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.
So You're Leaving
Al Green Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just because of what they say
You took their word against mine
Friends do lie some time
Before you walk out the door
Let me say just once more
They don't want you for me
So you're leavin' me
Hey, baby
Don't want you to leave me
Yeah, baby
Tell me,
I'm trying to find a way
That I can make you stay
You won't hear a word I say
And you wanna leave me anyway
Girl, don't break our hearts
I knew right from the start
If they lied on Jesus, can't you see
They'll lie on you and me
Are you leavin' me
Hey, baby
Are you leavin' me
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah
I wanna say
My darlin', take my life
You can stay and be my wife
You just deal like mine
And our hearts beat right on time
So, go on, don't break our hearts
I knew from the start
If they lie on Jesus, can't you see
They'll lie on you and me
Are you leavin' me
I don't wanna
Are you leavin' me
Hey, baby
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
I wanna know
Are you leavin' me
Why don't ya c'mon back, babe
Makes no sense in leavin' me
Hey baby
I want to be your leadin' man
Are you wanna go
Are you wanna go
Are you leavin' me
Hey baby
I wanna know who you love
Baby, who you love,
I wanna know who you love
Are you leavin'
Wanna know, are you leavin' me
Why you, why you, why you wanna go
Don't know, hey baby
Whoo
Why you wanna go, I wanna know
Why you wanna go
Tell me, tell me
Who you love
Who you love
Who do you love
Who do you love
In Al Green's "So You're Leaving" the singer is trying to convince his lover not to leave him because of rumors spread by their friends. Even though he's telling her not to believe everything she hears, he's also trying to appeal to her emotions by saying that if she leaves, she's breaking his heart. He reminds her that if people could lie about Jesus, they could lie about anything, including the state of their relationship. He pleads for her to stay and be his wife, promising that they can make their love work if she just gives it a chance.
Overall, the song is about the doubt and mistrust that can arise when people listen to gossip and rumors instead of communicating with those they love. It's a reminder to approach relationships with openness and honesty rather than jumping to conclusions based on what others say.
Line by Line Meaning
So you're leaving me today
You're leaving me today, just because you believed what others said without verifying with me.
Just because of what they say
You're leaving me because of the words said by people; without bothering to know my side of the story.
You took their word against mine
You chose to believe what others said about me and didn't ask or listen to my point of view.
Friends do lie some time
Friends may sometimes lie, and that doesn't mean what they say is true.
Before you walk out the door
Before you leave, please listen to me one last time.
Let me say just once more
I want to say one more thing before you leave.
They don't want you for me
Those who spoke ill about me don't want you to be with me, which is why they said those things.
Open your eyes, can't you see
Please, look at the situation objectively and realize the truth.
So you're leaving me
You're leaving me.
Hey, baby
Addressing the person leaving.
Don't want you to leave me
I don't want you to leave me, please reconsider.
Yeah, baby
Affectionate way of addressing the person leaving.
Tell me,
Asking the person to tell the reason for leaving.
I'm trying to find a way
I'm trying to find a way to make you stay.
That I can make you stay
I want to find a way to convince you to stay.
You won't hear a word I say
You're not open to listening to my side of the story.
And you wanna leave me anyway
You've made up your mind and want to leave me regardless of what I say.
Girl, don't break our hearts
Please don't break our hearts by leaving.
I knew right from the start
From the very beginning, I knew this would happen.
If they lied on Jesus, can't you see
If people can lie about Jesus, then it's easy for them to lie about us.
They'll lie on you and me
People who lied about me will lie about you too.
Are you leaving me
Asking the person if they're leaving.
Hey, baby
Caring and friendly way of addressing the person leaving.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah
Expressing acknowledgement and agreement with the person leaving.
I wanna say
I want to tell you something.
My darlin', take my life
I'm willing to give you all of me.
You can stay and be my wife
You can stay with me and become my life partner.
You just deal like mine
If we both treat each other well, we can be happy together.
And our hearts beat right on time
Our hearts are in sync, indicating we're meant to be together.
So, go on, don't break our hearts
If you're going to leave, please do it without hurting our hearts.
I knew from the start
I knew all along this would happen.
I don't wanna
I don't want to see you go.
Wanna know, are you leaving me
Asking the person if they are really leaving.
Why don't ya c'mon back, babe
Asking the person to come back to me.
Makes no sense in leaving me
Leaving me doesn't make sense, please stay.
I want to be your leadin' man
I want to be the one you follow and love the most.
Are you wanna go
Asking if the person really wants to go.
Are you leavin' me
Asking if the person is really leaving.
I wanna know who you love
Asking the person who they really love.
Baby, who you love,
Affectionate way of asking the person who they love.
Who do you love
Asking the person who they really love.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: AL GREEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@BOWMANTUNES
One of my favorite songs. I saw Mr. Green in 2008, what a performer. One of my favorite shows of all time.
@nibyafternight1983
This album is fantastic
@garycourtier4668
I love this album.
@deborahmckayle7554
I love this album from start to finish. I played this album over and over on the record player in the living room. Childhood memories. Thanks for posting.
@derekrucker3992
Me too, we had the 8track wore it out. Great album
@alfreddotson8194
I used to hear my mother playing his record on 45. I still listen to his music. I hope to be able to see this legend in person.
@andrewjwheelerjr275
Same here brother Alfred😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂.
@Mrpachuko13
It's not worth watching al green live. Waste of money. He starts preaching and gets off topic. People came to hear the songs al green!! Not to hear you talk about god and christianity.
@TheMOVIEMANIAC13
@Mrpachuko13 😂😂😂😂 what in the hot grits nah we good just skip the concert and have one on YT
@sharonwinfield8273
One of his best albums!!!!!!!