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)

Get Up I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine
James Brown Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Fellas, I'm ready to get up and do my thing (yeah, go ahead)
I wanna get into it, man, you know (go ahead)
Like a, like a sex machine, man (yeah, go ahead)
Movin', doin' it, you know
Can I count it off? (Go ahead)
One, two, three, four

Get up (get on up)

Get up (get on up)
Stay on the scene (get on up)
Like a sex machine (get on up)
Get up, get on up
Get up, get on up
Stay on the scene (get on up)
Like a sex machine (get on up)
Get up, get on up
Stay on the scene (get on up)
Like a sex machine (get on up)

Wait a minute
Shake your arm, then use your form
Stay on the scene like a sex machine
You got to have the feeling, soon as you're born
Get it together, right on, right on

Get up, get on up
Get up, get on up
Get up, get on up

Get up, get on up
Get up, get on up
Get up, get on up
Get up, get on up

You said, you said you got the
You said the feeling you got to get
You give me fever and a cold sweat
The way I like it is the way it is
I got mine, don't worry 'bout his

Get up, get on up
Stay on the scene (get on up)
Like a sex machine (get on up)
Get up, get on up
Get up, get on up

Bobby, should I take 'em to the bridge?
(Go ahead)
Take 'em on to the bridge
(Take 'em to the bridge)
Can I take 'em to the bridge?
(Yeah)
Take 'em to the bridge?
(Go ahead)
Hit me now
Come on

Stay on the scene, like a sex machine
The way I like it, is the way it is
I got mine, dig it, he's got his

Stay on the scene, like a lovin' machine
Stay on the scene, like a lovin' machine
Stay on the scene

I wanna count it off one more time now
(Go ahead)
You wanna hear it like it did on the top fellas?
(Yeah)
Hear it like it did on the top?
(Yeah)
Hit it now

Get on up, get on up
Get up, get on up
Get up, get on up
Get on up, get on up

Stay on the scene (get on up)
like a lovin' machine (get on up)
Get up, get on up

Taste (get on up)
Bein' (get on up)
Taste (get on up)
Bein' (get on up)

Get up, get on up
Get up, get on up
Stay on the scene, like a sex machine

You got to have the feelin' (get on up)
Soon as you're born (get on up)
Get it together, right on, right on
Right on, right on (right on, right on)
Right on, right on (right on, right on)
Right on, right on (right on, right on)

Get up (get on up)
Get up (get on up)
And then, shake your money maker
Shake your money maker
Shake your money maker
Shake your money maker
Shake your money maker
Shake your money maker
Shake your money maker

Get up, get on up
Get up, get on up
Get up, get on up
Get up, get on up
Get up, get on up

Get up, get on up
Get up, get on up
Get up, get on up

Can we hit it like we did one more time, from the top
Can we hit like that one more time
(One more time)
One more time
Let's hit it and quit (go ahead)
Can we hit it and quit? (Yeah)
Can we hit it and quit? (Yeah)

Can we hit it and quit? (Yeah)
Hit it

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to James Brown's "Get Up I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine" are a call to action for the listener to get up and move their body like a machine. It’s a song about getting into the groove and letting the music take control. The first verse sets the tone for the song, with Brown telling the listeners that he wants to get into it, man, and move like a “sex machine.” He asks if he can count it off and proceeds to do so with the iconic call-and-response hook, “Get up!” which repeats throughout the song.

The second verse is all about staying on the scene and having the right feeling, which Brown describes as being sure as you're born. He encourages the listeners to "shake [their] arm" and "use [their] form" to stay on the scene like a "sex machine."

The final verse includes a call-and-response with Bobby Byrd, signaling the audience to get up and get moving once again. The song ends with a repetition of the chorus and a request to "hit it one more time" before hitting it and quitting it.

Overall, the lyrics to "Get Up I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine" celebrate the power of music to move the body and connect people in the shared experience of dance.

Line by Line Meaning

Fellas, I'm ready to get up and do my thing
I am feeling great and ready to party.

I wanna get into it, man, you know
I want to dance and enjoy the party.

Like a, like a sex machine, man,
I want to dance with the energy and drive of a machine.

Movin', doin' it, you know
I am going to dance with intense focus and enjoyment.

Can I count it off? (Go ahead)
Can I start the music and get the party started? (Yes)

Get up, (get on up)
Get up and dance!

Stay on the scene, (get on up), like a sex machine, (get on up)
Keep dancing with the energy of a machine.

Wait a minute!
Hold on a moment.

Shake your arm, then use your form
Move your arms and body in synch with the music.

You got to have the feeling sure as you're born
Dancing is about feeling yourself and enjoying the moment.

Get it together, right on, right on
Get your feet and body together and dance with joy.

You said, you said you got the,
You claimed to have the energy to dance as well.

You said the feeling,
You boast a great feeling about dancing.

You got to get
Don't delay, start dancing now.

You give me the fever 'n' a cold sweat
Dancing makes me both excited and sweaty.

The way I like, it is the way it is,
This is the way I enjoy my dance.

I got mine, don't worry 'bout his
I am dancing for myself, don't worry about others.

Bobby! Should I take 'em to the bridge? (Go ahead!)
Bobby, can I take the party to the next level? (Yes, go for it!)

Take 'em on to the bridge! (Take em to the bridge!)
Bring everyone to the climax of the dance party!

Hit me now!
Bring on the music!

Stay on the scene, like a sex machine!
Keep dancing with the power and energy of a machine!

Stay on the scene, like a lovin' machine
Keep dancing with love and a positive attitude.

I wanna count it off one more time now (go ahead!)
One more time, let's start and enjoy this dance party again!

Can we hit it like we did one more time, from the top
Can we dance like we did before, starting from the beginning?

Let's hit it and quit! (Go ahead!)
Let's party hard and go home!

Hit it!
Let's start the music and start the party!

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Ronald R. Lenhoff, Bobby Byrd, James Brown

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS