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.
I Need Love
Barbara Mason Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wanna be kissed
I need love
I wanna be hugged
Oh, baby
My mother told me
It's not a thing
But I, but I need love
I want to be loved, baby
I want you to hold me so tight
Hold my hand and kiss me goodnight
I need your love, I need love
I'm a girl
But I feel like a woman
(A woman, a woman, a woman)
I want you to act like a man
My soul's on fire and I have
Such a wild desire burning inside
Oh, baby, oh, baby
I need your love, I need love
Oh, hold me tight
Squeeze me all through the night
Make me know you're mine
All of the time
I need love, I need love
I wanna be kissed
I need love, I need love
I wanna be hugged
I'm burning inside
With such a wild desire
Oh, baby, oh baby
I need your love
And I'm burning inside
I need love
I need your love
I'm burning inside
Barbara Mason's song "I Need Love" expresses a deep desire for physical and emotional intimacy. The lyrics are sung by a woman who is not afraid to express her needs and desires. She longs to be kissed and hugged, and wants the man she loves to hold her tightly and kiss her goodnight. She acknowledges that her mother may have taught her that it's not proper for a woman to think about such things, but she cannot help feeling the way she does. She feels like a woman, not just a girl, and she wants her lover to act like a man.
The song is filled with imagery that suggests a burning passion, as the woman says that her soul is on fire and has a wild desire burning inside. She implores her lover to hold her tight and squeeze her all through the night, to make her feel like she is his all the time. The repetition of the phrase "I need love" reinforces the urgency of her desire. The song captures the universal human need for love and connection, and speaks to the power of physical touch and emotional intimacy.
Line by Line Meaning
I need love
The singer is expressing her desire for love and affection.
I wanna be kissed
She wants to experience the physical intimacy of a kiss.
I wanna be hugged
She wants to feel the emotional and physical security of a hug.
My mother told me
She is acknowledging the societal pressure on women to suppress their desire for love and physical intimacy.
It's not a thing
For a girl to think of
The societal norm is for girls to suppress their desire for love and physical intimacy.
But I, but I need love
Despite the societal pressure, the singer is expressing her desire for love and physical intimacy.
I want to be loved, baby
She desires the reciprocation of love from a significant other.
I want you to hold me so tight
Hold my hand and kiss me goodnight
She desires physical intimacy with her significant other through holding, kissing, and hand-holding.
I'm a girl
But I feel like a woman
(A woman, a woman, a woman)
I want you to act like a man
She feels mature and ready for a serious relationship and desires her significant other to take charge and act like a man.
My soul's on fire and I have
Such a wild desire burning inside
Oh, baby, oh, baby
I need your love, I need love
She has a strong desire and passion for love and affection from her significant other.
Oh, hold me tight
Squeeze me all through the night
Make me know you're mine
All of the time
She desires the physical touch and intimacy of her significant other to feel important and secure in the relationship.
I'm burning inside
With such a wild desire
Oh, baby, oh baby
I need your love
She has intense feelings of desire and passion for love and affection from her significant other.
And I'm burning inside
I need love
I need your love
I'm burning inside
She continues to express her passion and need for love and affection from her significant other.
Contributed by Nolan S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.