Tag Archives: Motown

♫ Could It Be I’m Falling In Love ♫

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This song, released in 1972, was written by Melvin Steals and Mervin Steals, who according to Chancellor of Soul, were two songwriter brothers working for The Spinners’ label, Atlantic Records, who were sometimes credited as “Mystro and Lyric.” If The Spinners sound a little more like Motown than New York, that’s because they used to be signed with Motown Records. The self-titled Spinners album was their first produced on their shiny new Atlantic contract. They were even known as “The Motown Spinners” before, but changed their name to “The Detroit Spinners” after moving to Atlantic.

For a band which peaked in the mid-’70s, The Spinners certainly seem to have staying power. They still tour today, are a feature of oldies’ stations and nostalgia concerts, were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999, and as recently as 2006, appeared in a July episode of The Late Show With David Letterman.

Could It Be I’m Falling In Love
The Spinners

Since I met you I’ve begun to feel so strange
Every time I speak your name (that’s funny)
You say that you are so helpless too
That you don’t know what to do

Each night I pray there will never come a day
When you up and take your love away
Say you feel the same way too and I wonder what
It is I feel for you

Could it be I’m falling in love (with you baby)
Could it be I’m falling in love (ooh)
Could it be I’m falling in love
With you, with you with you, with you

I don’t need all those things that used to bring me joy
You made me such a happy boy
And honey you’ll always be the only one for me
Meeting you was my destiny
You can be sure I will never let you down
When you need me I will be around
And darling you’ll always be the only one for me
Heaven made you specially

Could it be I’m falling in love

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Melvin Steals / Melvin Howard Steals / Mervin H. Steals
Could It Be I’m Falling In Love Ensemble (Darryl Smith) lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc

♫ You Really Got A Hold On Me ♫ (Redux)

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While finishing my a.m. post tonight, responding to comments and checking email, this song was playing prominently inside my head.  I was so sure I had never played this one here before, but when I checked, I had played it back in October 2018.  Still, that was almost two years ago and if you’re like me, you’ve long since forgotten that I played it then, so … since it’s going to keep me awake tonight if I don’t share it here, I am … sharing it, that is.

Tonight’s song is either going to take you back … way back … else leave you scratching your head and saying, ‘huh?’  Go back, if you can, to 1962.  I was eleven … how old were you?  In ’62, the Beatles, the Stones, and the Turtles weren’t yet around, and the sound of the day, at least for most of us, was Motown.  And there was none better than Smokey Robinson and his Miracles.

Smokey wrote and produced this one that was released in November 1962 under the Motown Tamla label.  It zoomed to #1 on Billboard’s R&B chart in the U.S.  It has been featured in at least 12 films and a television special,  Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever.  

Smokey Robinson said he was thinking about Sam Cooke’s Bring it on Home to Me (another great one, in my book) when he got the idea for this song.  Cooke’s song finds the singer apologizing to his girl after casting her off, promising to treat her right if she comes back. You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me is the same sentiment but with the roles reversed: the girl mistreats the guy, but he loves her unconditionally.  Gender equality, even in the ’60s.

The Beatles recorded this in 1963 and performed it in their last movie, Let It Be. The Beatles were the first big British band to come to America and admit they were influenced by black music. Robinson admired this admission, and felt they helped black artists by covering their songs.

The quality of this video isn’t the best, but hey … it was 1962 … YouTube and digital photography hadn’t even been invented yet.  There are more recent versions, but I felt this one had the most authenticity.  And now I give you …

You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me
The Miracles

I don’t like you, but I love you,
Seems that I’m always thinking of you.
Oh, oh, oh, you treat me badly,
I love you madly, you really got a hold on me.
You really got a hold on me, baby,
I don’t want you, but I need you,
Don’t want to kiss you, but I need you.
Oh, oh, oh, you do me wrong now,
My love is strong now you really got a hold on me.

You really got a hold on me, baby,
I love you and all I want you to do is just hold me,
Hold me, hold me, hold me.

I want to leave you, don’t want to stay here
Don’t want to spend another day here.
Oh, oh, oh, I want to split now, I can’t Baby,
I love you and all I want you to do is just hold me,
Hold me, hold me, hold me.
You really got a hold on me.
You really got a hold on me.
You really got a hold on me.
You really got a hold on me.
You really got a hold on me.

Songwriters: William Robinson Jr.
You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

♫ Superstition ♫

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aarghFolks, I’ve done it again!!!  Last year, I missed Stevie Wonder’s birthday by a day … his birthday is the 13th, and after I didn’t play a Stevie Wonder song on that date, my dear friend Ellen took me to task, so I wished Mr. Wonder a ‘Happy Birthday’ on the 14th.  This year, though … I’ve missed it by five days!!!  Ellen … this is your fault, y’know!  Anyway, better late than never, they say, and since Stevie is in my top five favourites of all time, I cannot let his birthday go unnoticed.

I dug around for one of his songs that I haven’t played … no small task, considering I have featured him 28 times since I started doing these music posts a couple of years ago.  But, I came up with one and, while it isn’t in my top five favourites, I do like it.  The song made #1 in the U.S., #6 in Canada, and #11 in the UK

This was intended for Jeff Beck, who was brought in to play some guitar parts on the album in exchange for a song. At one of the sessions, Stevie came up with the riff and wrote some lyrics, and they recorded a rough version of the song that day for Beck. It took Beck a while to record the song, and by the time he released it, Wonder’s version had been out for a month and was a huge hit. Beck felt shortchanged, and made some statements in the press that Wonder didn’t appreciate. In 1975, Beck released an instrumental version of Wonder’s “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers” on his album Blow By Blow. The album was a hit and helped solidify Beck’s reputation as an elite guitarist.

When Wonder turned 21, he was no longer obligated to Motown Records, and used his clout to sign a deal with the label giving him unprecedented control of his music. He got a large share of royalties and publishing rights, and Motown was not allowed to alter the albums once they were delivered. One thing Motown did control, however, were what songs they released as singles. Knowing Jeff Beck was about to record his version, Motown head Berry Gordy made sure this was the first single and released it before Beck could get his out.  A bit of dirty pool there, it seems.

Several artists besides Jeff Beck have covered this. None made much of an impact until Stevie Ray Vaughan released a live version as a single in 1986 on his album Live Alive. His version is still played on Classic Rock radio, and has grown even more popular since Vaughan’s death in 1990.

Wonder performed this song on Sesame Street in 1973 during the show’s fourth season. It was recorded at the show’s New York studios at a time when Wonder and his band were playing lots of gigs, and they treated the Sesame Street performance just like any other, extending it to nearly 7 minutes, complete with intricate musical shifts directed by Wonder. Video of the performance shows kids and puppets having a blast on the set, but the band remained focused, since getting distracted by a monster would not be a valid excuse for missing a change.  Normally, I would also include the Sesame Street version, and perhaps another day I will, but today is Stevie Wonder’s show alone.

So, without further ado … Happy 70th Birthday Mr. Stevie Wonder!!!!  🎈

 

Superstition
Stevie Wonder

Ladies and Gentlemen
Ladies and Gentlemen

Joining us on stage my Mr Jeff Beck

Very superstitious,
Writing’s on the wall,
Very superstitious,
Ladders bout’ to fall
Thirteen month old baby,
Broke the lookin’ glass
Seven years of bad luck,
The good things in your past

When you believe in things
That you don’t understand,
Then you suffer,
Superstition aint the way

Everybody scream!

Very superstitious,
Nothin’ more to say,
Very superstitious,
The devil’s on his way,
Thirteen month old baby,
Broke the lookin’ glass,
Seven years of bad luck,
Good things in your past

When you believe in things
That you don’t understand,
Then you suffer,
Superstition ain’t the way,
No, no, no

Superstition ain’t the way
Superstition ain’t the way
Superstition ain’t the way
Superstition ain’t the way

Everybody say
We’re jamming in New York
We’re jamming in New York

Superstition ain’t the way
Superstition ain’t the way…

I love you…

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Stevie Wonder
Superstition lyrics © Jobete Music Co. Ltd., Jobete Music Co Inc, Black-bull-music, Inc., Black Bull Music Inc, Jobete Music Co., Inc.

♫ Neither One Of Us ♫

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I hope you’re in the mood for a bit of soul music tonight, ’cause I bookmarked this one a week or so ago to play, and never got around to it.  Y’know … I’m amazed by how short my memory has become just in the past year, maybe less.  I came up with a song I wanted to play, thought I had never played it, only to find that I played it about two weeks ago!  Wouldn’t you think I could remember that far back?  Sigh.

Released on December 26, 1972 on Motown’s Soul Records, it became one of the biggest hit singles to date for Gladys Knight and the Pips, and was also the last single the group released prior to them leaving Motown for Buddah Records in February 1973.  They had been with Motown for six-and-a-half years, but according to Ms. Knight, she and the group were regarded as a second-string act and that “Diana (Ross) & The Supremes, The Temptations and Marvin Gaye were given all the hits, while we took the leftovers”.

On March 2, 1974, at the Grammy Awards ceremony, Gladys Knight & The Pips won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for Neither One of Us. Previously that same night, they had won their first Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for Midnight Train to Georgia.  In 1996, the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I did not know that Gladys Knight made her singing debut at the age of 4, and three years later, she won a $2000 first prize singing Nat “King” Cole’s Too Young on Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour.  Pretty impressive, eh?

Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)
Gladys Knight

It’s sad to think
We’re not gonna make it
And it’s gotten to the point
Where we just can’t fake it

For some ungodly reason
Just won’t let it die
I guess neither one of us
Wants to be the first to say goodbye

I keep wondering
What I’m gonna do without you?
And I guess you must be
Wondering the same thing too

So we go on
Go on together living a lie
Because neither one of us
Wants to be the first to say goodbye

Every time I find the nerve
Every time I find the nerve to say, I’m leaving
Memories, those old memories
Get in my way

Lord knows it’s only me
Only know it’s only me that I’m deceiving
When it comes to saying goodbye
That a simple word that I just cannot say

There can be no way, there can be no way
This can have a happy ending, no, no
So we just go on hurting and pretending
And convincing ourselves to give it just one more try

Because neither one of us
Wants to be the first to say
Neither one of us
Wants to be the first to say
Neither one of us
Wants to be the first to say

Farewell my love
Goodbye

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: James D. Weatherly
Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye) lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

♫ How Can You Mend A Broken Heart ♫

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I was so so so wrong about this song!  I could have sworn it was Al Green’s and that the Bee Gees covered it, but it turns out the Bee Gees wrote and were the first to record the song, with Al Green’s version coming a year later!

Barry and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees wrote this in August 1970, along with Lonely Days when the Gibb brothers had reconvened following a period of break-up and alienation.  According to Barry Gibb …

“Robin came to my place, and that afternoon we wrote How Can You Mend a Broken Heart and that obviously was a link to us coming back together. We called Maurice, finished the song, went to the studio and once again, with only ‘Broken Heart’ as a basic structure, we went in to the studio with that and an idea for ‘Lonely Days’, and those two songs were recorded that night.”

They originally offered the song to Andy Williams, but ended up recording it themselves, although Williams did later cover the song on his album You’ve Got a Friend.

The song was sung live for the first time in 1971, in a performance that was notable as drummer Geoff Bridgford’s first appearance with the band. Although failing to chart on the UK Singles Chart, the song became the Bee Gees’ first US number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and also reached number four on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 5 song for 1971. In Spain, it was released under the title “Cómo Puedes Arreglar Un Corazón Destrozado”.

Al Green recorded the song a year later, in 1972, and it was his version that was used in the 1999 movie Notting Hill.  Because it was the Al Green version I initially set out to play, and because I like both, though very different versions, I shall play both.

How Can You Mend a Broken Heart? 
Al Green

I can think of younger days when living for my life
Was everything a man could want to do
I could never see tomorrow, but I was never told about the sorrow

And how can you mend a broken heart?
How can you stop the rain from falling down?
How can you stop the sun from shining?
What makes the world go round?
How can you mend a this broken man?
How can a loser ever win?
Please help me mend my broken heart and let me live again

I can still feel the breeze that rustles through the trees
And misty memories of days gone by
We could never see tomorrow, no one said a word about the sorrow

And how can you mend a broken heart?
How can you stop the rain from falling down?
How can you stop the sun from shining?
What makes the world go round?
How can you mend this broken man?
How can a loser ever win?
Please help me mend my broken heart and let me live again

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Barry Gibb / Robin Gibb
How Can You Mend a Broken Heart? – Notting Hill lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

♫ Touch Me In The Morning ♫

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I received a request to play this song on this date by a friend who wishes to remain anonymous.  Never let it be said that I don’t aim to please!  It didn’t hurt that I happen to like this song, too.

Released in 1973 on the Motown label, this song was written by ballad lyricist Ron Miller and songwriter/producer Michael Masser. It was Diana Ross’ first hit produced by Masser; he continued to produce more songs for her over the years.

Ross felt that this song was too difficult for her and recorded several takes on it. In a documentary about her, Masser said that she tried very hard to “get the vocals right for this particular song” and that it was a “draining experience.” As it happened, it became her longest-charting Pop record and also became her first #1 Adult Contemporary hit.

Miller explained how the song came together:

“I had already dreamed up this title, ‘Touch Me in the Morning,’ but I didn’t have the vaguest idea what it meant … So I analyzed Diane as a person. I said, ‘Well, this girl is out on her own now. She’s an adult and a movie star. She’s also a contemporary woman and … much more liberal about expressing her sexual values. Whereas once upon a time, only a man could say something like that, now a liberated woman like Diane could. However, though she’s ostensibly a sophisticated woman, she’s still crying inside to be touched in the morning.’ It was just a very cold, calculated and wonderful job of crafting.”

It marked a turning point in the career of Diana Ross, reinvigorating her singing career, coming immediately after her Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in her acting debut, Lady Sings the Blues.

Touch Me in the Morning
Diana Ross

Touch me in the morning
Then just walk away
We don’t have tomorrow
But we had yesterday

Wasn’t it me who said that Nothing good’s gonna last forever?
And wasn’t it me who said, Let’s just be glad for the time together?
It must’ve been hard to tell me
That you’ve given all you had to give
I can understand you’re feeling that way
Everybody’s got their life to live

Well, I can say goodbye in the cold morning light
But I can’t watch love die in the warmth of the night
If I’ve got to be strong
Don’t you know I need to have tonight when you’re gone?
Till you go I need to lie here and think about
The last time that you’ll touch me in the morning
Then just close the door
Leave me as you found me, empty like before

Wasn’t it yesterday We used to laugh at the wind behind us?
Didn’t we run away and hope that time wouldn’t try to find us (Didn’t we run)
Didn’t we take each other to a place where no one’s ever been?
Yeah, I really need you near me tonight
‘Cause you’ll never take me there again

Let me watch you go with the sun in my eyes
We’ve seen how love can grow
Now we’ll see how it dies
If I’ve got to be strong
Don’t you know I need to have tonight when you’re gone?
Till you go I need to hold you until the time
Your hands reach out and touch me
In the morning (Mornings where blue and gold and we could feel one another living)
Then just walk away (We walked with a dream to hold and we could take what the world was giving)
We don’t have tomorrow (There’s no tomorrow here, there’s only love and the time to chase it)
But we had yesterday
(But yesterday’s gone my love, there’s only now and it’s time to face it) touch me in the morning

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Michael Masser / Ron Miller
Touch Me in the Morning lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave

♫ Ain’t Too Proud To Beg ♫

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Sometimes there is just nothing that will do but the Motown Sound.

This was written by Motown writers Norman Whitfield and Eddie Holland. Holland, who was part of the Holland/Dozier/Holland writing team, wrote the lyrics.  Smokey Robinson was The Temptations’ main writer at the time. Motown decided to release his Get Ready instead of this song, which drove Whitfield nuts. After Get Ready didn’t meet expectations, Ain’t Too Proud To Beg was released as The Temptations next single. From there, Whitfield became the regular producer of the Temptations.

Whitfield went on to write other Motown classics, including Heard It Through The Grapevine and (I Know) I’m Losing You. He became the chief songwriter for The Temptations.

Whitfield also produced this song. He had Temptations singer David Ruffin sing slightly higher than his normal range, resulting in the pained vocal that went with the lyrics. Whitfield had Marvin Gaye do the same thing on Heard It Through The Grapevine.  This was a hit for The Rolling Stones when they covered it in 1974, taking it to #17 in America. Other notable covers of this song include Phil Collins.  Who knew?  🤷‍♀️  I love Phil Collins, but this song, in my book, belongs to The Temptations.

Ain’t Too Proud to Beg
The Temptations

I know you wanna leave me,
But I refuse to let you go,
If I have to beg, plead for your sympathy,
I don’t mind ’cause you mean that much to me.

Ain’t too proud to beg and you know it,
Please don’t leave me girl,
Don’t you go,
Ain’t too proud to plead, baby, baby,
Please don’t leave me, girl,
Don’t you go.

Now I’ve heard a cryin’ man
Is half a man with no sense of pride,
But if I have to cry to keep you,
I don’t mind weepin’ if it’ll keep you by my side.

Ain’t too proud to beg and you know it,
Please don’t leave me girl,
Don’t you go,
Ain’t too proud to plead, baby, baby,
Please don’t leave me, girl,
Don’t you go.

If I have to sleep on your doorstep all night and day
Just to keep you from walking away,
Let your friends laugh, even this I can stand,
’cause I wanna keep you any way I can.

Ain’t too proud to beg and you know it,
Please don’t leave me girl,
Don’t you go,
Ain’t too proud to plead, baby, baby,
Please don’t leave me, girl,
Don’t you go.

Now I’ve got a love so deep in the pit of my heart,
And each day it grows more and more,
I’m not ashamed to call and plead to you, baby,
If pleading keeps you from walking out that door.

Ain’t too proud to beg and you know it,
Please don’t leave me girl,
Don’t you go,
Ain’t too proud to plead, baby, baby,
Please don’t leave me, girl,
Don’t you go.

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Norman Whitfield / Edward Jr. Holland
Ain’t Too Proud to Beg lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

♫ Standing In The Shadows Of Love ♫

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As you may have noticed from my morning Very Snarky Snippets, I am in something of a mood tonight.  And when I’m in a mood, I turn to Motown.

While I have played many Four Tops’ songs in the past two years, I haven’t played this one!

The Four Tops released this song as a direct follow-up to their #1 hit Reach Out I’ll Be There and it features a similar musical arrangement. Despite the likeness to its chart-topping predecessor, the record was still a big hit, easily reaching the Top 10 in both the UK and US. Both songs were written by the Motown songwriting team of Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland (Holland-Dozier-Holland), and while the instrumentation is similar, the lyrics are very different.

This song was recorded by the Four Tops during the first ever session at Berry Gordy’s newly acquired Golden World Detroit studio, later dubbed Studio B.

The song has been covered by everybody and their brother from the Jackson 5 to Barry White to Rod Stewart to Joe Stubbs (the younger brother of The Four Tops’ lead vocalist Levi Stubbs).

Standing In The Shadows Of Love
Four Tops

Standing in the shadows of love
I’m getting ready for the heartaches to come
Can’t you see me standing in the shadows of love
I’m getting ready for the heartaches to come

I want to run but there’s nowhere to go
‘Cause heartaches will follow me, I know
Without your love, the love I need
It’s the beginning of the end for me
‘Cause you’re taking away all my reasons for livin’
When you pushed aside all the love I been givin’
Now wait a minute

Didn’t I treat you right, now baby, didn’t I?
Didn’t I do the best I could now, didn’t I?

So don’t you leave me
Standing in the shadows of love
I’m getting ready for the heartaches to come
Don’t you see me standing in the shadows of love
Trying my best to get ready for the heartaches to come

All alone
I’m destined to be, with misery my only company
It may come today, it might come tomorrow
But it’s for sure I ain’t got nothing but sorrow
Now don’t your conscience kind of bother you
How can you watch me cry after all I done for you
Hold on a minute

Gave you all the love I had now, didn’t I?
When you needed me I was always there now, wasn’t I?

I’m trying hard not to cry out loud
You know crying it ain’t gonna help me now
What did I do to cause all this grief?
Now what’d I say to make you want to leave
Now wait a minute

Gave my heart and soul to you now, didn’t I?
And didn’t I always treat you good, now didn’t I?

I’m standing in the shadows of love
I’m getting ready for the heartaches to come
Don’t you see me standing in the shadows of love
Trying my best to get ready for the heartaches to come
Oh I’m standing in the shadows of love

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Jr. / Brian Holland / Edward Holland / Edward / Jr. Holland / Lamont Dozier / Lamont Herbert Dozier
Standing In The Shadows Of Love lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

♫ My Cherie Amour ♫

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My level of angst has been at an all time high for a few days now, for various reasons that if you’ve been keeping up with my posts, you already know.  Loss of sleep, loss of appetite, too much caffeine, too much nicotine, and it’s time for some music by … my go-to guy … Stevie Wonder!!!

The title is French for “My Dearest Love.”  Stevie wrote this song in 1967 when he was a student at Michigan School for the Blind, recording a rough version and putting into his trusty “tape box,” where he kept his song ideas. He wrote the song for his girlfriend at the time, Marcia, and the song was originally titled “Oh My Marcia.”

By the time he recorded the song, Marcia was out of the picture, so Wonder changed the title to My Cherie Amour.  Motown songwriter/producers Henry Cosby and Sylvia Moy wrote this with Wonder, who was 19 at the time. Wonder was recording at age 12, and was writing songs in his teenage years. On his later hits, Wonder did almost all of the writing and production himself, but early on, he had a lot of help from the Motown staff.

Tonight’s selection is from a live concert, so the quality may not be as good as the studio version, but I love the energy, the interaction with the audience, and … you get an added bonus … a second song!

My Cherie Amour
Stevie Wonder

La la la la la la
La la la la la la

My Cherie Amour, lovely as a summer’s day
My Cherie Amour, distant as the Milky Way
My Cherie Amour, pretty little one that I adore
You’re the only girl my heart beats for
How I wish that you were mine

In a cafe or sometimes on a crowded street
I’ve been near you, but you never notice me
My Cherie Amour, won’t you tell me how could you ignore
That behind that little smile I wore
How I wish that you were mine

Maybe someday you’ll see my face among the crowd
Maybe someday I’ll share your little distant cloud
Oh, Cherie Amour, pretty little one that I adore
You’re the only girl my heart beats for
How I wish that you were mine

La la la la la la
La la la la la la

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Wonder Stevie / Cosby Henry / Moy Sylvia Rose
My Cherie Amour lyrics © Black Bull Music, Stone Agate Music, Sawandi Music, Johanan Vigoda Admin. Acct. Stevie Wonder Catalogue, Jobete Music Co Inc, Stone Agate Music Corp, Black Bull Music Inc, Jobete Music Co., Inc.

♫ I Will Survive ♫ (Redux)

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I just played this last August, and normally wouldn’t be playing it again so soon, but … yesterday dear friend Ellen made a good point when she said …

“There is one song which is and has been constantly buzzing through my mind the past month or so, for reasons that need not be mentioned. Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive”, that you have posted in the past but is indeed worthy of revisiting!”

I can think of no better song to remind us that we will survive this, too.  Thank you, Ellen, for the suggestion!

This song has become known as a “female empowerment” song, and most often it is associated with the break-up of two lovers.  But …

Dino Fekaris, the song’s lyricist, was a staff writer for Motown until he was fired.  Says Fekaris, of the inspiration for this song …

“They let me go after almost seven years. I was an unemployed songwriter contemplating my fate. I turned the TV on, and there it was: a song I had written for a movie theme titled Generation was playing right then (the song was performed by Rare Earth). I took that as an omen that things were going to work out for me. I remember jumping up and down on the bed saying, ‘I’m going to make it. I’m going to be a songwriter. I will survive!”

Freddie Perren was another former Motown songwriter, and he & Fekaris paired up on this song, and went on to form their own production duo and scored big with Peaches & Herb, taking Reunited to #1.

Gaynor sees this song as just a simple song about survival, regardless of what you have to overcome.

“I love the empowering effect, I love the encouraging effect. It’s a timeless lyric that addresses a timeless concern.”

I Will Survive
Gloria Gaynor

At first I was afraid, I was petrified
Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side
But then I spent so many nights thinking how you did me wrong
And I grew strong
And I learned how to get along
And so you’re back
From outer space
I just walked in to find you here with that sad look upon your face
I should have changed that stupid lock, I should have made you leave your key
If I’d known for just one second you’d be back to bother me
Go on now, go, walk out the door
Just turn around now
‘Cause you’re not welcome anymore
Weren’t you the one who tried to hurt me with goodbye
Do you think I’d crumble
Did you think I’d lay down and die?

Oh no, not I, I will survive
Oh, as long as I know how to love, I know I’ll stay alive
I’ve got all my life to live
And I’ve got all my love to give and I’ll survive
I will survive, hey, hey

It took all the strength I had not to fall apart
Kept trying hard to mend the pieces of my broken heart
And I spent oh-so many nights just feeling sorry for myself
I used to cry
But now I hold my head up high and you see me
Somebody new
I’m not that chained-up little person and still in love with you
And so you felt like dropping in and just expect me to be free
Well, now I’m saving all my lovin’ for someone who’s loving me
Go on now, go, walk out the door
Just turn around now
‘Cause you’re not welcome anymore
Weren’t you the one who tried to break me with goodbye
Do you think I’d crumble
Did you think I’d lay down and die?

Oh no, not I, I will survive
Oh, as long as I know how to love, I know I’ll stay alive
I’ve got all my life to live
And I’ve got all my love to give and I’ll survive
I will survive

Oh
Go on now, go, walk out the door
Just turn around now
‘Cause you’re not welcome anymore
Weren’t you the one who tried to break me with goodbye
Do you think I’d crumble
Did you think I’d lay down and die?

Oh no, not I, I will survive
Oh, as long as I know how to love, I know I’ll stay alive
I’ve got all my life to live
And I’ve got all my love to give and I’ll survive
I will survive
I will survive

Songwriters: Dino Fekaris / Frederick J. Perren
I Will Survive lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group