Though best known for their instrumental hit "Pick Up the Pieces," the band's strength lies in their consistently accomplished songwriting, stretching across several gold-selling albums and multi-Grammy nominations for Atlantic Records. Despite their Scottish roots, the six-piece band developed their own "authentic" sound influenced by R&B heroes such as Marvin Gaye, James Brown, and Donny Hathaway, which was eagerly adopted by black audiences in the US and elsewhere.
Many of the band's cuts, such as "Cut The Cake" and "Let's Go 'Round Again," attracted chart action as hit singles, while album tracks like "Schoolboy Crush" and "Person to Person" became much-sampled "rare" grooves. Other tunes like "Cloudy," "A Love Of Your Own," and "Nothing You Can Do" stand alongside some of the finest soul album tracks ever recorded.
The current lineup of the band, with noted US musicians alongside founding members Alan Gorrie and Onnie McIntyre, continues to delight audiences and critics alike in its wide-ranging touring. The musical energy and trademark sound are remarkably true to the original, and with constant revisitation and re-workings of AWB's, and others' classics in the mix, it is no surprise that the Average White Band is now a multi-generational attraction and a perennial fixture with many of the top music venues.
Would You Stay
Average White Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Although I love you to my soul
You got me so confused
That I don't know which way to turn
What can I do
(I wish I knew)
If you came back
Say you love me deeply
But you still got somebody else
Seems like distance,
Circumstance is keeping us apart
I just don't know
And I'm wondering
If you came back
Would you stay? Stay!
Little little bit
You's a little bit too much
Makes you stop and think
As the best really really come and go
Ooh Ooh ooh
If only this (if only this)
If only that (only that)
If only thinking
I could hold you one more time
Would you stay?
Would you stay?
(instrumental break)
Oooh Oooh Ooh Ohhhhhhh
If you came back
Would you stay? Stay!
Ooh
This uncertainty is killing me baby
I gotta know
Would you stay yeah
And hold me
You gotta let me know
Would you really
Would you stay
I wanna know
I gotta know baby
WHEW!!!
AAaaaahhhhh
If you came back baby
Would you stay....
Stay.....
(song rolls into "Sunny Days")
The Average White Band's "Would You Stay" is a soulful, yet anguished plea to a woman, whose love has caused confusion to paralyze the songwriter into uncertainty. Throughout the song, they address the woman with whom they are in love but feel misled by her ambiguous affections. The song is a melancholy, contemplative ballad where the lyrics go over the man's confusion due to the woman's cryptic attitude. Despite loving her to his soul, he doesn't know which way to turn and remains unsure of what to do to resolve his situation of feeling lost and unsure.
The songwriter then goes on to question if the woman really loves him, only to find out she has somebody else in her heart despite confessing her love for him. He feels that the distance between them and the surrounding circumstances have played a part in keeping them apart. The chorus is a plea for the woman to stay with him if she decides to come back to him. At the end of the song, the artist is still unable to come to terms with his feelings, and the music segues into "Sunny Days."
Line by Line Meaning
Woman I can understand you
I can try to understand where you're coming from.
Although I love you to my soul
I love you deeply.
You got me so confused
I'm feeling confused.
That I don't know which way to turn
I don't know what to do.
What can I do
I don't know what to do.
(I wish I knew)
I really wish I knew what to do.
If you came back
If you came back to me.
Would you stay? Stay! (yeah yeah)
Would you stay with me?
Say you love me deeply
You're telling me you love me a lot.
But you still got somebody else
But you're still with someone else.
Seems like distance,
It seems like we're far apart.
Circumstance is keeping us apart
Our situation is keeping us apart.
I just don't know
I don't know what to do.
And I'm wondering
I'm curious, I'm thinking.
If you came back
If you came back to me.
Would you stay? Stay!
Would you stay with me?
Little little bit
A small amount.
You's a little bit too much
You might be a bit too intense.
Makes you stop and think
It makes you think.
As the best really really come and go
The best things may not always last.
Ooh Ooh ooh
Vocal ad-lib.
If only this (if only this)
If only this one thing could happen.
If only that (only that)
If only that other thing could happen.
If only thinking
If only I could think.
I could hold you one more time
I could be with you again.
Would you stay?
Would you stay with me?
Would you stay?
Would you stay with me?
(instrumental break)
Instrumental break in the music.
Oooh Oooh Ooh Ohhhhhhh
Vocal ad-lib.
If you came back
If you came back to me.
Would you stay? Stay!
Would you stay with me?
Ooh
Vocal ad-lib.
This uncertainty is killing me baby
I can't handle not knowing what's going on.
I gotta know
I need to know.
Would you stay yeah
Would you stay with me.
And hold me
And be close to me.
You gotta let me know
You need to tell me.
Would you really
Do you really.
Would you stay
Would you stay with me?
I wanna know
I need to know.
I gotta know baby
I really need to know.
WHEW!!!
Vocal ad-lib.
AAaaaahhhhh
Vocal ad-lib.
If you came back baby
If you came back to me.
Would you stay....
Would you stay with me?
Stay.....
Stay with me.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, BMG Rights Management
Written by: HAMISH STUART, ROGER BALL, Alan Gorrie
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind