James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American entert… Read Full Bio ↴James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American entertainer, record producer, and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honorific nicknames "the Hardest Working Man in Show Business", "Godfather of Soul", "Mr. Dynamite", and "Soul Brother No. 1". In a career that lasted more than 50 years, he influenced the development of several music genres. Brown was one of the first 10 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at its inaugural induction in New York on January 23, 1986.

Brown began his career as a gospel singer in Toccoa, Georgia. He first came to national public attention in the mid-1950s as the lead singer of the Famous Flames, a rhythm and blues vocal group founded by Bobby Byrd. With the hit ballads "Please, Please, Please" and "Try Me", Brown built a reputation as a dynamic live performer with the Famous Flames and his backing band, sometimes known as the James Brown Band or the James Brown Orchestra. His success peaked in the 1960s with the live album Live at the Apollo and hit singles such as "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag", "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "It's a Man's Man's Man's World".

During the late 1960s, Brown moved from a continuum of blues and gospel-based forms and styles to a profoundly "Africanized" approach to music-making, emphasizing stripped-down interlocking rhythms that influenced the development of funk music. By the early 1970s, Brown had fully established the funk sound after the formation of the J.B.s with records such as "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" and "The Payback". He also became noted for songs of social commentary, including the 1968 hit "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud". Brown continued to perform and record until his death from pneumonia in 2006.

Brown recorded 17 singles that reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B charts. He also holds the record for the most singles listed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that did not reach No. 1. Brown was posthumously inducted into the first class of the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2013 as an artist and then in 2017 as a songwriter. He also received honors from several other institutions, including inductions into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In Joel Whitburn's analysis of the Billboard R&B charts from 1942 to 2010, Brown is ranked No. 1 in The Top 500 Artists. He is ranked seventh on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Brown

Studio albums
Please Please Please (1958)
Try Me! (1959)
Think! (1960)
The Amazing James Brown (1961)
James Brown and His Famous Flames Tour the U.S.A. (1962)
Prisoner of Love (1963)
Grits & Soul (1964)
Showtime (1964)
Out of Sight (1964)
James Brown Plays James Brown Today & Yesterday (1965)
Mighty Instrumentals (1966)
James Brown Plays New Breed (The Boo-Ga-Loo) (1966)
James Brown Sings Christmas Songs (1966)
Handful of Soul (1966)
James Brown Sings Raw Soul (1967)
James Brown Plays the Real Thing (1967)
Cold Sweat (1967)
I Can't Stand Myself When You Touch Me (1968)
I Got the Feelin' (1968)
James Brown Plays Nothing But Soul (1968)
Thinking About Little Willie John and a Few Nice Things (1968)
A Soulful Christmas (1968)
Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud (1969)
Gettin' Down to It (1969)
The Popcorn (1969)
It's a Mother (1969)
Ain't It Funky (1970)
Soul on Top (1970)
It's a New Day - Let a Man Come In (1970)
Hey America (1970)
Sho Is Funky Down Here (1971)
Hot Pants (1971)
There It Is (1972)
Get on the Good Foot (1972)
Black Caesar (1973)
Slaughter's Big Rip-Off (1973)
The Payback (1973)
Hell (1974)
Reality (1974)
Sex Machine Today (1975)
Everybody's Doin' the Hustle & Dead on the Double Bump (1975)
Hot (1976)
Get Up Offa That Thing (1976)
Bodyheat (1976)
Mutha's Nature (1977)
Jam 1980's (1978)
Take a Look at Those Cakes (1978)
The Original Disco Man (1979)
People (1980)
Soul Syndrome (1980)
Nonstop! (1981)
Bring It On! (1983)
Gravity (1986)
I'm Real (1988)
Love Over-Due (1991)
Universal James (1993)
I'm Back (1998)
The Merry Christmas Album (1999)
The Next Step (2002)

Further On Up the Road
James Brown Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You're laughing pretty baby, baby

Further on up the road
Someone gonna hurt you like you hurt me, baby
You mistreat me, treat me like a fool
Oh baby, oh baby

Further on up the road

Someone gonna hurt you like you hurt me
Further on up the road
Someone gonna hurt you like you hurt me

Further on up the road
Baby, just you wait and see, oh

Laughin', pretty baby
Someday you're gonna be cryin'
Laughin', pretty baby
Someday, someday you're gonna be cryin'

Further on up the road
You're gonna get yours like I got mine

Hey now baby
I ain't laughin' baby
Oh baby, I ain't laughin'
Baby, you're gonna get yours like I got mine

Now baby, oh baby, oh baby
I work in the morning, late at night
The present thing I'm do is worth a fight

Baby, oh baby
You meet me in the morning too, you tell me you love me too
But baby, like a fool I give up and gave ya all my money
Like a fool I give up and gave you all my money

Now ain't that, ain't that lovin' you
Baby, ain't that lovin' you

Tell me, tell me ain't that lovin' you
Baby, ain't that lovin' you

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to James Brown's song Further On Up The Road are all about pain and revenge. The song is sung from a man's perspective who is warning a woman that someday she will be hurt just as much as she has hurt him. The main sentiment of the song is that the man is warning the woman that she might be laughing now, but "further on up the road" she will experience the pain he feels. He sings about being mistreated and treated like a fool by her, but he also addresses his own mistakes in giving her all his money.

The repetition of the phrase "further on up the road" suggests that the man knows that his ex-girlfriend's eventual downfall is inevitable, and the use of the word "baby" is both tender and mocking at the same time. The man sings about how he used to work day and night for her, and even though she said she loved him in the morning, he still gave her all his money like a fool. The song is mostly focused on the themes of revenge and heartbreak, sending a message of caution to anyone who is thinking about hurting someone.

Line by Line Meaning

You're laughing pretty baby, baby
You may be happy now, but your actions will have consequences

Further on up the road Someone gonna hurt you like you hurt me, baby
Eventually, someone will treat you just as badly as you're treating me

You mistreat me, treat me like a fool Oh baby, oh baby
You're not treating me well, and it hurts

Baby, just you wait and see, oh
You may not see the consequences now, but they're coming

Someday you're gonna be cryin'
You'll feel the pain you're causing me

You're gonna get yours like I got mine
The mistreatment you're causing me will come back to you

Hey now baby I ain't laughin' baby Oh baby, I ain't laughin' Baby, you're gonna get yours like I got mine
I'm serious that you'll eventually face the same pain you're causing me

The present thing I'm do is worth a fight Baby, oh baby You meet me in the morning too, you tell me you love me too But baby, like a fool I give up and gave ya all my money Like a fool I give up and gave you all my money
I'm working hard, and even though you claim to love me, you're taking advantage of me and my money

Now ain't that, ain't that lovin' you Baby, ain't that lovin' you Tell me, tell me ain't that lovin' you Baby, ain't that lovin' you
Your actions aren't showing love, despite claiming to love me

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BOBBY MACK

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS