Mayfield is probably best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions and for the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Superfly.
Perhaps because he didn't cross over to the pop audience as heavily as Motown's stars, it may be that the scope of Curtis Mayfield's talents and contributions have yet to be fully recognized. Judged merely by his records alone, the man's legacy is enormous. As the leader of the Impressions, he recorded some of the finest soul vocal group music of the 1960s. As a solo artist in the 1970s, he helped pioneer funk and helped introduce hard-hitting urban commentary into soul music. "Gypsy Woman," "It's All Right," "People Get Ready," "Freddie's Dead," and "Superfly" are merely the most famous of his many hit records.
But Curtis Mayfield wasn't just a singer. Born in in Chicago, IL, he wrote most of his material at a time when that was not the norm for soul performers. He was among the first -- if not the very first -- to speak openly about African-American pride and community struggle in his compositions. As a songwriter and a producer, he was a key architect of Chicago Soul, penning material and working on sessions by notable Windy City soulsters like Gene Chandler, Jerry Butler, Major Lance, and Billy Butler. In this sense, he can be compared to Smokey Robinson, who also managed to find time to write and produce many classics for other soul stars. Mayfield was also an excellent guitarist, and his rolling, Latin-influenced lines were highlights of the Impressions' recordings in the '60s. During the next decade, he would toughen up his guitar work and production, incorporating some of the best features of psychedelic rock and funk.
Mayfield began his career as an associate of Jerry Butler, with whom he formed the Impressions in the late '50s. After the Impressions had a big hit in 1958 with "For Your Precious Love," Butler, who had sung lead on the record, split to start a solo career. Mayfield, while keeping the Impressions together, continued to write for and tour with Butler before the Impressions got their first Top 20 hit in 1961, "Gypsy Woman."
Mayfield was heavily steeped in gospel music before he entered the pop arena, and gospel, as well as doo wop, influences would figure prominently in most of his '60s work. Mayfield wasn't a staunch traditionalist, however. He and the Impressions may have often worked the call-and-response gospel style, but his songs (romantic and otherwise) were often veiled or unveiled messages of black pride, reflecting the increased confidence and self-determination of the African-American community. Musically he was an innovator as well, using arrangements that employed the punchy, blaring horns and Latin-influenced rhythms that came to be trademark flourishes of Chicago soul. As the staff producer for the OKeh label, Mayfield was also instrumental in lending his talents to the work of other Chi-town soul singers who went on to national success. With Mayfield singing lead and playing guitar, the Impressions had 14 Top 40 hits in the 1960s (five made the Top 20 in 1964 alone), and released some above-average albums during that period as well.
Given Mayfield's prodigious talents, it was perhaps inevitable that he would eventually leave the Impressions to begin a solo career, as he did in 1970. His first few singles boasted a harder, more funk-driven sound; singles like "(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below, We're All Gonna Go" found him confronting ghetto life with a realism that had rarely been heard on record. He really didn't hit his artistic or commercial stride as a solo artist, though, until Superfly, his soundtrack to a 1972 blaxploitation film. Drug deals, ghetto shootings, the death of young black men before their time: all were described in penetrating detail. Yet Mayfield's irrepressible falsetto vocals, uplifting melodies, and fabulous funk pop arrangements gave the oft-moralizing material a graceful strength that few others could have achieved. For all the glory of his past work, Superfly stands as his crowning achievement, not to mention a much-needed counterpoint to the sensationalistic portrayals of the film itself.
At this point Mayfield, along with Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, was the foremost exponent of a new level of compelling auteurism in soul. His failure to maintain the standards of Superfly qualifies as one of the great disappointments in the history of black popular music. Perhaps he'd simply reached his peak after a long climb, but the rest of his '70s work didn't match the musical brilliance and lyrical subtleties of Superfly, although he had a few large R&B hits in a much more conventional vein, such as "Kung Fu," "So in Love," and "Only You Babe."
Mayfield had a couple of hits in the early '80s, but the decade generally found his commercial fortunes in a steady downward spiral, despite some intermittent albums.
On August 14, 1990, he became paralyzed from the neck down when a lighting rig fell on top of him at a concert in Brooklyn, NY. In 1993, three years after the accident which caused Mayfield's paralysis, Shanachie records released the album People Get Ready: A Tribute to Curtis Mayfield featuring a.o. Jerry Butler, Don Covay and Steve Cropper.
Mayfield received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995.
Curtis Mayfield died December 26, 1999 at the North Fulton Regional Hospital in Roswell, Georgia.
Ain't Got Time
Curtis Mayfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ain't too proud of that
For when it comes to love and pride
Pride is something that I seem to lack
Our relation's in danger
And you act like a stranger
But this time I'm not flyin'
Make a mess of me
Which wasn't supposed to be
We were supposed to change
It couldn't be arranged
Your mama's son
And sisters do
All here today
Unite and true
She acts in love
I help myself
Distrust your sign
Ain't got no time
Playin' with you
And you didn't cut me loose
I won't say that we're losers
It's just a mutual choosin'
'Cause what is yours is mine
Is just yours in my mind
You're not convincing my mind
'Cause I ain't got the time
Our love had gone to blow
Can't get hung up no more
And now ain't nothin' left
Get up and help yourself
You double-cross
Your lover's boss
Ignored advice
And blew our lives
Your useless prayer
I cannot bare
It wasn't fair
You should have cared
Ain't got it
Ain't got it
Ain't got it
Ain't got it
Ain't got it
Ain't got it
Your mama's son
And sisters do
All here today
Unite and true
She acts in love
I help myself
Distrust your sign
Ain't got no time
Ain't got it
Ain't got it
Ain't got it
Ain't got it
You double-cross
Your lover's boss
Ignored advice
And blew our lives
Your useless prayer
I cannot bare
It wasn't fair
You should have cared
Ain't got it
Ain't got it
Ain't got it
Ain't got it
The lyrics to Curtis Mayfield's song "Ain't Got Time" explore the complications of a relationship where one partner is not being true to the other. The singer is confessing his love for someone, but he is also aware that his pride has gotten in the way and that he may be a fool for loving that person. The relationship is in danger, and he feels as though the other person is playing games with him, making a mess of him, and acting like a stranger. However, the singer is no longer flying away because he has realized that he has no time for games, and he is no longer willing to be played with.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "Ain't got it" multiple times, emphasizing the singer's lack of patience for the other person's behavior. He is frustrated and tired of being hurt, and he realizes that he needs to walk away from the relationship. He advises the other person to stop playing games and to start taking care of themselves instead of relying on useless prayers.
Overall, "Ain't Got Time" is a poignant exploration of the difficulties of relationships and the importance of valuing oneself. It is a message to those who may be struggling in a relationship to prioritize their own well-being and to not let others play with their emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
Child I'm a fool for ya
I admit that I'm foolishly in love with you
Ain't too proud of that
I'm not proud to admit my love for you
For when it comes to love and pride
I struggle between my love for you and my pride
Pride is something that I seem to lack
I can't seem to hold onto my pride when it comes to you
Our relation's in danger
Our relationship is in trouble
And you act like a stranger
You're acting distant and cold towards me
But this time I'm not flyin'
I won't run away this time
'Cause I ain't got the time
I don't have time for games or wasting my love on someone who doesn't appreciate it
Make a mess of me
You're causing chaos and disorder in my life
Which wasn't supposed to be
Our relationship wasn't supposed to be this difficult
We were supposed to change
We were supposed to work together to improve things
It couldn't be arranged
But we couldn't make it work
Your mama's son
You are your mother's child
And sisters do
And your sisters act the same way
All here today
You're all here with me today
Unite and true
You all seem to agree with each other
She acts in love
Your mother acts like she loves me
I help myself
I'm taking care of myself
Distrust your sign
I don't trust your actions or intentions
Ain't got no time
I don't have time for your games or drama
Playin' with you
I was just fooling around with you
And you didn't cut me loose
But you didn't let me go
I won't say that we're losers
I won't say that we failed
It's just a mutual choosin'
We both decided that this isn't working
'Cause what is yours is mine
We shared everything
Is just yours in my mind
But in reality, you only thought of yourself
You're not convincing my mind
You're not changing my opinion or thoughts
Our love had gone to blow
Our love has been destroyed
Can't get hung up no more
I can't dwell on it anymore
And now ain't nothin' left
There's nothing left between us
Get up and help yourself
You need to start taking care of yourself
You double-cross
You betrayed me
Your lover's boss
Your lover is in control
Ignored advice
You didn't listen to my warnings
And blew our lives
And you ruined our relationship
Your useless prayer
Your prayers won't fix anything
I cannot bare
I can no longer handle it
It wasn't fair
It wasn't fair what you did to me
You should have cared
You should have cared about me and our relationship
Ain't got it
I don't have the energy or patience for this anymore
Contributed by Charlie K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.