Green was born in Forrest City, Arkansas. He started performing at age ten in a Forrest City quartet called the Greene Brothers; he dropped the final "E" from his last name years later as a solo artist. They toured extensively in the mid-1950s in the South until the Greenes moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, when they began to tour around Michigan. His father kicked him out of the group because he caught Green listening to Jackie Wilson.
In 1967 at the age of 16, Al formed an R&B group, Al Green & the Creations, with several of his high-school friends. Two Creation members, Curtis Rogers and Palmer James, founded their own independent record company, Hot Line Music Journal, and had the group record for the label. By that time, the Creations had been re-named the Soul Mates. The group's first single, "Back Up Train," became a surprise hit, climbing to number five on the R&B charts early in 1968. The Soul Mates attempted to record another hit, but all of their subsequent singles failed to find an audience. In 1969, Al Green met bandleader and Hi Records vice president Willie Mitchell while on tour in Midland, Texas. Impressed with Green's voice, he signed the singer to Hi Records, and began collaborating with Al on his debut album
He was perhaps the ideal complement to the orchestral, syrupy, strong soul production work of Hi Records wizard Willie Mitchell, who also helmed 70s classics for Syl Johnson, Ann Peebles, and himself.
On October 18, 1974, Mary Woodson, a woman who was his longtime girlfriend, threw a large pot of sticky boiling grits on him as he was preparing to shower, because he didn't want to get married. She committed suicide in minutes, which deeply affected Green to turn to God and religion. This assault from behind caused third-degree burns on his back, stomach and arm. Deeply shaken, Green continued to reaffirm and grow closer to his deeply held love for God, and became an ordained pastor of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Memphis in 1976.
Continuing to record R&B, Green saw his sales start to slip and drew mixed reviews from critics. 1977's The Belle Album was critically acclaimed but did not regain his former mass audience. In 1979 Green injured himself falling off the stage while performing in Cincinnati and interpreted this as a message from God. He then concentrated his energies towards pastoring his church and gospel singing, also appearing in 1982 with Patti Labelle in the Broadway musical Your Arms Too Short to Box with God. According to Glide Magazine, "by the late 70s, he had begun concentrating almost exclusively on gospel music." His first gospel album was The Lord Will Make a Way. From 1981 to 1989 Green recorded a series of gospel recordings, garnering eight "soul gospel performance" Grammys in that period. In 1985, he reunited with Willie Mitchell along with Angelo Earl for He Is the Light, his first album for A&M Records. In 1984, director Robert Mugge released a documentary film, Gospel According to Al Green, including interviews about his life and footage from his church. In 1989, Green released "I Get Joy", again with producer/guitarist Angelo Earl. In 2001, he appeared in the movie and soundtrack of On the Line featuring Lance Bass.
After spending several years exclusively performing gospel, Green began to return to Rhythm & Blues. First, he released a duet with Annie Lennox, "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" for Scrooged, a 1988 Bill Murray film. In 1989 Green worked with producer Arthur Baker writing and producing the international hit "The Message Is Love". In 1991 he created the introductory theme song for the short-lived television series Good Sports featuring Ryan O'Neal and Farrah Fawcett. In 1992, Green recorded again with Baker, the Fine Young Cannibals, and reunited with his former Memphis mix engineer (this time functioning as producer) Terry Manning, to release the album Don't Look Back. His 1994 duet with country music singer Lyle Lovett blended country with R&B, garnering him his ninth Grammy, this time in a pop music category. Green's first secular album in some time was Your Heart's In Good Hands (1995), released to positive reviews but disappointing sales, the same year Green was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In 2000, Green published Take Me to the River, a book discussing his career. Green received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002.
In 2001, Green's live cover of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" was released on the soundtrack to Will Smith's film Ali (the song plays when Muhammad Ali learns of the death of close friend Malcolm X).
By 2003 Green released a non-religious (secular) album entitled I Can't Stop, his first collaboration with Willie Mitchell since 1985's He is the Light. In March 2005 he issued Everything's OK as the follow-up to I Can't Stop. Green also collaborated with Mitchell on this secular CD.
The title of Al Green's latest album Lay It Down released May, 2008, truly tells it like it is. Conceived as a collaboration between the soul legend and a handful of gifted young admirers from the worlds of contemporary R&B and hip hop, the album is drawn from a series of inspired sessions that yielded the most high-spirited, funky and often lushly romantic songs of Green's latter-day career.
The project features the sophisticated R&B voices of singer-songwriters John Legend, Anthony Hamilton and Corinne Bailey Rae, and it was co-produced with Green by two of hip-hop's most innovative players, drummer Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson from the Roots and keyboardist James Poyser , the go-to guy for high-profile artists ranging from Erykah Badu to Common. Add in Brooklyn's celebrated Dap-King Horns (Sharon Jones, Amy Winehouse), guitarist Chalmers "Spanky" Alford (Mighty Clouds of Joy, Joss Stone) and bassist Adam Blackstone (Jill Scott, DJ Jazzy Jeff), among others, and you've got a modern soul-music dream team, fronted by the most expressive voice in the business.
Going Away
Al Green Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Trials can't be hard if you depend on God
I will not worry, I won't be afraid of hope
I'll look to Jesus who says, 'I'm the Way'
Come and go with me to my Father's house
Let's go, let's go
All the road is free, come and go with me
It's nothing but peace
When you're gone away
It's nothing but joy
When you are gone away
Let me tell you
You'd better go this way, if your woman see the day
Let her go, let's go
All the road is free, come and go with me
Let's go, I'm going away, I'm going away
Hey, hey, [Incomprehensible]
And I won't be there, I'm going away
I don't know about you
I find you're nothing but joy, I'm going away
We'll pack my bags up
With the soul that I've had, I'm going away
Nothing but love over there
Sometime I happen to [Incomprehensible]
I'm going away
I'm still way by myself
And I say, I'm going away
I still wait by myself
As I, I'm going away
I'll tell you one thing
There's nothing but love and joy
[Incomprehensible] I'm going away
All the way
I have to love you
I'm going away, I'm going away
Jesus' coming back to take me by the hand
To lead me to the land, I'm going away
Al Green's song "Going Away" reflects on the idea that life can be challenging if lived in vain, but if we depend on God, we can overcome the trials that come our way. Al Green looks to Jesus as the way and hopes to inspire listeners to share in that faith. He encourages listeners to join him on a journey to his "Father's house" where all the "road is free," and there is nothing but "peace" and "joy" waiting for them. He warns men that if their woman sees the day, they should let them go because it's for the best.
Green believes that once he's gone away to Jesus, there will only be love and joy waiting for him. He speaks of packing his bags with the soul he's had and mentions that he's still waiting by himself. He reassures listeners that nothing but love is waiting for him as he goes away with Jesus's return to take him by the hand to lead him to the land. Thus, this song is an anthem of faith and hope in Jesus Christ, the Saviour.
Line by Line Meaning
Life can be hard if you live in vain
If you don't have faith, life can be difficult
Trials can't be hard if you depend on God
If you trust in God, you can handle any challenge
I will not worry, I won't be afraid of hope
I won't lose faith, I won't fear what's next
I'll look to Jesus who says, 'I'm the Way'
I'll seek guidance from Jesus, who shows me the path
Come and go with me to my Father's house
Join me in a journey of faith to God's home
Let's go, let's go
Let's embark on this journey
All the road is free, come and go with me
The path is clear, follow me
It's nothing but peace
There is only serenity
When you're gone away
When you leave this world
It's nothing but joy
There is only happiness
Let me tell you
Listen closely
You'd better go this way, if your woman see the day
Follow this path, even if your partner doesn't understand
Let her go, let's go
Leave behind anything that holds you back
Hey, hey, [Incomprehensible]
Unknown meaning
And I won't be there, I'm going away
I won't be present in this world anymore
I don't know about you
I can't speak for you
I find you're nothing but joy, I'm going away
There is only happiness on this journey
We'll pack my bags up
I'll prepare to leave
With the soul that I've had, I'm going away
I'll depart with a clear conscience
Nothing but love over there
In God's home, there is only love
Sometime I happen to [Incomprehensible]
Unknown meaning
I'm still way by myself
I'm still isolated
And I say, I'm going away
I announce my departure
I still wait by myself
I continue to be alone
As I, I'm going away
As I depart from this world
I'll tell you one thing
One thing is certain
There's nothing but love and joy
In God's home, there is only happiness and love
[Incomprehensible] I'm going away
Unknown meaning
Jesus' coming back to take me by the hand
I believe Jesus will guide me
To lead me to the land, I'm going away
He will lead me to God's home
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: PAT GREEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind