Mason initially focused on songwriting when she entered the music industry in her teens. As a performer, though, she had a major hit single with her third release in 1965, "Yes, I'm Ready" (#5 pop, #2 R&B). She had modest success throughout the rest of the decade on the small Arctic label, run by her manager, top Philadelphia disc-jockey, Jimmy Bishop. She reached the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 again in 1965 with "Sad, Sad Girl", and "Oh How It Hurts" in 1967. A two-year stay with National General Records, run by a film production company, produced one album and four singles which failed to find success.[citation needed]
In the 1970s, Mason signed to Buddah Records and toughened her persona, singing about sexual love and infidelity with an uncommon frankness at the time in songs like "Bed and Board", "From His Woman to You", and "Shackin' Up" and would interrupt her singing to deliver straight-talking 'raps' about romance. She also continued to write some of her new material. Curtis Mayfield produced her on a cover version of Mayfield's own "Give Me Your Love", which restored her to the pop Top 40 and R&B Top Ten in 1973; "From His Woman to You" (the response to Shirley Brown's single "Woman to Woman") and "Shackin' Up", produced by former Stax producer Don Davis in Detroit were also solid soul sellers in the mid-1970s.
Mason also sang vocals on the tracks "Sheba Baby," "I'm In Love With You," "A Good Man Is Gone," and "She Did It" on the soundtrack for the 1975 Pam Grier film, Sheba, Baby.[2]
After leaving Buddah Records in 1975 after two top ten R&B hits, she only dented the charts periodically on small labels. They included "I Am Your Woman, She Is Your Wife", which was produced in 1978 by Weldon McDougal who had produced her first major success, "Yes I'm Ready", and later in 1984, "Another Man" on West End Records.
Mason started to concentrate on running her own publishing company in the late 1980s, but continues to perform occasionally. She released a new CD, Feeling Blue, in September 2007. Mason was still performing to sold-out audiences in 2016. Her most recent show was at the Terrance Theater in Long Beach, California. Mason was inducted into the Soul Music Hall of Fame on March 1, 2016.
Come to me
Barbara Mason Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Cause I'm lonely (for you)
Smiles have all turned to tears
But tears won't wash away the fears
That you're never ever gonna return
To ease the fire that within me burns
It keeps me crying baby for you
So won't you hurry
Come on boy, see about me
(Come see about me)
See about your baby
I've given up my friends just for you
My friends are gone
And you have too
No peace shall I find
Until you come back
And be mine
No matter what you do or say
I'm gonna love you anyway
Keep on crying baby for you
I'm gonna keep sighin' baby for you
So come on hurry
Come on and see about me
(Come see about me)
See about you baby
Sometime's up
Sometime's down
My life's so uncertain
With you not around
From my arms you maybe out of reach
But my heart says you're here to keep
Keeps me crying baby for you
Keep on, keep on crying baby for you
So won't you hurry
Come on boy, see about me (Come see about me)
See about you baby (Come see about me)
You know I'm so lonely (Come see about me)
I love you only (Come see about me)
See about your baby (Come see about me)
Hurry, hurry
The lyrics to Barbara Mason's song "Come to Me" express the deep longing and heartache the singer feels for a lost love. The opening lines say "I've been crying/ 'Cause I'm lonely (for you)." This is a clear indication of the desperation and sadness the singer is experiencing as a result of losing the person they love. The next line "Smiles have all turned to tears" paints a picture of how the singer's emotions have shifted since the person left, they no longer feel happy or joyous. The tears they cry will not wash away their fears, that the person they desire will never return to ease the fire raging within them.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the depth of the singer's longing. Their sadness and despair drive them to keep crying and sighing for the person they love. They implore the person to come back to them by saying "So won't you hurry/ come on boy, see about me." The singer has given up their friends just to be with this person and so they feel even more alone and bereft when they are gone. This person is their world and they will continue to love them even if they never return.
Finally, in the last verse the singer speaks of how uncertain and fluctuating their life is without the person they love. Though they might be out of reach, the singer's heart tells them that this person is meant to be with them always. The chorus repeats, emphasizing the urgent plea of the singer for the person to come back to them: "Keeps me crying baby for you/ Keep on, keep on crying baby for you/ So won't you hurry/ Come on boy, see about me (Come see about me)/ See about you baby (Come see about me)."
Line by Line Meaning
I've been crying
I've been constantly shedding tears
'Cause I'm lonely (for you)
Because I'm feeling lonely and longing for you
Smiles have all turned to tears
My joyful expressions have faded away and are replaced with tears
But tears won't wash away the fears
Crying won't get rid of the worries I have
That you're never ever gonna return
I'm scared that you might never come back
To ease the fire that within me burns
To lessen the intense passion that I have for you
It keeps me crying baby for you
The thought of you brings tears to my eyes
Keeps me sighin' baby for you
The longing for you makes me constantly sigh
So won't you hurry
I'm pleading with you to come quickly
Come on boy, see about me
Please come and check up on me
(Come see about me)
Repeat of previous line
See about your baby
Take care of your lover
I've given up my friends just for you
I've sacrificed my friendships for the sake of being with you
My friends are gone
I have lost touch with my former companions
And you have too
You no longer keep in contact with me
No peace shall I find
I cannot find any relaxation
Until you come back
Unless you return
And be mine
And become my partner
No matter what you do or say
Regardless of your actions or words
I'm gonna love you anyway
I will still love you
Keep on crying baby for you
My tears will continue to express my love for you
I'm gonna keep sighin' baby for you
I will persistently sigh out of yearning for you
Sometime's up
There are moments of happiness
Sometime's down
There are moments of sadness
My life's so uncertain
My future is unclear
With you not around
Whenever you're not here
From my arms you maybe out of reach
You might not be physically within my grasp
But my heart says you're here to keep
My feelings tell me that you're meant to stay
Keep on, keep on crying baby for you
I will continue to cry out of love for you
See about you baby (Come see about me)
Please take care of yourself and come check on me
You know I'm so lonely (Come see about me)
You're aware of my loneliness and how I need you to come and see me
I love you only (Come see about me)
My love is solely for you
Hurry, hurry
Please come quickly
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Brian Holland, Edward Jr. Holland, Lamont Herbert Dozier
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind