♫ You Keep Me Hangin’ On ♫

Posted on by under music

This is the first night in about a week that I have have had a song in my heart, so I feel a little rusty, like a coat just taken out of mothballs, or a motorcycle just out for its first ride of the spring.  Okay, maybe a bit of an over-dramatization, but in truth, I feel like I haven’t had a song for years!  This one came as a result of blogging friend John Howell, albeit indirectly.

Holland-Dozier-Holland

Holland-Dozier-Holland

As is the case with much Motown music, this one was written by the songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland who deliberately set out to write a rock song for the Supremes. Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland were a big part of the Motown Sound. They not only wrote most of the hits for The Supremes, The Four Tops, and many other acts on the label, but they also produced and arranged the sessions, giving them nearly complete control of the product.

According to Lamont Dozier …

“I’ve often broken up with a girlfriend for a week just to be able to get that real feeling of hurt so that I can write what I write from experience! I should add that I always make sure we patch up again after the week’s over. But I’m constantly working at the piano – that’s my source of release, like a tranquilizer for me.”

This was the Supremes’ eighth US #1 hit.  Although it never won a Grammy, this song (along with Where Did Our Love Go, which never won a Grammy either) was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

You Keep Me Hangin’ On
The Supremes

Set me free why don’t cha babe
Get out my life why don’t cha babe
‘Cause you don’t really love me
You just keep me hangin’ on

Set me free why don’t cha babe
Get out my life why don’t cha babe (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
‘Cause you don’t really need me
But you keep me hangin’ on

Why do you keep a comin’ around playing with my heart?
Why don’t cha get out of my life and let me make a brand new start?
Let me get over you the way you gotten over me, yeah, yeah

Set me free why don’t cha babe
Get out my life why don’t cha babe (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
‘Cause you don’t really love me
You just keep me hangin’ on
No, you don’t really need me
You just keep me hangin’ on

You say although we broke up you still just wanna be friends
But how can we still be friends when seeing you only breaks my heart again
(And there ain’t nothing I can do about it)

Whoa, ooh, whoa, ooh, whoa
Whoa, ooh, whoa, ooh, whoa, whoa
Whoa, ooh, whoa, ooh, whoa, whoa
Whoa, ooh, whoa, ooh, whoa,
Yeah, yeah

Get out, get out of my life
And let me sleep at night
‘Cause you don’t really love me
You just keep me hangin’ on

You say you still care for me but your heart and soul needs to be free
And now that you’ve got your freedom you wanna still hold on to me
You don’t want me for yourself so let me find somebody else

Set me free why don’t cha babe
Get out my life why don’t cha babe (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
‘Cause you don’t really love me
You just keep me hangin’ on

Why don’t cha be a man about it and set me free (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
Now you don’t care a thing about me
You’re just using me, hey, abusing me

Get out, get out of my life
And let me sleep at night (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
‘Cause you don’t really love me
You just keep me hangin’ on (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)

Songwriters: Edward Holland Jr. / Lamont Dozier / Brian Holland
You Keep Me Hangin’ On lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

 

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27 thoughts on “♫ You Keep Me Hangin’ On ♫”

  2. I think I have said this before, maybe about a different song, though, that my favourite version is Vanilla Fudge off their very first album. Classical musicians turned rock stars, they kept the original music themes, but played them in a classical vein. One of my alltime favourite albums, everything on it is a cover, but yet is atotally new sound.
    The Supremes are okay, but I don’t like women who choose to sleep to the top. Diana Ross was one of the “best” at it.

    Liked by 2 people

  6. Holland,Dozier, Holland were the dream team of songwriters for Motown, nearly all hits.Reflections for the Supremes was a gem.I was always a Four Tops fan though and thought they brought as much to Motown as the Supremes. Levi Stubbs had the ability to make every note he sang sound like it was wrenching emotion from him, With The Temptations, Stevie Wonder and the Jackson 5 amongst others, this was the best record label ever.
    Cwtch

    Liked by 1 person

    • I can’t argue with any of that … I think, much as I don’t like much of what I’ve read about Berry Gordy, I have to admit he managed to bring together great artists and produce some of the best music ever … at least in my book.
      Cwtch

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Thank you for this trip down Memory Lane. 🙂
    I worked a while with a guy called Alden Shuman, a market researcher, musician and composer. Odd combination. He was rumoured to have written songs for Diana Ross. 🙂

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      • Most probably. He was not a man to boast. Or to brag. He wrote the score for a few movies I don’t remember. Also taught me, as a client, to write good market research presentation. Short. To the point. I owe him a lot.

        Liked by 1 person

          • He was a big client, representing General Motors. I did multi country European research on GM’s image in the car industry. Even went to Detroit to present the results of one project. Great musician, great researcher, great writer. Great man. My boss took him (and little me) for dinner to the Jules Vernes, the restaurant in the Tour Eiffel. (Long before Macron invited the Tramp there.)

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