He was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina, grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey, and currently resides in Tallahassee, Florida. In Plainfield, he ran a barber salon, where he straightened hair, and soon formed a doo wop group, inspired by Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, called The Parliaments. Despite initial commercial failures, The Parliaments eventually found success under the names Parliament and Funkadelic in the seventies (see also P-Funk). This article focuses on Clinton's solo efforts after 1981.
Beginning in the early 1980's, Clinton recorded several nominal "solo" albums, although all of these records featured contributions from P-Funk's core musicians. The primary reason for recording under his own name was legal difficulties, due to the complex copyright and trademark issues surrounding the name "Parliament" (primarily) and Polygram's purchase of his former label (as part of Parliament), Casablanca Records. In 1982, Clinton signed to Capitol Records as a solo artist and as the P-Funk All-Stars, releasing Computer Games that same year. "Loopzilla" hit the Top 20 R&B charts, followed by "Atomic Dog," which reached #1 R&B, but peaked at #101 on the pop chart. In the next four years, Clinton released three more studio albums (You Shouldn't-Nuf Bit Fish, Some of My Best Jokes Are Friends and R&B Skeletons in the Closet) as well as a live album, Mothership Connection (Live from the Summit, Houston, Texas) and charting three singles in the R&B Top 30, "Nubian Nut," "Last Dance," and "Do Fries Go with that Shake." This period of Clinton's career was marred by multiple legal problems (resulting in financial difficulties) due to complex royalty and copyright issues. In 1985 he was recruited by the Red Hot Chili Peppers to produce their album Freaky Styley, because the bandmembers were huge fans of George Clinton and Funk in general. Though Clinton's popularity had waned by the mid 1980s, he experienced something of a resurgence in the early 1990s, as many rappers cited him as an influence and began sampling his songs. Alongside James Brown, George Clinton is considered to be one of the most sampled musicians ever.
In 1989, Clinton released The Cinderella Theory on Paisley Park, Prince's record label. This was followed by Hey Man... Smell my Finger. Clinton then signed with Sony 550 and released T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M. (The Awesome Power Of A Fully Operational Mothership) in 1996, having reunited with several old members of Parliament and Funkadelic.
In the 1990s, Clinton appeared in films such as Graffiti Bridge (1990), Good Burger (1997) and PCU (1994). Most recently he appeared as the voice of The Funktipus, the DJ of the Bounce FM station in the 2004 video game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Rapper Dr. Dre sampled most of his beats to create his G-Funk music era.
"You're Thinking Right" - the theme song for The Tracey Ullman Show, was written by Clinton.
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This is not the soundtrack composer George S. Clinton who did Mortal Kombat etc.
Heart Trouble
GEORGE CLINTON Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can't think for myself
I'm turnin' gray from being blue
You've found someone else
This strangest thing is buggin' me
Without your face around
You've found another to do your lovin'
And I'm sittin' here with a broken heart
Wishin' you'd come home
Sittin' here with achin' arms
I just can't go on
Heart trouble
My life just ain't worthwhile
Without your love
I can't even force a smile
I'm trudging water all through the house
I thought was from a leakin' sink
I phoned the plumber to rush right over
See if he could fix the leak
He rushed right in and he took a look
Much to my surprise
He said, my son it's not your sink
It's teardrops from your eye
And I'm sittin' here with a broken heart
Wishin' you'd come home
Sittin' here with achin' arms
I just can't go on
Heart trouble
My life just ain't worthwhile
Without your love
I can't even force a smile
Heart trouble
You know that my life just ain't worthwhile
Without your love
Can't even force a smile
I chew my nails off one by one
Only got one to go
And until I see your face again
Nails I have no more
My nerves are shot, I smoke a lot
In this loneliness
And until I see your face again
My poor heart won't rest
And I'm sittin' here with a broken heart
Wishin' you'd come home
Sittin' here with achin' arms
I just can't go on
Heart trouble
My life just ain't worthwhile
Without your love
I can't even force a smile
Heart trouble
My life just ain't worthwhile
Without your love
You know I can't even force a smile
My nerves are shot, I smoke a lot
In this loneliness
And until I see your face again
The lonely heart won't rest
Heart trouble
Without your love
In George Clinton's song "Heart Trouble," the singer is struggling to come to terms with a lost love. They are unable to move on and are suffering from extreme heartache. The lyrics suggest that the singer has become consumed by their emotions and their worries are starting to take over, as they feel like they're drowning in "teardrops from [their] eye." The singer's physical and emotional state is illustrated through the metaphorical language used in the song. For example, their gray complexion as a result of being blue and "trudging water" all through the house.
The song explores the feeling of being helpless and lost without a loved one, which is a universal experience that many can relate to. The singer yearns for their love to come back to them, wishing they would "come home," but is also aware that their life is not worthwhile without their love. The final verse suggests that the singer is engaging in self-harm, as they have chewed their nails off and are resorting to smoking to soothe their pain. Overall, "Heart Trouble" is a raw and emotional tribute to the power of love and its ability to hurt deeply when lost.
Line by Line Meaning
Worry angel's got a hold on me
I'm deeply worried about you and it's consuming me
I can't think for myself
My thoughts are hijacked by my worry for you
I'm turnin' gray from being blue
My sadness is causing physical effects
You've found someone else
You no longer want me and have moved on
This strangest thing is buggin' me
Your actions are confusing and troubling me
Without your face around
Your absence is felt deeply
You've found another to do your lovin'
You have found someone else to love and have left me out
Me you have put down
You have rejected me and made me feel small
And I'm sittin' here with a broken heart
I am sad and heartbroken
Wishin' you'd come home
I want you to come back
Sittin' here with achin' arms
I am longing for your touch
I just can't go on
My sadness is too great
Heart trouble
My heart is in pain
My life just ain't worthwhile
My life has lost its purpose without you
Without your love
I need your love to feel happy and fulfilled
I can't even force a smile
I can't pretend to be happy without you
I'm trudging water all through the house
I'm struggling to get by without you
I thought was from a leakin' sink
I mistakenly thought the water on the floor was from a sink
I phoned the plumber to rush right over
I called someone for help to fix what I thought was a leaky sink
See if he could fix the leak
I wanted him to fix the problem thinking it was a plumbing issue
He rushed right in and he took a look
He quickly came over to check for the source of the problem
Much to my surprise
I was shocked to learn the truth
He said, my son it's not your sink
The plumber told me the water on the floor wasn't from a leaky sink
It's teardrops from your eye
The water was actually from my own tears
I chew my nails off one by one
I am anxious and resorting to harmful coping mechanisms
Only got one to go
I am almost out of nails to chew on
And until I see your face again
I need to see you to feel better
Nails I have no more
I have resorted to chewing all my nails and am now out of options
My nerves are shot, I smoke a lot
I am highly anxious and dealing with it in unhealthy ways
In this loneliness
I am extremely lonely
The lonely heart won't rest
My heartache won't go away until I see you again
You know that my life just ain't worthwhile
My life feels empty and meaningless without you
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SIDNEY A. BARNES, GEORGE S CLINTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind