1) Jerry Butler, Jr… Read Full Bio ↴There are multiple artists called Jerry Butler:
1) Jerry Butler, Jr. (born December 8, 1939 in Sunflower, Mississippi) is an American soul singer also known as "The Ice Man" because of his cool demeanour while singing often intensely emotional lyrics.
Butler was dubbed the "Iceman" by a Philadelphia disc jockey while performing in a Philadelphia theater. However, Butler achieved what eluded many earlier Doo Wop groups during the 1950s and 1960s — longevity. Butler’s solo career had a string of hits, including "He Will Break Your Heart," "Moon River," "Make It Easy On Yourself," "Let It Be Me" (the Everly Brothers classic re-done as a duet with Betty Everett), "Brand New Me," "Ain’t Understanding Mellow," (duet with Brenda Lee Eager), and "Never Gonna Give You Up," followed by two hugely successful albums The Iceman Cometh in 1968 and Ice On Ice in 1970. The Iceman Cometh garnered Butler three Grammy nominations. Jerry Butler further made recordings for Philadelphia International Records in the 80's. His most noted song for the label was "Cooling Out"
I Don't Want to Hear Anymore
Jerry Butler Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where folks don't live so good now
The rooms are small
Most the building's made of wood
I hear the neighbors
Talking about you and me
Yes, I've heard most every word
The walls are much too thin
She don't really love him
Oh, that's what I heard them say
She sure wasn't thinking of him today
I saw her in the front yard now
Say, that girl in room 149
Talking to a boy, well
I've never seen him before
And standing there together
Don't you know they looked so fine
I don't wanna hear it anymore
I don't wanna hear it anymore
But the talk just never ends
The heartache soon begins
The talk is so loud and
The walls are much too thin
Lord, ain't it sad
Said the woman cross the hall
That when a nice boy falls in love
Hey, it's just too bad
That he just had to fall
For a girl who doesn't
Care for him at all
Well, I don't wanna hear it anymore
I can't stand to hear anymore
But the talk just never ends
And the heartache soon begins
Oh, they talk so loud and
The walls are much too thin
Whoa, I wish they wouldn't talk so loud
And expose my heartache to all the crowd
The lyrics to Jerry Butler's song "I Don't Want to Hear Anymore" paints a vivid picture of life in a tough and cramped neighborhood where it's impossible to keep any secrets. The first stanza, in particular, describes the predicament of this speaker who is being talked about by his neighbors: "In my neighborhood/ Where folks don't live so good now/ The rooms are small/ Most the building's made of wood". We can perceive from these lines the dingy and cramped nature of the place where the singer resides, where everything is laid bare for the rest of the neighborhood to see and hear.
The singer laments the fact that he has been made the talk of the neighborhood, and the heartache and misery that follow when others meddle in one's love life: "I hear the neighbors/ Talking about you and me/ Yes, I've heard most everything/ Cause the talking's loud/ And the walls are much too thin". The words "I don't wanna hear it anymore" repeated in the chorus underscore the point that the singer has had enough of the gossip, and the unwanted intrusion into their private life.
As the song progresses, the singer observes another couple in the same situation as he is "That when a nice boy falls in love/ Hey, it's just too bad/ That he just had to fall/ For a girl who doesn't/ Care for him at all". The closing line of the song, "Whoa, I wish they wouldn't talk so loud/ And expose my heartache to all the crowd" is a plaintive plea for privacy and a shield against the invasion of one's personal space.
Line by Line Meaning
In my neighborhood
I reside in an area where the living conditions are not ideal.
Where folks don't live so good now
The residents of this area face hardships while sustaining their living.
The rooms are small
The size of most apartments is restricted and does not have ample space.
Most the building's made of wood
There is a lack of sturdy and durable infrastructure in this area.
I hear the neighbors
The sound of conversations between the people living in the immediate vicinity are audible.
Talking about you and me
The discussions amongst the neighbors involve our names and actions.
Yes, I've heard most every word
I have eavesdropped on all the conversations that involve my name and actions.
Cause the talking's loud and
The volume of the discussions is loud.
The walls are much too thin
The walls of the building are not thick enough to dampen the noise from the adjoining apartments.
She don't really love him
The woman does not have true affection for the man in question.
Oh, that's what I heard them say
I heard through the walls that they are discussing how the woman isn't genuine about her feelings for the man.
She sure wasn't thinking of him today
The woman's actions do not depict any care for the man in question.
I saw her in the front yard now
I witnessed the woman standing in the front garden.
Say, that girl in room 149
I am referring to the woman residing in apartment number 149.
Talking to a boy, well
The woman was having a conversation with a male.
I've never seen him before
I haven't seen the male conversing with the woman earlier.
And standing there together
Both of them were standing next to each other.
Don't you know they looked so fine
They looked great together alluring enough to catch everyone's attention.
I don't wanna hear it anymore
I am unable to bear the noise from the talks.
But the talk just never ends
The discussions are incessant and never conclude.
The heartache soon begins
The talks contribute to emotional distress.
Lord, ain't it sad
It is quite unfortunate.
Said the woman cross the hall
The woman living nearby quoted.
That when a nice boy falls in love
It is a melancholic situation when a good boy falls in love.
Hey, it's just too bad
It is unfortunate and upsetting.
That he just had to fall
It is sad that he had to fall in love.
For a girl who doesn't
The woman in question doesn't have the same feelings.
Care for him at all
She doesn't love him.
Well, I don't wanna hear it anymore
I am unable to bear the noise from the talks.
I can't stand to hear anymore
I am distressed and upset after hearing all the talks.
Oh, they talk so loud and
The volume of the discussions is loud.
The walls are much too thin
The walls in the building are incapable of suppressing the noise from the adjoining apartments.
Whoa, I wish they wouldn't talk so loud
I hope that they would tone down their volume and noise levels.
And expose my heartache to all the crowd
The incessant noise from the talks contributes to emotional distress and heartache.
Contributed by Liam E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@michaelgarin4176
From the Financial Times:
There aren’t many pop songs about badly constructed buildings. Among the rare examples, even fewer can be said to shed light on the tides of 20th-century history — from America’s great northward migration to the 1960s British invasion; from the birth of soul music to British light entertainment. “I Don’t Want to Hear it Anymore” might be the only one.
In 1964 a talented teen with a $100-a-month songwriting gig produced a lyric about an oddly adult mini-melodrama. Randy Newman’s “I Don’t Want to Hear Anymore” (the title acquired an “it” a few years later) is both sparse and cinematic. Scene: “My neighbourhood [where] folks don’t live so good.” Plot: flimsy walls mean the singer can’t escape hearing “the neighbours talking about you and me”. Pitifully, as they broadcast his faithless partner’s every scandalous move, he blames the walls: “They’re much too thin.”
How does a middle-class boy from a family of Hollywood soundtrack composers capture life in a low-rent tenement? “What interests me,” Newman told Rolling Stone in 1983, “is character study. Fiction . . . it’s what I do best.”
Meanwhile singer Jerry Butler was looking for his next hit. At 24, he had already launched The Impressions with Curtis Mayfield and recorded one of the first Chicago soul records. His solo sales had helped make Vee-Jay — a Chicago precursor to Motown — one of America’s biggest black-owned (and rare female-owned) music companies. Vee-Jay’s A&R man “freaked out” over Newman’s demo, Butler wrote in his autobiography.
“Was it black?” wrote Butler. “Was it white? It could have been anybody’s song.” But his elegant, unvarnished baritone calls to mind the Chicago gospel choir in which he and Mayfield sang as boys. It also calls to mind the millions of African-Americans who, like the Butlers, fled the brutal racism of the South in the great migration. They created cultures and built businesses, like Motown and Vee-Jay, that would shape the 20th century.
And that “neighbourhood where folks don’t live so good” evokes conditions the travellers found in northern cities. Many, including the Butlers, ended up in housing projects that entrenched urban discrimination.
For LA’s Walker Brothers, over in London while British acts invaded the US charts, covering Butler’s back catalogue had already proved fruitful — a familiar story in the segregated 1960s music business. Their 1965 version of “I Don’t Want to Hear it Anymore” smoothes over the grit with sweet strings and Scott Walker’s swooping vocals. Walker adds a telling ad lib: “These walls round me are so thin — sometimes I think they’re moving in.” The lines foreshadow his retreat from the fear and frustration of life as an avant-garde composer trapped in the body of a teen idol.
Four years later Dusty Springfield turned to the luminaries of Atlantic Records to escape a commercial lull. She later called “I Don’t Want to Hear it Anymore” “my favourite song” on the resulting Dusty in Memphis LP. Butler’s spare soul ballad was now an extravagantly orchestrated torch song. The Sweet Inspirations, borrowed from
Aretha Franklin, supplied exquisite backing vocals. Springfield’s vocals sound almost weary. Like Walker, she puts her passion into the ad lib: “I just can’t stand to hear it any more.” Perhaps, once again, this study in unwelcome scrutiny resonates. At a time when being outed as gay could end a career, she was repeatedly quizzed about her relationships with women. There are other wonderful versions: a spirited 1965 jazz instrumental by Chicago’s Three Souls; a swinging 1969 soul cover by Chicago jazz singer Lorez Alexandria. The same year, Patrick Samson released “I Muri Parlano Di Noi” (“These walls are talking about us”), one of the Beirut-born singer’s many Italian reinterpretations of English-language pop hits.
But it is Springfield’s recording that completes the work’s great musical migration — taking it back to the Southern roots of the black music she and its New Orleans-raised writer both revered, and to those of its first and most affecting singer.
@jeraldmcqueen9226
BOY! You KNOW how to bring back old high school days. Just getting into High School, this was a major song played after the basketball game(s) - 1964... OMG!
@jalebjaba1487
Jerry stood the test of time ,giging at 80 .
@aaliasmith4228
One of Jerrys best songs
@marydenise7429
I had never heard this man till last week now I am hooked on his lovely voice he has a mighty fine voice...The best music comes from USA,..
@gaynormartin
Jerry Butler records Command very high prices in the Uk... Originals of, For your precious love,sell for as much as 2300 dollars. The Impressions are also in demand , and very expensive also.
@marydenise7429
I have just ordered one of his cds from amazon uk as I really enjoyed listening to his songs ..David Ruffin Cd are very expensive at Amazon UK I just hope mine stay in good condition and I don't need to replace them.
@markbruggeman274
he has the best voice of all time. Along with David Ruffin
@georgegeorge5901
A true soulful, beautiful baritone voice.
@hookalakah
Before the general public knew his name, Randy Newman wrote a lot of songs. If this isn't the best, it's got to be one of the best of his early efforts.
@beenasty6980
It's not the words...it's Jerry bringing them to life like no one can....