Tonight, having just finished writing a bit of a rant, I found myself in need of some good ol’ Motown!  Sometimes it’s the only thing that will calm an agitated mind, y’know?  I dug through my 7 pages worth of Motown posts and came up with only two that I haven’t played in the last two years … this was one of the two!  So, sit back and listen to the Supremes sing some of that awesome Holland-Dozier-Holland music!  Oh, and rawgod — I made a bit of an addition for your listening pleasure.

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.  The song charted at #1 in the U.S., #3 in Canada, and #8 in the UK.

Vanilla Fudge recorded a cover version that hit #6 in the US in 1968, and #18 in the UK.  I do not care for it … at all!  It almost seems like a … well, I won’t say what … I’ll be nice this time.  But, I have included it for our friend rawgod, who I remember from last time I played this song in 2019, likes it best.

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