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.
If I Were Only a Child Again
Curtis Mayfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No one's ever been, oh, good to me since then
Everywhere I looked it seemed so color bright
There were never such things to me as black and white
Remember when we were part of that special few
Everything it seemed was so pure and true
I guess we were just too young to understand
Only, only, only a child
Only, only, only a child
Only, only, only a child
Only a child again, hey, hey
If I were only a child again
I would never want to venture life like this again
People of the world hurling sticks and stones
Like the sore fates of one come up and break my bones
Only, only, only a child
If I were only a child again
And have the ability to understand
I'd speak for little people from the date of birth
And ask the grown ups, when will there be peace on earth?
Grown ups, when will there be peace on earth?
Brother, when will there be peace on earth?
Only, only, only a child
Only, only, only a child
Only, only, only a child
Only a child again, hey, hey
Curtis Mayfield's song "If I Were Only a Child Again" is a poignant and nostalgic reflection on the lost innocence of childhood. The opening lines express the sentiment that Mayfield hasn't experienced goodness since his childhood, a period during which everything appeared pure and true. The colors he saw then were not influenced by the rigid societal roles and color-based hierarchies that would later become significant in his life. Mayfield goes on to allude to the universal experience of losing one's innocence, the loss of naivety, and the understanding that comes with growth.
Mayfield's first verse speaks of the unselfish causes of death and war and the roles men play in perpetuating them. The second verse reflects on the harmful actions of grown-ups and the unnecessary pain and suffering inflicted on others, actions that Mayfield does not understand. By returning to childhood, Mayfield is able to escape this senseless violence, leaving behind the societal norms that divide people.
The chorus echoes the central sentiment of the song that if he were only a child again, he would not have to face the harsh reality of the adult world. He would not have to endure the unpleasantness and violence and would be shielded from it all.
In the final verse, Mayfield asks the grown-ups when there will be peace on earth, offering the perspective of a child. The tone is questioning and accusatory, suggesting that the adults must be held accountable for failing to create a more equitable society that allows for peace. Despite the song's melancholic and wistful tone, it carries a message of hope that humanity can learn from its past and create a more just and peaceful world.
Line by Line Meaning
If I were only a child again
If I could go back to a time before everything seemed complicated and confusing
No one's ever been, oh, good to me since then
Since childhood, no one has treated me with the same innocence and kindness as before
Everywhere I looked it seemed so color bright
In childhood, the world seemed vibrant and full of color
There were never such things to me as black and white
As a child, I didn't see things in such binary terms
Remember when we were part of that special few
Recalling a time when the world seemed to revolve around a few important people and events
Everything it seemed was so pure and true
Everything felt genuine and authentic in that time
I guess we were just too young to understand
Perhaps we didn't fully grasp the complexities of life at that age
The unselfish cause of death and war and roles of man
The bigger issues behind death, war and societal roles were lost on us as children
Only a child again, hey, hey
Yearning to go back to childhood again
I would never want to venture life like this again
As a child, I wouldn't want to face the harsh realities and complexities of adult life
People of the world hurling sticks and stones
Reflecting on the violence and aggression that permeates society
Like the sore fates of one come up and break my bones
Feeling vulnerable and susceptible to the pains of the world like a helpless child
And have the ability to understand
As an adult, possessing the knowledge and cognitive capacity to understand the world better than before
I'd speak for little people from the date of birth
Advocating for the needs and rights of children from the moment they are born
And ask the grown ups, when will there be peace on earth?
Questioning why the adults who run the world can't seem to achieve peace and stability
Grown ups, when will there be peace on earth?
Directly addressing the adults who are responsible for creating a peaceful world
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CURTIS MAYFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind