Chuck Berry remains an influential figure and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music who first began performing in 1953. Cub Koda wrote, "Of all the early breakthrough rock & roll artists, none is more important to the development of the music than Chuck Berry. He is its greatest songwriter, the main shaper of its instrumental voice, one of its greatest guitarists, and one of its greatest performers." John Lennon was more succinct: "If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'."
Berry was among the first musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on its opening in 1986. He received Kennedy Center Honors in 2000 in a "class" with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Plácido Domingo, Angela Lansbury, and Clint Eastwood. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Chuck Berry #5 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. He was also ranked 6th on Rolling Stone's Rolling Stone's 100 greatest guitarists of All Time.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included three of Chuck Berry's songs (Johnny B. Goode, Maybellene, Rock & Roll Music), of the 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll.
Chuck Berry held a special place, in terms of sound development, in the formation of, Mersey-Beat at Liverpool.
The finest exponent of Chuck Berry, guitar, sound at Liverpool during 1959 to 1963, was Vincent Tow/Ismail, who in turn passed on many of the learned skills to Lennon & McCartney, his friends and colleagues during that period--1959 to 1962/3.
Chuck Berry also influenced many of the great rock 'n' roll bands that we know today including The Rolling Stones and The Beatles.
I Need You Baby
Chuck Berry Lyrics
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As sure as a woman needs a man
I need you baby, I just wanted you then
But I'm in love with you now
I walk the floor sprinkled with tears since you've been gone
Oh, it'd seem like a thousand years
I need you baby, I just wanted you then
True love like yours is so hard to find
If you don't come back baby, Lord knows I'll lose my mind
I need you baby, I just wanted you then
But I'm in love with you now
He loved other women and I love only you
But you fall on him, Lord, like the morning dew
I need you baby, I just wanted you then
But I'm in love with you now
Do you care for me less than you did before ?
Or don't you love me at all anymore ?
I need you baby, I just wanted you then
But I do love you now
Chuck Berry's "I Need You Baby" is a love song that expresses the singer's need for his lover. The singer makes numerous attempts at explaining his love and declaring his feelings to his partner. He emphasizes that just as a woman needs a man, he needs her, and he feels lost and incomplete without her. He conveys this by using a simile that compares the length of time he has been without her to a thousand years. The chorus is very simple, with the singer repeating "I need you baby, I just wanted you then, but I'm in love with you now" to emphasize that his love for her has grown more significant over time.
Berry then goes on to describe how true love is so hard to find, which is why he is so desperate to hold onto it. He seems afraid of losing her and can barely comprehend how lucky he is to have found a love like hers. He stresses that he loves only her and not any other woman but seems worried that she might not feel the same way anymore. The song concludes with a question that the singer poses to his lover, asking whether she still loves him as she did before or not at all.
Line by Line Meaning
Please, listen, baby, try and understand
I'm begging you to hear me out and to comprehend where I'm coming from, baby.
As sure as a woman needs a man
I need you, baby, just like every woman needs a man.
I need you baby, I just wanted you then
But I'm in love with you now
I initially just wanted you, but now I'm madly in love with you and need you more than ever.
I walk the floor sprinkled with tears since you've been gone
Oh, it'd seem like a thousand years
I've been terribly upset and restless without you in my life, and it feels like an eternity since you left.
True love like yours is so hard to find
If you don't come back baby, Lord knows I'll lose my mind
I realize how rare and special our love is, and if you don't come back, I'll go crazy without you.
He loved other women and I love only you
But you fall on him, Lord, like the morning dew
My love is true and unwavering, while his love is fleeting and insincere, but you still favor him without my understanding.
Do you care for me less than you did before ?
Or don't you love me at all anymore ?
I'm unsure if your feelings towards me have changed, or if you don't even love me anymore.
I need you baby, I just wanted you then
But I do love you now
Even though I initially just wanted you, know that I truly do love you now and need you in my life.
Lyrics © ENTERTAINMENT ONE U.S. LP
Written by: CHUCK BERRY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jack
on Little Marie (Alternate)
Yes, oh yes, Long Distance, I'll accept the charge, I'll pay
Which love one is calling me, I did not hear you say.
Both are deep within my hearth, her Mom and my Marie
It so good to hear your voice from Memphis, Tennessee
Oh, you mean so much to me, more than you'll ever know,
Surely, you have not forgot how much I love you so
If you would remember, Dear, and sometimes talk to me
Maybe that would reunite our home in Tennessee.
Last time I saw you, just before I had to leave
You did not want to see me off and promised not to grieve,
My hearth was tore apart as I looked back at my Marie
And there the peace is still remain with you in Tennessee.
I guess I should stop talking, after all you placed the call
But anyway that I can help, you know I'll help you all
Then she spoke and asked me to come back and see Marie
And live together in our home in Memphis, Tennessee.