Brown was born in Mississippi and sang in church as a child. In 1919 her family moved to Chicago and she began studying piano; in the 1920s she began taking gigs in clubs and broadcasted on radio. From the 1930s to the 1950s she toured the United States regularly, recording for Decca Records (among other labels) along the way and recording many humorous, ironic titles such as "Your Feet's Too Big", "Mama Don't Want No Peas and Rice and Coconut Oil" and "The Stuff Is Here and it's Mellow". Her stride piano playing was often compared to Fats Waller.
In the 1940s Brown began to shy from singing bawdy blues songs because of deepening religious beliefs, and in 1953 she retired and became a nurse. She was rediscovered in the 1980s after being tracked down by Marian McPartland; she returned to record again and performed on National Public Radio. She died in 1995 in Denver, Colorado.
Some of Brown's earliest recordings have been reissued by Document Records.
You've Got Me Under Your Thumb
Cleo Brown Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was cocky, self-proclaiming
But then you happened
I got possesive
I marked you as my territory
Before you girl, nothing mattered
But now I think I lost my confidence
You got my attention
I don't care if you think I'm heartless
I don't care who I'll bumped into yeah
Whether my folks, my bros, my colleages, my
Best buddy let it be no oh I gotta have you, you gotta have me
Cause babe you got my heart Cause babe you got my heart.
I got this idea for me to have you
And I swear girl it sounds crazy
But what can I do?
I'm desperately in love with you
No girl, I won't give up
Heaven knows, I'm dying to have
The girl of my dreams
My wife, me everything (oh)
I don't care if you think I'm heartless
I don't care who I'll bumped into yeah
Whether my folks, my bros, my colleages, my
Best buddy let it be no oh I gotta have you, you gotta have me
Cause babe you got my heart Cause babe you got my heart.
I won't give you
To somebody
You are mine
There's no denying
Babe I love you
Do you hear me?
I won't give you
To somebody
I'm not a martyr
I've worked hard just to have you
Just to have you
I don't care if you think I'm heartless
I don't care who I'll bumped into yeah
Whether my folks, my bros, my colleages, my
Best buddy let it be no oh I gotta have you, you gotta have me
Cause babe you got my heart Cause babe you got my heart.
The song "You've Got Me Under Your Thumb" by Cleo Brown speaks of a man who is deeply in love with a woman who has changed his perspective on life. Before meeting this woman, he was confident and self-proclaiming, but now he has become possessive and marked her as his territory. The woman has become his everything, and he is determined to do whatever it takes to have her.
The man in this song is admitting that the woman has become his weakness, and his love for her has made him somewhat reckless. He doesn't care about anyone else's feelings because he is so consumed by his desire for her. He has become almost vulnerable to her, and he is willing to do whatever it takes to have her in his life. Even if it means he has to be heartless or sacrifice other relationships, he will not give up the woman he loves.
Overall, "You've Got Me Under Your Thumb" is a song that speaks to the power love can have over a person, and how it can change them completely.
Line by Line Meaning
Before you girl, I was playing
Before I met you, I was not taking relationships seriously and was just playing around
I was cocky, self-proclaiming
I was arrogant and believed in my own abilities too much
But then you happened
But then I met you and everything changed
I got possesive
I became possessive of you and started feeling like you belonged to me
I marked you as my territory
I wanted to make it clear to others that you are mine and not to be messed with
Before you girl, nothing mattered
Before I met you, nothing was as important to me as having you now is
But now I think I lost my confidence
But now, my confidence has faltered because having you means so much to me and I fear losing you
You got my attention
You have taken all of my attention and thoughts
I wanna have you girl (oh)
I want to be with you and have you as my own
I don't care if you think I'm heartless
I do not care what others think of me in my pursuit of you
I don't care who I'll bumped into yeah
I do not care who I may hurt or get in the way of in my quest for you
Whether my folks, my bros, my colleages, my
Whether it be my family, friends, or coworkers, I will not let anyone come between us
Best buddy let it be no oh I gotta have you, you gotta have me
Even if it means losing my best friend, I must have you and you must have me
Cause babe you got my heart Cause babe you got my heart.
Because you have captured my heart and I cannot live without you
I got this idea for me to have you
I have a plan to make you mine
And I swear girl it sounds crazy
I know it might sound crazy, but I am willing to do whatever it takes to be with you
But what can I do?
I cannot help how I feel about you and am willing to do anything to make you mine
I'm desperately in love with you
I am deeply and passionately in love with you
No girl, I won't give up
I will not give up on winning your heart
Heaven knows, I'm dying to have
I am willing to do anything to have you
The girl of my dreams
Because you are the girl of my dreams
My wife, me everything (oh)
You are not just a girlfriend, but the person I want to spend the rest of my life with and who completes me
I won't give you
I will not let anyone else have you
To somebody
I will not give you to anyone else
You are mine
You belong to me and no one else
There's no denying
There is no question or doubt that you are meant to be with me
Babe I love you
I am deeply in love with you
Do you hear me?
I need you to know how much I love you
I'm not a martyr
I am not sacrificing myself for you, but willing to do what it takes to have you
I've worked hard just to have you
I have put in a lot of effort to win your heart
Writer(s): Will Livermash, Jack Hudgens, Mildred Brooks
Contributed by Eliana G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.