In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Hayes became famous as a recording artist in his own right, scoring with critically and commercially successful albums such as Hot Buttered Soul and Black Moses. Hayes is best known today for composing the score to the 1971 blaxploitation film Shaft. That film's "Theme from Shaft" was one of the best-selling singles in Stax Records history, and Hayes became the first African-American to win an Oscar for a non-acting category when "Theme from Shaft" won the 1972 Academy Award for Best Song.
Isaac Hayes may be known to today's youngest generation as the voice of the character "Chef", the ladies' man/school cook, on the animated sitcom South Park from 1997 until his resignation from the show in March 2006. While Hayes' departure was tagged to a controversial South Park episode on Scientology that had supposedly offended him, Hayes rarely declared anything about the departure in first person.
Fever
Isaac Hayes Lyrics
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Never know how much I care
When you put your arms around me
I get a fever that's so hard to bear
You give me fever when you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight
Fever in the morning
Everybody's got the fever
That is something you all know
Fever isn't such a new thing
Fever started long ago
Sun lights up the daytime
Moon lights up the night
I light up when you call my name
And you know I'm gonna treat you right
You give me fever when you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight
Fever in the morning
Fever all through the night
Romeo loved Juliet
Juliet she felt the same
When he put his arms around her
He said Julie, baby, you're my flame
Thou giv-est fever when we kisseth
Fever with the flaming youth
Fever I'm afire
Fever yea I burn for sooth
Captain Smith and Pocahontas
Had a very mad affair
When her daddy tried to kill him
She said daddy, o, don't you dare
He gives me fever with his kisses
Fever when he holds me tight
Fever, I'm his misses,
Oh daddy, wont you treat him right
Now you've listened to my story
Here's the point that I have made
Cats were born to give chicks fever
Be it Fahrenheit or centigrade
They give you fever when you kiss them
Fever if you live and learn
Fever till you sizzle
What a lovely way to burn
What a lovely way to burn
What a lovely way to burn
Isaac Hayes's song "Fever" is a sensual and romantic ballad that explores the intensity of love and desire. The lyrics are addressed to a lover, expressing the infinite amount of love and care that the singer has for the person. The lyrics mention the physical sensations that the singer experiences when in the presence of the beloved, such as fever when the beloved kisses or hugs the singer, even when he's alone and merely thinks of the beloved. The song identifies that all of humanity has known the fever of passion since history began, whether it was with Romeo and Juliet or Captain Smith and Pocahontas.
The lyrics evoke the idea of love as a force of nature, comparable to the light of the sun and moon that shines on a daily basis. The song paints love as an all-consuming fire that burns deep within the soul, comparable to how one's body temperature uncontrollably increases when feverishly in love. It also subverts traditional gender roles, indicating that women can equally inflict the fever of love as men. The lyrics symbolize love as a biological response, just like Fahrenheit or centigrade degrees that denote temperature fluctuations.
Line by Line Meaning
Never know how much I love you
I love you more than you can ever imagine
Never know how much I care
I care for you more than you can ever imagine
When you put your arms around me
When you hug me
I get a fever that's so hard to bear
Being close to you makes me feel intense emotions
You give me fever when you kiss me
Kissing you makes my body feel hot and feverish
Fever when you hold me tight
Holding and embracing me makes my body feel hot and feverish
Fever in the morning
I feel hot for you even in the morning
Fever all through the night.
I feel like I have a fever for you all day and night
Everybody's got the fever
Everyone feels the intense emotions of love
That is something you all know
This is a universal truth
Fever isn't such a new thing
Intense emotions of love have been around for a long time
Fever started long ago
People have experienced intense emotions of love for centuries
Sun lights up the daytime
The daytime is bright because of the sun
Moon lights up the night
The night is bright because of the moon
I light up when you call my name
I feel happy and excited when you say my name
And you know I'm gonna treat you right
I will always treat you with love and care
Romeo loved Juliet
A famous story of two lovers
Juliet she felt the same
Juliet loved Romeo back
When he put his arms around her
When Romeo hugged Juliet
He said Julie, baby, you're my flame
He called her his flame, which means his passion
Thou giv-est fever when we kisseth
You make my body feel hot when we kiss
Fever with the flaming youth
Our love is passionate and hot like a flame
Fever I'm afire
I feel like I'm on fire because of our love
Fever yea I burn for sooth
I am truly burning up with love for you
Captain Smith and Pocahontas
Another famous love story
Had a very mad affair
They had a very intense and passionate relationship
When her daddy tried to kill him
When Pocahontas' father tried to kill Captain Smith
She said daddy, o, don't you dare
She stood up for their love and asked her father not to hurt Captain Smith
He gives me fever with his kisses
Captain Smith's kisses make her feel hot and passionate
Fever when he holds me tight
Being held tightly by Captain Smith makes her feel hot and passionate
Fever, I'm his misses,
I am truly and passionately his
Oh daddy, wont you treat him right
Please don't hurt the man I love
Now you've listened to my story
Now that you've heard my tale of love
Here's the point that I have made
This is the moral of the story
Cats were born to give chicks fever
The act of flirting and seducing is natural
Be it Fahrenheit or centigrade
It doesn't matter what the temperature scale is
They give you fever when you kiss them
Flirting and kissing can give you intense emotions
Fever if you live and learn
Intense emotions of love can be experienced and learned
Fever till you sizzle
The intense emotions of love can make you sizzle with passion
What a lovely way to burn
The intensity of love is both beautiful and overwhelming
What a lovely way to burn
The intensity of love is both beautiful and overwhelming
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG Rights Management, CARLIN AMERICA INC
Written by: Eddie Cooley, Otis Blackwell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind