Edna Wright, Carolyn Willis, and Shellie Clark comprised the vocal trio Hon… Read Full Bio ↴Edna Wright, Carolyn Willis, and Shellie Clark comprised the vocal trio Honey Cone, which only stayed together for four years but was still one of the best female soul groups of the early '70s. Although Honey Cone (which lead singer Wright formed in 1969) was based in Los Angeles, their recordings were Northern-style soul — specifically, Detroit soul. Martha & the Vandellas and the Marvelettes — two of the female vocal groups that epitomized Motown Records' sound in the '60s — were among Honey Cone's main influences, and the group (which favored a blend of sweetness and grit) worked closely with three producer/songwriters who used to work at Motown: Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland. However, Honey Cone's members had been in the music industry before they joined forces with the famous Holland/DozierHolland team. Willis (born 1946, Los Angeles, CA) had been with Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans, who were known for '60s hits like "Why Do Lovers Break Each Other's Heart?" and "Not Too Young to Get Married." Clark (born in 1943, Brooklyn, NY) was an ex-member of the Ikettes, (Ike & Tina Turner's female backup singers), while Wright (born 1944, Los Angeles, CA) had been with the Blossoms. In fact, Wright's older sister is singer/actress Darlene Love, who was a member of Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans as well as the Blossoms (in addition to doing a lot of recording by herself). Wright also recorded as a solo artist in the '60s; her Champion single "A Touch of Venus" (recorded under the pseudonym Sandy Wynns) was a small regional hit in Southern California. And like so many of the soul singers who were active in the '60s and '70s, Wright wasn't without gospel credentials. She had a Christian upbringing and sang gospel with the Church of God in Christ Singers, but ended up making secular R&B her primary focus. Wright, Clark, and Willis had only been together a few months when, in 1969, the group caught the attention of Eddie Holland (who came up with the name Honey Cone). The prolific Holland/DozierHolland team (which wrote countless mega-hits for Motown artists) had recently left Motown and started their own Detroit-based soul label Hot Wax/Invictus, and Honey Cone became the company's first signing. Honey Cone's first release, a 1969 single titled "While You're Out Looking for Sugar," was also Hot Wax's first release. The very Motown-sounding tune was not a major hit; it reached number 26 on Billboard's R&B singles chart and number 62 on the magazine's pop singles chart. But for a small upstart label, that single was a decent start. Honey Cone's next single, "Girls, It Ain't Easy," was equally Motown-sounding and did become a major hit, reaching number eight on Billboard's R&B singles chart. After that, Honey Cone enjoyed their biggest hits of all. Released in late 1970, the infectious "Want Ads" (which Taylor Dayne covered in 1988) got off to a slow start and the song had been out four months before it even charted in either Billboard or Cash Box (Billboard's main competitor at the time). But when "Wants Ads" finally took off, it really took off and soared to number one on Billboard's R&B and pop singles charts. In 1971, Honey Cone had another number one R&B hit with "Stick Up," which was also a number 11 pop hit. And a few more major hits followed in 1972, including the ballad "The Day I Found Myself" and the Latin-influenced "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show" (a number five R&B single and a number 15 pop hit). But as big as Honey Cone was from 1969-1972, it didn't fare nearly as well in 1973; none of the three Honey Cone singles that Hot Wax put out in 1973 ("If I Can't Fly," "The Truth Will Come Out," and "Ace in the Hole") were big hits. Sadly, Hot Wax/Invictus found itself experiencing a serious cash flow problem in 1973, despite having put out big sellers by Honey Cone as well as Freda Payne, 100 Percent Aged in Soul, Laura Lee, and the Chairmen of the Board. The problem wasn't that Hot Wax/Invictus' releases lacked commercial appeal; the problem, allegedly, was that the company was not getting paid by its independent distributors. In 1973, Honey Cone broke up, and Hot Wax/Invictus went out of business the following year. Wright went on to record by herself, providing the solo LP Oops! Here I Go Again for RCA in 1976. All five of the LPs that Honey Cone recorded for Hot Wax — Honey Cone in 1969, Take Me With You in 1970, Sweet Replies and Soul Tapestry in 1971, and Love, Peace & Soul in 1972 — went out of print when the label folded. However, all of Honey Cone's major hits are included on a 14-song Greatest Hits CD that Fantasy assembled in 1990. And the comprehensive Soulful Sugar, which Castle put out in 2001, boasts no less than 45 tracks.

My Mind's On Leaving But My Heart Won't Let Me Go
Honey Cone Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The cab driver blowin'
And my bags are all packed
As I start towards the door,
My heart keeps pulling me back
My mind's on leaving, but my heart won't let me go

'Cause the picture hung us on the wall
Brings back memories of how love used to be

And just like I've done before
I turn and close the door, hate myself once more

I ran to my room, fell across the bed
Tears on a pillow, I wish that I were dead
My heart knows how much I love you
But I hate the agony you put me through
What ever happened to the plans that we made?
All I'm living on is a little love I saved

Yes, you would locked me out your life
We no longer share 'cause you no longer care
The past keeps me hangin' on
To the love you gave, the love I still prayed
Mm-hmm-mmm, mm-hmm-mmm
I hate I need ya

Each day it takes a little bit more of me
My mind's no longer a part of me
My heart can't forget how love used to be
And I'm holding on to sweet memories
What ever happened to the plans that we made?
All I'm living on is a little love I saved

The cab driver blowin'
And my bags are all packed
As I start towards the door,
My heart keeps pulling me back

My mind's on leaving, but my heart won't let me go
My mind's on leaving, but my heart won't let me go

Overall Meaning

The Honey Cone's song My Mind's On Leaving But My Heart Won't Let Me Go portrays a love-hate relationship where the singer wants to leave but can't. The first verse finds the singer with her bags ready to leave, but she cannot bring herself to walk out the door. She looks at a picture on the wall, which brings back memories of the love she once had. Despite her mind telling her to leave and let go, she can't bring herself to go because her heart is still in love.

The second verse finds the singer running to her room and crying herself to sleep, wishing she were dead. She knows she loves the person, but hates the pain she has to endure. She asks what happened to the plans they made and how the love they shared became a thing of the past. She's lost in time, holding onto sweet memories, while her heart won't let her go.

Overall, the song is about the painful tug-of-war between the heart and the mind in matters of love. The singer wants to leave but can't because her heart won't let her go, and memories of the past still cling to her. The internal conflict within the singer makes the song relatable and provides a message of hope that we can hold onto love, even when we're in pain.

Line by Line Meaning

The cab driver blowin'
The taxi driver is honking the horn as a signal for me to leave.

And my bags are all packed
My suitcases are ready for me to leave.

As I start towards the door,
I take steps towards the exit.

My heart keeps pulling me back
I am emotionally connected and tied to the place I am leaving.

My mind's on leaving, but my heart won't let me go
I wish to leave logically but emotionally, I cannot seem to let go of the affection and love for the place.

'Cause the picture hung us on the wall
The photo on the wall reminds me of how things used to be when we were in love.

Brings back memories of how love used to be
Seeing the picture brings back happy recollections of our relationship.

And just like I've done before
I have been in this position many times previously.

I turn and close the door, hate myself once more
I walk away and always blame myself for leaving, even though I can't seem to stay.

I ran to my room, fell across the bed
I am so distraught that I run into my bedroom and fall onto my bed.

Tears on a pillow, I wish that I were dead
Crying myself to sleep, I sometimes feel as if I don't want to live anymore.

My heart knows how much I love you
I genuinely love and care for the place that I am leaving.

But I hate the agony you put me through
However, I detest the emotional distress I experience when I think about leaving.

What ever happened to the plans that we made?
I am curious about what went wrong with the arrangements that we had put in place together.

All I'm living on is a little love I saved
All I have are the cherished memories of love that we shared.

Yes, you would locked me out your life
I feel like I have been exiled from a critical part of my life by someone else.

We no longer share 'cause you no longer care
Their lack of interest in me or our relationship is the reason why our bond no longer exists.

The past keeps me hangin' on
I am anchored to the memories of our joint experiences.

To the love you gave, the love I still prayed
I cling to the love that they gave me while still hoping that we can rekindle our love.

Mm-hmm-mmm, mm-hmm-mmm
A sound effect that emphasizes the emotional struggle that the artist is going through.

I hate I need ya
I am frustrated and upset that I am emotionally linked and dependent on the place I am leaving.

Each day it takes a little bit more of me
The emotional toll of leaving is gradually taking a more significant toll on me each day.

My mind's no longer a part of me
My thoughts and emotions are no longer in sync, creating a sense of inner turmoil.

My heart can't forget how love used to be
My heart is unable to move on and release the love that I had for the place or situation.

And I'm holding on to sweet memories
I cherish the wonderful memories that we shared and refuse to let go of them.

What ever happened to the plans that we made?
I continue questioning what went wrong with our plans and why I can't seem to leave.

All I'm living on is a little love I saved
My only comfort is a little bit of love that I have hoarded deep inside of me.

My mind's on leaving, but my heart won't let me go
Even though I want to and have packed my things to depart, my emotional ties are so strong that I can't bring myself to leave completely.

My mind's on leaving, but my heart won't let me go
The internal struggle between the logical and emotional components of myself creates a difficult internal battle for me.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: RONALD DUNBAR, GENERAL N. JOHNSON, EDYTHE WAYNE

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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