Ooh Child
Donnie McClurkin featuring Kirk Franklin Lyrics

Donnie McClurkin's song "Ooh Child" offers a message of hope and encouragement to listeners who may be experiencing difficult times. The lyrics suggest that although things may be tough now, there will come a time when they will get easier and brighter. McClurkin sings that "we'll get it together and we'll get it all done" and that "we'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun" when the world is much brighter. This message is trying to both instill hope and faith in the listener that things will get better as well as urge them to keep pushing forward, even when things get tough. The song gives the listener a glimmer of hope, that better days will come, and it is up to us to keep going until they do.

Across the world, the song "Ooh Child" by The Five Stairsteps has taken on many meanings. It has been considered as an uplifting message of hope through turbulent times, or as a children's song. However, McClurkin's rendition, using a gospel twist, takes the song to an entirely new level with its spiritual spin. Interestingly, this song was used in the Marvel film "Guardians of the Galaxy" and an episode of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit". The reason the lyrics resonate with so many people is that the message is both powerful and universal. The lyrics encourage individuals of all races, religions, and backgrounds to continue to hope and trust in a brighter future, even when the tour of life seems to be rough.

Some interesting facts about "Ooh Child" are that the song was released in 1970 and was originally performed by The Five Stairsteps. The song was written by Stan Vincent, who was a producer and songwriter for Buddha Records at the time, along with his wife, Renee. The song was one of The Five Stairsteps' biggest hits, peaking at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song has been sampled by many artists, including Tupac in his song "Keep Ya Head Up" and Mary J. Blige in "Everything". Furthermore, the song has been covered by many other artists over the years, such as Nina Simone, Hall & Oates, and Chicago Mass Choir. Despite the song's demonstration of hope, the members of The Five Stairsteps experienced a difficult path of their own. Three brothers passed away between '91 and 2016, and the final member, Alohe Jean, passed in 2020.

Chords (according to Ultimate Guitar):
Verse: G - D - Em - Bm
Chorus: G - D - G - D - Am - Bm - C - G - D - G - D - Am - Bm - C - G