Mimms grew up in Philadelphia, where he sang in gospel music groups such as the Evening Stars, the Harmonizing Four, and the group with which he would record his first record in 1953, the Norfolk Four. He returned to Philadelphia after serving in the military and formed doo-wop group, the Gainors in 1958.
In 1961, Mimms and Sam Bell from the Gainors left to form a new group, Garnet Mimms and the Enchanters, with Zola Pearnell and Charles Boyer. The group moved to New York and began to work with the songwriter and record producer, Bert Berns. Berns signed them to the United Artists label and wrote the hit, "Cry Baby" for them with songwriting partner Jerry Ragovoy. The song topped the R&B chart and went to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1963. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.
Mimms and the group had a follow-up double sided hit, "For Your Precious Love" and "Baby Don't You Weep", both tracks entering the Billboard Top 30, before he went solo in 1964. In 1966, Berns and Ragavoy produced another big hit for Mimms, "I'll Take Good Care Of You", which climbed to #15 in the R&B chart and #30 in the Hot 100. He worked with Jimi Hendrix in the UK the following year. He did some recording on the MGM and Verve labels. In 1969, Led Zeppelin performed an extended version of Mimms' "As Long As I have You" at various stops on their U.S tour.
In the 1970s, he released a few funk songs as Garnet Mimms and the Truckin' Co. He had his only hit in the United Kingdom at this time, when "What It Is" reached number 44 for one week on the UK Singles Chart in June 1977.
Mimms was given a Pioneer Award in 1999 by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.
In the 1980s, Garnet found his calling ministering to lost souls in prison, but in 2007, returned to recording and a year later, released a new gospel album Is Anybody Out There? on the Evidence label, produced and (primarily) written by Jon Tiven.
As Long as I Have You
Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I fought my way up to the sun
Had a lot of battles
Some I lost and some I've won
But let me tell you, girl
You ain't seen nothing yet
There's nothing in this world
As long as I have you (long as I have you)
Long as I have (long as I have you) you
Give me mountains to crumble
And I'll turn them to sand
Let me put this world
In the palm of your hand
Find some teardrops
But I sang my way out of the blues
Had to learn to stand up
Even when they scared me out of my shoes
But let me tell you, girl
You ain't seen nothing yet
There's nothing in this world
That I can't get
As long as I have you (long as I have you)
Long as I have you (long as I have you)
Give me mountains to crumble
And I'll turn them to sand
Let me put this world
In the palm of your hand
Say you love me
And I know that half the battle is won
Don't cha worry about nothing
In your mind the best is yet to come
But let me tell you, girl
You ain't seen nothing yet
There's nothing in this world
That I can't get
As long as I have you (long as I have you)
Long as I have you (long as I have you)
Every thing's gonna be alright (long as I have you)
And I won't have to cry no more (long as I have you)
All my troubles will be over (long as I have you)
Yeah
The lyrics to Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters's song "As Long As I Have You" express the idea that with the love and support of the singer's partner, he feels there is nothing in this world that he cannot conquer. The singer acknowledges that although he has faced many difficulties and obstacles in life and has lost some battles along the way, he has also won some, and ultimately he believes that he can accomplish anything with his partner by his side. He uses images of mountains being turned to sand and the world being placed in the palm of his partner's hand to express the extent of his power and the depth of his love. He also acknowledges his own ability to overcome his troubles and stand up for himself, but emphasizes that having his partner's love is what truly propels him forward.
The overall message of the song is one of hope and optimism. The singer believes that with his partner's love, everything will be alright, and he will no longer have to cry or worry about anything. He urges his partner not to worry about the future but to trust that the best is yet to come. Overall, the lyrics express a deep and abiding love that is capable of overcoming any obstacle and bringing joy and happiness to the singer's life.
Line by Line Meaning
Born in darkness
Despite starting off in a difficult position, I managed to overcome it and rise to the top.
But I fought my way up to the sun
I struggled and worked my way upwards towards success.
Had a lot of battles
I faced many challenges throughout my journey.
Some I lost and some I've won
I experienced both failure and success in my battles.
But let me tell you, girl
Now, to you, I want to express something.
You ain't seen nothing yet
The best is yet to come.
There's nothing in this world
Everything is possible, there are no limits.
That I can't get
I can achieve anything I set my mind to.
As long as I have you (long as I have you)
With you by my side, anything is possible.
Give me mountains to crumble
Even if faced with impossible challenges, I can overcome them.
And I'll turn them to sand
I can conquer and break down any obstacle in my way.
Let me put this world
I am willing to give you everything.
In the palm of your hand
I will do anything to make you happy.
Find some teardrops
I've experienced moments of sadness.
But I sang my way out of the blues
Music allowed me to overcome those sad moments.
Had to learn to stand up
I had to become strong and resilient.
Even when they scared me out of my shoes
Despite being afraid, I continued to push forward.
Say you love me
If you express love for me.
And I know that half the battle is won
I'm reassured and motivated by your love, which makes me feel like success is achievable.
Don't cha worry about nothing
You don't need to worry about anything.
In your mind the best is yet to come
Your optimism about the future inspires me.
Every thing's gonna be alright (long as I have you)
With you in my life, everything will be okay.
And I won't have to cry no more (long as I have you)
Your presence in my life is enough to keep me happy and fulfilled.
All my troubles will be over (long as I have you)
You are the cure to all my problems.
Yeah
A simple interjection to signify agreement or acceptance.
Writer(s): RAGOVOY JERRY, ELGIN BOB
Contributed by Peyton G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Monica
Lyrics:
Born in darkness
But I fought my way up to the sun
Had a lot of battles
Some I lost and some I've won
But let me tell you, girl
You ain't seen nothing yet
There's nothing in this world
That I can't get
As long as I have you (long as I have you)
Long as I have (long as I have you) you
As long as I have you
Give me mountains to crumble
And I'll turn them to sand
Let me put this world
In the palm of your hand
Find some teardrops
But I sang my way out of the blues
Had to learn to stand up
Even when they scared me out of my shoes
But let me tell you, girl
You ain't seen nothing yet
There's nothing in this world
That I can't get
As long as I have you (long as I have you)
Long as I have you (long as I have you)
As long as I have you
Give me mountains to crumble
And I'll turn them to sand
Let me put this world
In the palm of your hand
Say you love me
And I know that half the battle is won
Don't cha worry about nothing
In your mind the best is yet to come
But let me tell you, girl
You ain't seen nothing yet
There's nothing in this world
That I can't get
As long as I have you (long as I have you)
Long as I have you (long as I have you)
Every thing's gonna be alright (long as I have you)
And I won't have to cry no more (long as I have you)
All my troubles will be over (long as I have you)
Yeah
Surprise Me
Thanks to Zeppelin and just hearing Roger Daltrey cover it, I finally found the original and wow it blows my mind it’s such a great song! It’s sad that I’ve never heard of this guy because his voice is so beautiful ❤️
MsAppassionata
Surprise Me Ever hear his version (the original version btw) of Cry Baby. It’s one of my all-time favorites.
Rúnar Þórarinsson
Spectacular! Would never have heard of this song unless it was for Led Zeppelin bootlegs. Music comes around and round...
Monica
Lyrics:
Born in darkness
But I fought my way up to the sun
Had a lot of battles
Some I lost and some I've won
But let me tell you, girl
You ain't seen nothing yet
There's nothing in this world
That I can't get
As long as I have you (long as I have you)
Long as I have (long as I have you) you
As long as I have you
Give me mountains to crumble
And I'll turn them to sand
Let me put this world
In the palm of your hand
Find some teardrops
But I sang my way out of the blues
Had to learn to stand up
Even when they scared me out of my shoes
But let me tell you, girl
You ain't seen nothing yet
There's nothing in this world
That I can't get
As long as I have you (long as I have you)
Long as I have you (long as I have you)
As long as I have you
Give me mountains to crumble
And I'll turn them to sand
Let me put this world
In the palm of your hand
Say you love me
And I know that half the battle is won
Don't cha worry about nothing
In your mind the best is yet to come
But let me tell you, girl
You ain't seen nothing yet
There's nothing in this world
That I can't get
As long as I have you (long as I have you)
Long as I have you (long as I have you)
Every thing's gonna be alright (long as I have you)
And I won't have to cry no more (long as I have you)
All my troubles will be over (long as I have you)
Yeah
Zeus Lee
Thx!
JD Mo
Wow, this is wicked great - I can hear/see why Led Zep covered this. In 1969 it was one of their show openers (along with Train Kept A Rollin and Communications Breakdown). But this they turned into an 18 minute jam some nights. By 1970 they had switched to Ben E. King's "We're Going to Groove" to open things up, until replacing that with their own Immigrant Song later in the year.
Mattigrooves
Listen to this ! Garnets vocals can carry the weight of the world on them, & still have room for more. Dudes one of the great heroes of the mid sixties Soul/ R+B scene. Thanks for this.
FrequentlyFried
this is great and I love the Zeppelin versions.
ShinraExecutive
It was thanks to Led Zeppelin and their rhythm and blues medleys that they would do that I found great music like this. So enough with the fighting and lets just enjoy.
SouLoveReal _
Most of Garnet Mimms hit songs did not feature any "actual" members of "the Enchanters." Most of them, featured high, in-demand session back-up singers. This is one of many of Mimms' songs which feature the Sweet Inspirations, with Cissy Houston (Whitney's mom), on back-ups. You can distincly hear Cissy on this song, "For Your Precious Love," "Cry Baby," "Baby Don't You Weap," and many more.