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.
Little Child Running Wild
Curtis Mayfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Runnin' wild
Watch a while
You see he never smiles
Broken home
Father gone
Mama tired
Kind of sad
Kind of mad
Ghetto child
Thinkin' he's been had
In the back of his mind he's sayin'
Didn't have to be here
You didn't have to love for me
While I was just a nothin' child
Why couldn't they just let me be
Let me be, let me be, let me be
One room shack
On the alley-back
Control, I'm told
From across the track
Where is the mayor
Who'll make all things fair
He lives outside
Our polluted air
And I didn't have to be here
You didn't have to love for me
While I was just a nothin' child
Why couldn't they just let me be
Let me be, let me be, let me be
I got a Jones
Runnin' through ma' bones
I'm sorry son
All your money's gone
Painful rip
In my upper hip
I guess it's time
To take another trip
Don't care what nobody say
I got to take the pain away
It's getting worser day by day
And all my life has been this way
Can't reason with the pusher man
Finance is all that he understands
You junkie, mama cries, you know
Would rip her, but I love her so
Love her so, now
The song "Little Child Runnin' Wild" by Curtis Mayfield portrays the harsh realities of poverty and its effects on children. The lyrics describe a young boy who is left alone to fend for himself because of a broken home, absent father, and a tired mother. The boy is sad and angry, feeling like he has been neglected by society. He is living in a one-room shack in the ghetto and the government is turning a blind eye to their plight. The boy is struggling with addiction to escape the pain of his circumstances, but he knows that he cannot reason with the pusher man. The lyrics are a cry for help, a plea for justice, and a call for change.
Line by Line Meaning
Little child
A small, vulnerable, and innocent human
Runnin' wild
Uncontrolled, chaotic behavior, a life without direction
Watch a while
Observe and pay attention
You see he never smiles
The child has experienced so much pain and suffering that he can no longer enjoy life or be happy
Broken home
A family that has been torn apart by various problems and issues
Father gone
The child's dad has left the family or is no longer in the picture
Mama tired
The child's mother is exhausted both physically and emotionally
So he's all alone
The child has no one to turn to for support and guidance
Kind of sad
Feeling unhappy and sorrowful
Kind of mad
Feeling angry and frustrated
Ghetto child
A child who has grown up in a poor, disadvantaged area of the city
Thinkin' he's been had
The child believes that he has been cheated or taken advantage of by others
In the back of his mind he's sayin'
His inner voice is telling him
Didn't have to be here
He didn't ask to be born into this situation
You didn't have to love for me
His family did not provide him with the love and support that he needed to thrive
While I was just a nothin' child
When he was young and vulnerable and unable to fend for himself
Why couldn't they just let me be
Why didn't they let him live a normal, happy life?
Let me be, let me be, let me be
Leave him alone and let him live his life
One room shack
A small, cramped, and dilapidated house
On the alley-back
Located in a less desirable area
Control, I'm told
Being oppressed, being forced to do things against one's will
From across the track
From the other side of town, the more affluent side
Where is the mayor
Where is the person in power who can make a difference?
Who'll make all things fair
Who will ensure that everyone is treated equally and justly?
He lives outside
He is not a part of the child's world or reality
Our polluted air
The toxic environment that the child lives in
I got a Jones
I have an uncontrollable urge or addiction
Runnin' through ma' bones
Overwhelming and unbearable
I'm sorry son
I regret my actions and how they have affected my child
All your money's gone
I have misused and wasted all of the family's resources
Painful rip
An excruciating physical injury
In my upper hip
Indicating the source of the injury
I guess it's time
I have no other options left
To take another trip
To go back to using drugs to numb the pain
Don't care what nobody say
I am indifferent to the opinions of others
I got to take the pain away
I need to find a way to stop feeling so much pain
It's getting worser day by day
The situation is deteriorating rapidly
And all my life has been this way
I have always been in this cycle of pain and addiction
Can't reason with the pusher man
It is impossible to have a logical, rational conversation with someone whose only concern is making money by selling drugs
Finance is all that he understands
The only thing the drug dealer cares about is money
You junkie, mama cries, you know
The child's mother is begging him to stop using drugs
Would rip her, but I love her so
He understands that his drug use is hurting his mother, but he is unable to stop using because of his addiction
Love her so, now
Ending the song with the realization that despite everything, love is still present in their lives
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CURTIS MAYFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
T.H.Q
Here the lyrics y'all:
Little child
Runnin' wild
Watch a while
You see he never smiles
Broken home
Father gone
Mama tired
So he's all alone
Kind of sad
Kind of mad
Ghetto child
Thinkin' he's been had
In the back of his mind he's sayin'
Didn't have to be here
You didn't have to love for me
While I was just a nothin' child
Why couldn't they just let me be
Let me be, let me be, let me be
One room shack
On the alley-back
Control, I'm told
From across the track
Where is the mayor
Who'll make all things fair
He lives outside
Our polluted air
And I didn't have to be here
You didn't have to love for me
While I was just a nothin' child
Why couldn't they just let me be
Let me be, let me be, let me be
I got a Jones
Runnin' through ma' bones
I'm sorry son
All your money's gone
Painful rip
In my upper hip
I guess it's time
To take another trip
Don't care what nobody say
I got to take the pain away
It's getting worser day by day
And all my life has been this way
Can't reason with the pusher man
Finance is all that he understands
You junkie, mama cries, you know
Would rip her, but I love her so
Love her so, now
Cæ Fē
Homeless right now. Writing this from a McDonald’s. Times are tough and bills are tough. I’m not giving up and this song keeps me moving. Love y’all. God is good.
FM GENESIDE
how are you doing?
Michael Jenkins
🙏🏿
Chistability
I've Been There & I Hope You Are Ok🙏🏾
Bob Miller
power to u brother,, love and contentment from Liverpool UK,, one life, one love, one more chance to shine,,never STOP loving,,Bobble&MrTao,xxx
RedHawk
🙏💙🌻🌹
Fred Allen
Grown folks music. Little child running wild. There's never gonna be another a man like Mr. Curtis Mayfield. Rest In Peace.
alethea davis
It does seem that way, at least in the secular world.
Willie Brown
This is one of the most realest songs ever recorded, still so relevant today. RIP Curtis Mayfield👍🏾🙏🏾
Jarvis Murriel
💖💖💖💙MDR