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.
I'm A Ram
Al Green Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Until I get there
I got to drive on
Until I get there
The ram caught in a bush
Needs to be free
Won't somebody
I'm a ram
Bet your life I do
I'm a ram
I wanna get next to you
Drive on
Until I get there
I got to drive on
Until I get there
I'm a ram, yes I am
You are what I like
I keep on pushing baby
You keep on pushing me back
I'm a ram
Bet your life I do
I'm a ram
Wanna get next to you
Look out, here I come
Drive on
Until I get there
I got to drive on
Until I get there
'Cause a ram caught in a bush
Needs to be free
Won't somebody
Come on, see about me
I'm a ram
Bet your life I do
I'm a ram
I wanna get next to you
The lyrics of Al Green's song "I'm a Ram" suggest a persistent pursuit of a desired person or outcome. The repetition of the phrase "drive on until I get there" emphasizes this commitment to achieving the goal, no matter the obstacles. The image of a ram caught in a bush represents the singer's feeling of being trapped or held back from reaching his desired goal, and he needs someone to come and rescue him. The repetition of "I'm a ram" emphasizes the singer's determination and potential strength to overcome the obstacles and achieve his desired objective.
Furthermore, the lyrics convey an intense desire of a person for another individual. The phrase "bet your life I do" suggests that the singer is willing to risk and sacrifice everything to get closer to their love interest. The aggressive nature of the lyrics, such as "I keep on pushing baby, you keep on pushing me back," conveys the intense desire and the obstacles encountered in pursuing a romantic partner. Ultimately, the song emphasizes determination and persistence in achieving one's goals and desires, both in love and in life.
Line by Line Meaning
Drive on
Keep moving forward
Until I get there
Until I reach my destination
I got to drive on
I must keep going
The ram caught in a bush
A symbol for being stuck or trapped
Needs to be free
Requires liberation
Won't somebody
Asking for help or assistance
Come on and see about me
Come and care for me
I'm a ram
Identifying oneself as feeling stuck or trapped
Bet your life I do
Asserting the truth of one's current state
I wanna get next to you
Desiring closeness or intimacy with another
You are what I like
Expressing attraction to someone
I keep on pushing baby
Continually striving
You keep on pushing me back
Encountering resistance or obstacles
Look out, here I come
I'm on my way and nothing will stop me
'Cause a ram caught in a bush
Reinforcing the earlier metaphor of feeling trapped
I wanna get next to you
Reiterating the desire to be close to someone
Contributed by Sarah G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@ConscientiousObserver
A Ram commercial brought me here. This is a great song I never knew about
@renatelewis538
Me too. Unbelievable.
@gordbrown410
Same here
@KneeDeepExpeditions
Here with ya
@Xanthus179
Yep. Infinitely better than whoever is singing in the commercial.
@ashonlewis9353
@@Xanthus179 Chris Stapleton is the one who sings the cover version of the song in the Ram Truck commercials
@planettronnie3466
As an Aries, I felt this. #LoveBeingARam
@gloriajohnson4932
It was the Ram Truck commercial that brought me here too! WOW…I had no ideal it was an Al Green original track. I never heard this one. This is really good RIDING music. I Love it!!
@kayhinton6487
Real music from the 70's and 80's . Mr Green is the Boss!
@tommy-yt2tt
great song as usual