Born Peter Nitollano, of African-American/Filipino parents, Joe Bataan grew up in Spanish Harlem, where he ran with Puerto Rican gangs and absorbed R&B, Afro-Cuban and Afro-Rican musical influences. His music career followed a pair of stints in Coxsackie State Prison. Self taught on the piano, he organized his first band in 1965 and scored his first recording success in 1967 with "Gypsy Woman" on Fania Records, . The tune was a hit with the New York Latin market despite the English lyrics sung by Joe, and exemplified the nascent Latin Soul sound. In early anticipation of the disco formula, "Gypsy Woman" created dance energy by alternating what was fundamentally a pop-soul tune with a break featuring double timed hand claps, . Joe would take this tendency even further on his influential Salsoul, which fused funk and latin influences in slick yet soulful orchestrations. Salsoul remains influential as a rare groove cult item, but pointed to the future at the time of its release. The LP embodied the artist's highly deliberate and culturally aware musical concept. Bataan theorized the '70s next big thing as a hybrid: an Afro Cuban rhythm section playing Brazilian influenced patterns over orchestral funk. In many ways, his vision was on the money, though most of the money would go to others, and mainstream stardom would elude him. He did, however, get in on the ground floor of the new trend as an early hit maker. His biggest commercial move was a Salsoul production released under the Epic umbrella, and promoted to the new disco market as Afrofilipino, which included 1975's "The Bottle", a much anthologized classic that drives an R&B horn arrangment with a relentless piano montuno.
Always in touch with the street, Joe Bataan picked up on rap very early in the game. His minor rap hit, "Rap-O, Clap-O" was a bit more successful in Europe than in the States, and is remembered as rap's debut in the European market. Nevertheless, his legacy remains his gritty and realistic Latin soul lyrics, his self identification as an "Ordinary Guy", and his highly personal and prophetic merger of Latin and soul influences.
You're Driving Me Right out of My Mind
Joe Bataan Lyrics
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You're still not satisfied, you don't want me anymore
Let me be, don't take advantage of me
And you're driving me, right out of my mind
My little heart's gonna be, pretty hard to find
Day by day, my life falls apart
The only thing, is my broken heart
Set me free, don't make a fool of me
And you're driving me, right out of my mind
My little heart's gonna be, pretty hard to find
What matter now? What do you think that I am?
That you could treat me this way (Treat me the way you do)
Everyday.
By bannin' me, shapin' me, twistin' me, the way that you wanted me
Oh no.
Oh noo...
I'm not a clown that you can laugh at
A clown that's too proud to cry
I'm just an ordinary lad
Oh no.
Oh noo...
What's left for me to do? My heart's in two, girl
(You're drivin' me)
You broke my heart in little pieces, yeah
(Right out out of my mind)
What's left for me to do, girl?
(You're drivin' me)
Let me be, don't take advantage of me
Set me free
Don't make a fool of me
(You're driving me right out of my mind)
The lyrics to Joe Bataan's song "You're Driving Me Right out of My Mind" depict a man who is fed up with a woman who has taken advantage of his love and is now driving him crazy. The opening line suggests that the woman has taken all the love he could give and yet, she is still not satisfied, which has left him feeling unappreciated and unfulfilled. He feels like she is now taking advantage of him, hence he pleads with her to let him be.
As the song goes on, it is evident that this woman's actions have caused his life to fall apart, leaving him with nothing but a broken heart. He feels like she is treating him like a clown and making a mockery out of him. The chorus continues to emphasize the fact that she is driving him out of his mind, making his once little heart pretty hard to find, which can be seen as a metaphor for his emotions that are now hard to locate.
Overall, the song is about a man who is tired of being taken for granted and manipulated by a woman he loves, who has caused him heartbreak and frustration, leading him to question what is left for him to do.
Line by Line Meaning
Now that you've taken, all the love that I could give
You have taken all the love I could give, but it wasn't enough for you.
You're still not satisfied, you don't want me anymore
Even though I gave you all my love, you are still not satisfied and don't want me anymore.
Let me be, don't take advantage of me
Please let me go and stop taking advantage of my feelings for you.
And you're driving me, right out of my mind
Your actions are causing me to lose my mind and sanity.
My little heart's gonna be, pretty hard to find
You have broken my heart so much that it's going to be difficult for me to love again.
Day by day, my life falls apart
As time passes, my life is getting worse and worse.
The only thing, is my broken heart
The only thing left in my life is the pain of my broken heart.
Set me free, don't make a fool of me
Please let me go and don't make me look like a fool for loving you.
What matter now? What do you think that I am?
What is the point now? Do you think I am someone you can treat this way?
That you could treat me this way (Treat me the way you do)
Did you really think you could treat me so badly and get away with it?
Everyday. By bannin' me, shapin' me, twistin' me, the way that you wanted me
Every day you tried to control me, mold me, and manipulate me into being what you wanted me to be.
I'm not a clown that you can laugh at
I am not someone you can treat like a joke or laugh at.
A clown that's too proud to cry
I may seem like a clown who is happy on the outside, but I am too proud to cry in front of you.
I'm just an ordinary lad
I am just a regular guy who fell in love with you.
What's left for me to do? My heart's in two, girl
I don't know what to do anymore. My heart is broken and torn in two.
(You're drivin' me) You broke my heart in little pieces, yeah
Your actions have broken my heart into tiny little pieces.
(Right out out of my mind) What's left for me to do, girl?
I am at a loss for what to do next. You have driven me to the brink of insanity.
(You're drivin' me) Let me be, don't take advantage of me
Please let me go and stop taking advantage of my love for you.
Set me free
Let me go and move on from this toxic relationship.
Don't make a fool of me
Don't make a mockery of my love and leave me feeling foolish.
(You're driving me right out of my mind)
Your behavior is slowly driving me insane.
Writer(s): Joe Bataan
Contributed by Mia R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.