes for a great 2016.
No disappointment for me – just a nice trigger to a Shirelles’ song I enjoyed during my college days. Of course, there’s no comparison between the Shirelles and Aretha. The Shirelles group is wonderful but Aretha is one of the greatest singers of our time. And her song, “Until You Come Back To Me” is definitely a good choice as a headache reliever.